Prevalence of sports betting addictive disorder among the medical students at the University of Zambia in Lusaka, Zambia

Abstract

Background: Non substance related abuse disorder also known as behavioral addiction does not involve the ingestion of a substance but has similar effects as alcohol and drug addiction. Examples are gambling, sexual addiction, internet addiction, and compulsive shopping. There are different forms of gambling and among them sports betting is the fast growing type of commercial gambling. In Zambia, sports betting has become popular among the students. This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of sports betting on medical students at Ridgeway Campus of University of Zambia.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of sports betting among students at the University of Zambia, Ridgeway campus.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 100 undergraduate medical students studying at University of Zambia and staying at Ridgeway Campus. Data was collected using questionnaires which were administered on randomly selected participants. Data entry was done using Microsoft Excel Sheets and data was analyzed using SPSS.

Results: 71% of the participants agreed to have placed a bet (wager) before and 29% had never betted before. 56% of the participants preferred online betting, 2% preferred physical placing of a bet, and 13% used both online and physical betting while 29% of the participants never betted.

Conclusion: Sports betting is the fast growing gambling industry. The percentage of respondents who bet at Ridgeway campus was found to be 71% and those who don't bet 29% according to the study. Students continued to engage themselves in betting despite having the knowledge that sports betting is a form of gambling and it is an addictive disorder.

Keywords: Gambling, Sports betting, Ridgeway Campus, Medical students, Zambia