Innovative sports-embedded gambling promotion: A study of spectators’ enjoyment and gambling intention during XFL games

Zimu Xu, Maria Gonzalez-Serrano, Rocco Porreca, Paul Jones

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    9 Citations (Scopus)
    334 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    The sports industry has continued to grow on the basis of innovative practices. One such recent innovation in sport was the introduction of live on-screen betting odds during XFL game broadcasts. Such a service had never before been offered in the United States. This paper examines the impact of these live on-screen betting odds on fan engagement and consumer experience (increased spectator enjoyment and gambling intention) during the XFL season. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis reveals interesting results. For both increased spectator enjoyment and high levels of gambling intention, the combination of high levels of perceived enjoyment, excitement expectancy, and escape expectancy has the highest explanatory capacity. Moreover, increased XFL spectator enjoyment is associated with gambling intention. These findings highlight the power of mediated sport to generate excitement among sports consumers. The findings also provide new knowledge regarding the use of sports-embedded gambling promotion. The progressive use of innovative strategies to increase the perceived enjoyment of XFL spectators when they see live on-screen betting odds during televised XFL games can enhance their gambling intention.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)206-216
    Number of pages11
    JournalJournal of Business Research
    Volume131
    Early online date15 Apr 2021
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2021

    Bibliographical note

    © 2021, Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

    Copyright © and Moral Rights are retained by the author(s) and/ or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This item cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.

    Keywords

    • Innovation
    • Sports
    • Gambling promotion
    • Consumer experience
    • Fan engagement

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Marketing

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