Gambling motivation and involvement: A review of social

The social rewards of gambling may thus be of two types, one building on ostentation
and contest and the other on communion. Some types of games by their structure
amplify the contest between players, such as poker. Other game types promote
communion, such as bingo and on-track horse betting.
RELEvancE tO pRObLEm GambLinG StudiES
Social rewards are a prominent motive for participating in gambling. Some people
would not be involved in gambling were it not for the social rewards and the resulting
reinforcement of gambling behavior. Factors pertaining to the social dimension to
some extent explain varying levels of gambling involvement, both between sociocultural
groups and between individuals. Qualitative studies that reveal such factors
are highly relevant to problem gambling studies.
Subculture studies
The power of gambling to create social belonging and give social rewards is at the
core of studies that conceive of gambling environments as subcultures or bounded
cultural realms. Regular gamblers not only get together with other people and thus
satisfy their need for social contacts, but they also participate in an activity subject
to specific and complex cultural codes. When entering the gambling space, such as a
casino or a racetrack, individuals leave the ordinary world and their everyday identities
and come together with others in a different “world” where they can assume
another identity [93, 101–104]. In his book The Racing Game, Marvin B. Scott
sums up his observations on the subcultural world of racetrack bettors [105]:
… the race track constitutes a little cosmos on its own. … Social class and other
background characteristics of the players are excluded as relevant in this area. …
Not only are external identities excluded, but by permitting the player to exercise
new skills and rationalities, horse racing generates new identities. At the track,
Sammy the painter becomes Sammy the handicapper. … Because the individual at
the track is engrossed in an action in the presence of others similarly engrossed, the
reality of his “field of consciousness” is confirmed and thrust upon him with clearness
and distinctness. In other words, the reality experienced is an all-embracing
reality. (p. 113–4, italics in original)
To some individuals, the gambling world – with its “action” (in the sense of Goffman’s
definition), norms, and social interaction – may appear preferable to the ordinary
world, motivating them to spend a lot of time there and consequently also a lot
of money. From a medical perspective on gambling involvement, such persons are
likely to be considered as “pathological gamblers”, but from a sociological perspective
they are merely regulars at the gaming venue. John D. Rosecrance described and
analyzed such highly involved bettors in his book The Degenerates of Lake Tahoe:
18 G A M B L I N G M O T I VAT I O N A N D I N V O LV E M E N T