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. 2025 Sep 29.
doi: 10.1007/s10899-025-10428-5. Online ahead of print.

Playing Sports, Placing Sports Bets? Sports Club Membership, Gambling Norms and Sports Gambling Behavior among Flemish Youth

Aaleks Kasemi  1 , Eva Grosemans  2 , Reyna Amanda  3 , Bieke Zaman  2 , Rozane De Cock  2
Affiliations

Playing Sports, Placing Sports Bets? Sports Club Membership, Gambling Norms and Sports Gambling Behavior among Flemish Youth

Aaleks Kasemi et al. J Gambl Stud. .

Abstract

In recent years, gambling has become increasingly embedded in sports culture, a phenomenon known as "gamblification", raising concerns about youth exposure to sports betting. This study explores the role of descriptive norms (perceived peer gambling behavior) and injunctive norms (perceived peer approval) within Flemish sports clubs, assessing their impact on youths' (18-25 year old) online sports betting frequency. Using a quantitative cross-sectional survey (N = 1,290), results indicated that sports club membership is significantly positively correlated with online sports betting frequency, a relation mediated specifically by descriptive norms. However, injunctive norms did not mediate this relationship. The results of this study suggest a need for targeted prevention strategies within sports clubs.

Keywords: Descriptive norms; Injunctive norms; Sports betting; Sports clubs; Youth.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate: This study was approved by the Social and Societal Ethics Committee of KU Leuven (G-2021-3439). Before participating, respondents received an informed consent form outlining the study’s aims, procedures, potential risks, and their right to withdraw at any point without repercussions. Participant anonymity was fully safeguarded. Competing interests: The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

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