The Effects of Demographic Factors on Gambling Motivation: A Conceptual Study of American and Korean Gamblers

The primary purpose of this study is to explore whether gambling motivation varies depending on an individual’s demographic factors and whether the influence of demographic factor is moderated by a culture: Korean and American. Demographic factors in this study include a gambler’s social class, educational level, financial condition, gender, age, and marital status. Gambling motivations are divided into the pursuit of psychological benefits or monetary benefits. The findings of this study indicate that some demographic factors that are considered important in U.S. may not be as significant in Korea. Also, major gambling motivations turned out to be different for these two groups. These results will be valuable for the casino operations that attract customers from both cultures. Understanding the effect of demographic factors would provide a rationale for future policies regarding marketing or pathological gamblers. This study further attempts to motivate researchers to extend their gambling motivation studies with respect to the characteristics of gamblers.