Gambling and Gaming: A Comparative Study of Professional Footballers Versus the General Population.

Abstract

(1) Background: Elite sport can increase vulnerability to developing mental health pathologies. The purpose of the study is to determine the frequency at which these behavioural disorders appear in elite footballers and evaluate their relationship with other addictions. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between November 2020 and January 2022 on 306 participants. The variables of gambling and gaming were studied. The different groups were compared using Chi-squared tests. Probabilities exceeding 95% (p-values < 0.05) and residuals results greater than 2 or less than -2 were considered significant. (3) Results: There were significant differences between the two groups in terms of alcohol (p < 0.001), tobacco (p < 0.001), and cannabis (p = 0.016) consumption. We also found differences between those who had a history of a nervous disease (p = 0.015). 6.6% of the of football players had a probable diagnosis of a gambling disorder compared to 1% in the general population (p = 0.011). Among the pathological and non-pathological cases of gambling in the football population, significant differences were found between those with a salary of EUR 900-1500/month (p = 0.027) or a history of a nervous pathology (p = 0.021). (4) Conclusions: This study showed that professional football players were vulnerable to mental health pathologies related to gambling.