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Betting against the odds? The effect of mental health on problem gambling behavior

Dusanee Kesavayuth, Prompong Shangkhum and Vasileios Zikos

Economic Modelling, 2025, vol. 152, issue C

Abstract: This study examines mental health as a risk factor for problem gambling. Drawing on representative longitudinal data from Australia, we hypothesize that poor mental health increases the probability of engaging in problem gambling. The idea is that risky behaviors like gambling may serve as coping mechanisms for emotional distress. To address the endogeneity of mental health, we employ an instrumental variables approach. We find that poor mental health can increase the likelihood of problem gambling. Specifically, a one standard deviation decrease in mental health leads to an increase of 8 percentage points in the probability of being a problem gambler. Our findings highlight the importance of prioritizing mental health alongside, or even above, changes to gambling regulations.

Keywords: Mental health; Gambling; Well-being; HILDA (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D01 D81 I10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecmode:v:152:y:2025:i:c:s0264999325002731

DOI: 10.1016/j.econmod.2025.107278

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