Factors Contributing To The Betting Behaviour Among University Students In Kenya

Abstract

Increased societal challenges that face majority of people such as increased unemployment, have seen majority of people especially youths resorted to solving their financial issues through gambling more so sports betting as some sort of luck. This has seen increased betting behaviours among youths, especially university students. Efforts put in place to determine factors that could be fuelling this behaviour have been scanty, while other studies acknowledging that there is need to readdress the issue. To bridge the gap and offer significant information that gambling especially sports-betting should not be viewed by youths as an alternative investment that brings quick money, this descriptive research study aimed to determine factors contributing to the betting behaviour among university students in Kenya. The independent variables were personality factor, technological factor, attitude factor and unemployment factor while dependent variable was betting or gambling behaviour among university students in Kenya. The study therefore sought to establish the influence of these factors on betting behaviour among university students in Kenya. A snowballing non probabilistic sampling technique with a sample of 200 respondents selected using judgemental sampling technique was used for the study. Quantitative information was collected using questionnaires and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics with aid of STATA software. Diagnostic tests were examined to ensure that data for the study was appropriate for the study model. The findings established that diagnostic tests performed on the data were effective for used in the study. Based on the descriptive findings, the study established that respondents agreed to some extent that both the personality factor, technological factor, attitudes factor and unemployment factor has been slightly influential in influencing their gambling behaviour. On the inferential statistics, the study established that there was a positive correlation between independent variables of the study (personality factor, technological factor, attitude factor and unemployment factor) and betting behaviour among university students in Kenya. A regression analysis performed to indicate whether the independent variables have influence on betting behaviour among university students revealed that only personality factor and unemployment factor have significant positive influence or relationship with betting behaviour among university students. The study also indicated that technological factor had insignificant positive influence on the betting behaviour among university students. Whereas, the study also indicated that there was a negative relationship between attitude factor and betting behaviour among university students in Kenya. The study recommended that the implications of banned sports betting activities on the university students or Kenyan youths need to be assessed. This followed the increased emergence of uproar from the public when the government attempted to close some of the sports betting sites in Kenya. The study looked at the factors contributing to the betting behaviour among university students in Kenya. The study recommends a similar study on university students but from private and public universities separately so as to look out for possible similarities.