Authors: Necmettin Parlak, Unal Karli*(1),

(1) Unal Karli is faculty member of Izzet Baysal University, School of Physical Education and Sport. His research area is sport management and marketing.

*Corresponding Author:
Unal Karli, PhD.
Izzet Baysal University, School of Physical Education and Sport
Gölköy, Bolu, TURKEY
unal_karli@hotmail.com
mobile phone: +90 505 767 1169

ABSTRACT
The purpose of the present study was to determine whether any relationship existed between team identification levels and gambling preferences of sport consumers who put bets on the games of their supported football team. The subject group of the study was composed of university students (N=223) who were participating in football bets. Turkish version of Sport Spectator Identification Scale (15) and a vignette developed by the researchers, to identify the bettors’ team preferences while placing bets on the games (national league, European league and derby games) of their supported team, were the data collection instruments. According to the 3×2 Two-Way Contingency Table analysis, results pointed that significant relationship existed between the team identification level and betting preferences only in the case of derby games, (χ2(2, N=223), 6.03, p=.04, Cramer’s V= .164). No significant relationship was identified between the team identification levels and betting preferences of the subjects in the cases of national league, (χ2(2, N=223), 3.47, p=.18, Cramer’s V= .125) and European league games, (χ2(2, N=223), 3.92, p=.14, Cramer’s V= .133). As a conclusion, it could be said that team identification is a determinant factor in bettors’ team preferences in derby games. The results of this study would be beneficial in identifying the betting behavior pattern of football gamblers who constitute a huge market in sport industry.

KEYWORDS: gambling, psychological adherence, loyalty, fan behavior, football
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