“Show me the money!”: Esports betting behaviour of Gen Z: antecedents, motivations and marketing exposure

Abstract

THE AIM OF THE PAPER This study investigates the esports betting behaviour of Gen Z, focusing on psychological, social, and commercial factors associated with betting habits. It explores the relationship between early gambling socialisation, motivational factors (such as financial gain, fandom, and entertainment) and the role of different marketing exposure formats in betting propensity. METHODOLOGY The research utilized a quantitative survey of 119 Hungarian university students with verifiable esports betting experience. Data collection occurred between March and April 2025 using convenience sampling at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. Statistical analyses, including factor analysis, Spearman’s rank-order correlation, and binary logistic regression, were performed using IBM SPSS to test five hypotheses regarding expertise, motivations, social influence, and marketing effectiveness. MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS The findings show that financial gain and entertainment/excitement are the strongest motivations, while fandom is less central. Early childhood exposure to gambling, particularly within family and school contexts, was positively associated with later betting habits. Regarding marketing exposure, social media advertising was positively associated with frequent betting, while affiliate marketing was not supported as the strongest format. Perceived expertise/control was not generally strong, but it was linked to more active and more optimistic betting behaviour. RECOMMENDATIONS Marketing and regulation should avoid messages that overstate skill, control, or easy financial gain. Legislative efforts should be reinforced to regulate children's exposure to gaming communications and offline betting premises. Finally, social media advertising deserves special regulatory attention because it was positively associated with frequent betting.