Does Sports Betting Affect Investment Behaviour? Evidence from Ghanaian Sports Betting Participants.

Abstract

The study sought to assess the impact of sports betting on the investment behaviour of Ghanaians, focusing on sports betting centers within the Accra Metropolis, Ghana. The objectives of this observational study were to determine how individuals perceive the risk of sports lotteries as opposed to investment, to determine if sports lottery was viewed as an alternative to investments and savings, and to understand how participation in sports lotteries affects individuals’ ability to save and invest. In adopting a survey approach, 99 sports betting participants across selected betting centers were examined using questionnaires and the data subsequently analyzed through cross-tabulations. The study found that sports betting behaviour had a complementary rather than a substitutionary effect on investment behaviour. The participants were both risk-aware and risk-averse but engaged nevertheless in betting for a chance of winning a high payoff. Thus, the findings demonstrated that sports betting participants viewed betting as a means to an end, a chance to improve their financial circumstances, rather than as a substitute for investing, and exhibited understanding of a clear distinction, with regards to behaviour, towards investing and sports betting. In return for a substantive payoff, the respondents were willing to stop sports betting, thereby indicating that the financial payoffs were the main motivation for sports betting. The findings also provided evidence that individual sports betting behaviour can be moderated by influencing one’s financial circumstances.