Does Losing on a Previous Betting Day Predict How Long it Takes to Return to the Next Session of Online Horse Race Betting?

Abstract

This study examined how recent losses predict the frequency of play in online betting. Previous studies have suggested that players tend to decrease betting volume and consequently take on less risk after a losing session. We used a daily panel of actual gambling data and survival regression to investigate how incurring losses predicts the duration to the next betting day. Our main findings were that, after a losing betting day, a bettor typically abstained from betting for a 27% longer time than after a day he or she broke even. Further, we found that either untypically high wins or loses significantly predicted the amount of time to the next gambling event. This study adds to the gambling literature by presenting evidence on a reduction in betting activity following a losing session.