Cryptocurrency Trading, Day Trading, and Gambling Behavior: Examining the Moderating Effects of Financially Focused Self-Concept and Gambling Motives.

Cryptocurrency and day trading have grown in popularity over the past decade following the creation of the first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, in 2009. These activities share important features with gambling, including risking money on an uncertain outcome, a chance of monetary rewards, and the potential to experience harm (e.g., financial or relationship problems). However, little is known about cryptocurrency and day trading engagement in the adult population, including associations with gambling behavior, harm, and psychological factors that might moderate these relationships. We analyzed cross-sectional data for n = 822 adults from an online panel in the U.S. to examine: (1) the extent to which cryptocurrency trading, day trading, and gambling are associated, (2) relationships between cryptocurrency trading, day trading, and higher risk gambling behavior, and (3) whether financially focused self-concept and four types of gambling motives moderate these relationships. We found moderate to strong positive intercorrelations between cryptocurrency and day trading, and gambling behavior, including engagement and risk. We identified significant moderating effects of financially focused self-concept, and coping motives for gambling, on the relationship between cryptocurrency trading and gambling frequency, and between day trading and gambling frequency. For the models predicting higher risk gambling status, the only significant moderators were financially focused self-concept for the day trading model, and the enhancement motive for the cryptocurrency and day trading models. Our results have important implications for understanding interrelationships between gambling-adjacent activities and more traditional gambling forms, as well as the moderating roles of key psychosocial concepts in these relationships.

Day Traders in South Australia: Similarities and Differences with Traditional Gamblers.

The present study investigated the relationship between engaging in day trading and engaging in traditional forms of gambling in South Australia. Consistent with a previous study on this issue, it would appear that most individuals who engage in day trading are heavily involved traditional gamblers who include day trading in their repertoire of activities. They differ somewhat from most gamblers in their strong preference for skill-based types of gambling, their higher overall involvement in gambling, and their higher rates of problem gambling. They also have some demographic differences, in particular, being older and having higher incomes. The present findings provide further evidence that not only do certain types of financial speculation bear some conceptual similarity to gambling, they also appear to be empirically related.

The impact and profitability of day trading following the relaxation of day trading restrictions in Taiwan.

The relaxation of day trading restrictions in Taiwan at the start of 2016 resulted in a significant increase in day trading volume, which piqued our interest in researching the impact and profitability of day trading, expected (unexpected) day trading, and day trading at high (low) levels of VIX using time series models, with the following key findings. First, we show that a high market trading volume triggers a high day trading volume resulting from liquidity markets that day traders prefer, but a high day trading volume does not trigger a high market trading volume resulting from speculative markets that other market participants don't prefer. Second, contrary to our perception, while the VIX index rises, day trading would be more profitable after the relaxation. We infer that a high VIX index may be accompanied by a volatile market, which may generate profits by widening the intraday spread of a day-tradable stock. Third, as compared with unexpected market trading volume, we reveal that unexpected day trading volume may be more unexpected than market trading volume, being more likely to enhance market volatility and stock returns. These impressive and interesting findings may not be disclosed before the relaxation, which may contribute to the existing literature.

Gambling-Like Day Trading During the COVID-19 Pandemic - Need for Research on a Pandemic-Related Risk of Indebtedness and Mental Health Impact.

Stock exchange trading increasingly has been highlighted as a possible cause of gambling disorder, typically in rapid and excessive "day trading" which may cause over-indebtedness and mental health problems. The COVID-19 pandemic has been suspected to increase online gambling and gambling problems. In a number of recent media reports, day trading has been reported to increase during COVID-19, possibly in relation to changes in everyday life, financial problems and job insecurity during the pandemic. Increasing day trading has thereby been suspected to cause addictive behavior, financial difficulties, and poor mental health. However, there is hitherto a lack of research in the area. The present paper addresses the potential for day trading to cause problem gambling, debts and mental health problems, and calls for research and clinical guidelines in problem gambling related to stock market behavior as a problematic gambling behavior. Screening tools, awareness among clinicians, and longitudinal research studies may be warranted, both during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

The conceptual and empirical relationship between gambling, investing, and speculation.

Background and aims To review the conceptual and empirical relationship between gambling, investing, and speculation. Methods An analysis of the attributes differentiating these constructs as well as identification of all articles speaking to their empirical relationship. Results Gambling differs from investment on many different attributes and should be seen as conceptually distinct. On the other hand, speculation is conceptually intermediate between gambling and investment, with a few of its attributes being investment-like, some of its attributes being gambling-like, and several of its attributes being neither clearly gambling or investment-like. Empirically, gamblers, investors, and speculators have similar cognitive, motivational, and personality attributes, with this relationship being particularly strong for gambling and speculation. Population levels of gambling activity also tend to be correlated with population level of financial speculation. At an individual level, speculation has a particularly strong empirical relationship to gambling, as speculators appear to be heavily involved in traditional forms of gambling and problematic speculation is strongly correlated with problematic gambling. Discussion and conclusions Investment is distinct from gambling, but speculation and gambling have conceptual overlap and a strong empirical relationship. It is recommended that financial speculation be routinely included when assessing gambling involvement, and there needs to be greater recognition and study of financial speculation as both a contributor to problem gambling as well as an additional form of behavioral addiction in its own right.