Gender and Online Gambling Behavior: a Brazilian perspective
(A2026-134196)

AUTHORS

Marcelo da Silva, University of São Paulo; ANDRES RODRIGUEZ VELOSO, University of Sao Paulo; Marcos Silva, Faculdade Instituto de Administra��o; Guilherme Shiraishi, Universidade de S�o Paulo

ABSTRACT

This study examines how gender structures the meanings, motivations, and vulnerabilities associated with gambling in Brazil. Drawing on qualitative data from 62 participants, we compare how men and women interpret and engage with gambling in a newly regulated and weakly protected market. Men tend to frame betting as rational, emphasizing control, expertise, and financial opportunity. Women, in contrast, use casino-like apps as emotional coping tools linked to precarious work, care burdens, and material insecurity. These gendered pathways generate distinct harms: men externalize risk through cycles of escalation, whereas women internalize suffering through shame, secrecy, and silence. Aggressive marketing and easy digital access intensify these dynamics. The findings show that gambling is not only entertainment but a gendered social practice shaped by inequality, emotional need, and regulatory gaps, requiring policies that recognize differentiated forms of vulnerability. Key-words: Gambling, Gender, Vulnerability