Making a living online: Problem gambling and workaholism in high earning online Texas hold’em poker players

Abstract

The skill component of Texas hold'em online poker (THOP) adds a unique element to the assessment of risk for problem gambling (PG). The current study examined whether PG among a high earning subgroup of THOP players was analogous to workaholism. Participants were self-selected online poker players (N  =  31), and results revealed that participants played an average of 30.5 hours per week, and had an average annual online poker earning of CAD 29 995. Furthermore, 32% of the sample gambled problematically according to the PGSI. In accordance with previous findings, PG was uniquely predicted by time played and stress. However, PG in this subset of THOP players was associated with an external locus of control. Contrary to expectations, the personality variable of neuroticism was unrelated to PG and workaholism. Furthermore, workaholism was unrelated to any variables in the model, and no significant relationship emerged between workaholism and PG.