Motives of gamblers in engaging with illegal gambling in Barangay Guihing, Davao del Sur

Abstract

The study was conducted to assess gamblers' motives in engaging with illegal gambling in Barangay Guihing of the Municipality of Hagonoy, Davao del Sur. The study utilized a descriptive-evaluative research design. Primary data were gathered using the Gambling Motives Questionnaire (GMQ) distributed to a snowball sample of n=38 identified gamblers. In the analysis of the data, descriptive statistics and difference tests were utilized. Results revealed that the overall level of motives of gamblers in engaging in illegal gambling is high. No significant differences were found on the mean scores of gamblers when analyzed by profile. However, there is a significant difference in gamblers' coping motives when analyzed according to household size. This means that gamblers' engagement in illegal gambling in terms of coping motives tends to decrease with the increase of household size. It is suggested that the barangay local government shall design family-centered programs that will address problematic gambling problems and engage them in various livelihood programs.