Drivers of Recreational Online Gambling Intentions: A UTAUT 2 Perspective, Enhancements, Results, and Implications

Abstract

Recreational gambling has become an accepted pursuit, and the advent of the Internet has rendered online gambling ubiquitous. However, the resultant rapid growth in online recreational gambling is not matched by an understanding of the drivers of customers’ intentions to gamble online. While this is potentially a fascinating aspect of consumer behavior, marketing scholars have shied away from giving online gambling much attention. This research seeks a better understanding of the drivers of recreational online gambling intentions among customers by applying the latest version of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Technology—UTAUT 2, to customers in an online gambling context. It also proposes additional hypotheses that account for the role of anticipated enjoyment and perceived fairness. Data are collected from 593 casino customers of an online gambling firm and analyzed using PLS-SEM via Smart PLS. Results show that perceived fairness and anticipated enjoyment are significant drivers of online gambling intention, with perceived fairness being fully mediated by effort expectancy, anticipated enjoyment, and social influence. Shorn of drivers and moderators that are not significant, an online gambling intention model is proposed. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed, limitations are noted, and areas for further research are suggested.