To read this content please select one of the options below:

A path model of perceived financial risk in casino blackjack

Dwane H. Dean (Based at the Department of Marketing and Finance, Frostburg State University, Frostburg, MD, USA)

Young Consumers

ISSN: 1747-3616

Article publication date: 15 March 2011

1100

Abstract

Purpose

The prevalence of problematic gambling among adolescents and college‐age youth is estimated to be two to four times that of older consumers. Prior studies suggest this may be due to an age‐related difference in risk perception. This paper aims to focus on the perception of financial risk in playing casino blackjack among college‐age youth.

Design/methodology/approach

A convenience sample of subjects age 24 or less and reporting at least some experience in playing and wagering on casino blackjack completed paper and pencil questionnaires. Data were fit to a path model using LISREL. The study focuses on the perception of financial risk within this at‐risk population, suggesting that perceived financial risk is influenced by four factors: estimated risk to an average “other” gambler, the subject's level of experience in playing casino blackjack, the subject's self‐reported level of skill at blackjack play, and the estimated “fun” in playing the game.

Findings

Three significant total effects on perceived financial risk were found: estimated risk to an average other player (raising risk), estimated fun in playing the game (lowering risk), and self‐reported skill in playing the game (lowering risk). The effect of experience on risk perception was complex, separated into direct and indirect effects with opposing influences. The model explained 41 percent of variance in perceived risk. Subjects reported their own level of risk to be significantly lower than that for an average other blackjack player – an example of the phenomenon of optimistic bias.

Research limitations/implications

Data were not collected within a field (casino) setting and the influence of the setting on perceived financial risk was not accounted for.

Practical implications

The strongest influence on perceived personal risk was estimated risk to an average other gambler (raising risk). Communications attempting to deter youthful gambling might wish to portray an average young player and possible negative outcomes.

Originality/value

There does not appear to be an existing path model of risk in casino blackjack that includes the factors proposed in this study.

Keywords

Citation

Dean, D.H. (2011), "A path model of perceived financial risk in casino blackjack", Young Consumers, Vol. 12 No. 1, pp. 15-26. https://doi.org/10.1108/17473611111114759

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2011, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Related articles