Stage 1 Registered Report: Impulsivity and online sports betting behavior: Untangling the causal relationship

The rapid expansion of online sports betting has raised concerns about its potential impact on individual health and public health. In order to further develop etiological models for gambling disorder (GD) in sports betting, it is essential to unravel the underlying causal processes. Recent studies have identified risky online gambling behavior as an early indicator of GD. The planned study focuses on impulsivity as a well-documented risk factor for GD and investigates whether increased impulsivity leads to risky online gambling behavior and subsequently contributes to GD. Impulsivity, risky gambling behavior, and GD symptoms will be assessed three times at three-month intervals using a longitudinal cross-lagged panel design. We aim to recruit a final sample of n=370 regular sports bettors from the online gambling provider Tipico. Impulsivity and GD are assessed using a combination of online experimental tasks and questionnaires. As a measure of risky gambling behavior, Tipico will provide player tracking data for the included participants. Random intercept cross‐lagged panel models will be used to test the evidence for our hypotheses. The results will improve our understanding of the causal pathways leading to risky gambling behavior and GD, and will inform the development of early prevention strategies. The study is funded by the International Center for Responsible Gaming (ICRG). The ICRG is a nonprofit-organization that promotes responsible gaming and gambling research. unknown other