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Age and gambling behavior: A declining and shifting pattern of participation

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Abstract

The relationship between age and gambling has received relatively little attention in the social sciences. An aging American population might have a fundamental effect on gambling behavior suggesting that such research is needed. A random telephone survey of 1,011 Iowa residents was conducted. Chronological age was found to be negatively related to gambling behavior in this study. Within this trend, however, people of different ages were also found to be participating in different types of gambling. The general decline in gambling across age categories can be conceptualized as a result of an age decline in experimentation with gambling for self-identity, self-presentation, as well as an historical increase in the social acceptance of gambling. The differential rates of participation in different types of gambling could result from differential needs and resources related to different stages of development and thus age categories.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 8128 Social Science Building, 53706, Madison, WI

    Waiman P. Mok M.S.

  2. Iowa State University, USA

    Joseph Hraba Ph.D.

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  1. Waiman P. Mok M.S.
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  2. Joseph Hraba Ph.D.
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Mok, W.P., Hraba, J. Age and gambling behavior: A declining and shifting pattern of participation. J Gambling Stud 7, 313–335 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01023749

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