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Gambling encompasses a wide variety of activities, and the structural characteristics of each form contribute to its potential risk. However, the literature does not fully agree on the risk levels of certain gambling forms. In this study, we classify less risky gambling forms (soft forms) based on public perceptions of their riskiness. We examine the link between gambling experience and problem gambling prevalence. A survey was conducted in a model region of the Czech Republic, a post-socialist country with high gambling availability, with N = 2,498 respondents. A typology of gambling forms (lotteries, betting, and casino games) was created based on perceived risk similarities. Lotteries are the most frequently played gambling form, with 86.3% reporting lifetime participation. Among those who exclusively engage in lottery-type forms, 15 percentage points more women than men participated in the last year, and the gap widens to 31 points over a lifetime. Forms of gambling perceived as more risky show a lower proportion of non-problem gamblers, both for recent and lifetime participation. Furthermore, individuals who gambled within the past month or year are at higher risk of developing gambling problems compared to those whose gambling experiences were less recent., Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of interest: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

In 2019, a questionnaire was conducted among foreigners living in the Czech Republic focused on gambling, in which 110 respondents from Vietnam and 80 respondents from Ukraine answered. Firstly, the Attitudes towards gambling scale (ATGS-8) was used to discover respondents' attitudes to gambling. Secondly, their experience with gambling was examined with the help of the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) which allowed, among others, to estimate the level of prevalence of problem gambling in these groups. The methods used allowed us to compare both the Ukrainians to Vietnamese as well as Ukrainians and Vietnamese to Czechs, as similar survey was conducted among the major population of the country in 2017. The overall score of attitudes to gambling is slightly higher for the citizens of Ukraine (17.97) and Vietnam (18.29) compared to the majority. The Vietnamese living in the Czech Republic also have a significantly higher proportion of people in the category of pathological gamblers as based on the PGSI index (Vietnamese 4.2%), whilst the value of this index for Ukrainians (0.7%) is similar to the one of the majority. The analysis of immigrants' gambling behaviour shows that Ukrainians are more like the majority population. The Vietnamese immigrants differ from both the majority population and Ukrainians in terms of attitudes whilst gambling is for them as common problem as alcohol consumption, and an even bigger problem than smoking., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

The aim of the article is to contribute to an understanding of the attitudes of post-communist Europe's inhabitants towards gambling, and of their opinions concerning which activities can be regarded as gambling. The Attitudes Towards Gambling Scale (ATGS-8) questionnaire was used in the survey, ensuring the international comparability of the results. For the subsequent in-depth analysis of attitudes we mainly used multidimensional statistical methods. The survey, conducted in 2017, had 1092 respondents. The least negative attitudes to gambling were found in the younger age groups, while the attitudes of senior citizens were the most negative. Concerning participation in gambling, 68.4% of the respondents had taken part in at least one of the range of gambling activities offered as choices. Participation in gambling is an important factor influencing the overall attitude of the respondents to gambling. Of equal importance was the range of intensity in their perceptions of which games can be considered to be gambling, with four similarly perceived types of gambling identified. The research shows that gambling is perceived negatively by the population of the Czech Republic. The explanation may be found in the substantial media coverage of gambling related to changes in the legislation and the tightening of restrictions.