Investigating the roles of gambling interest and impulsive sensation seeking on consumer enjoyment of promotional games

Promotional games are an increasingly utilized form of sales promotion; yet, few studies exist in this area. Some research suggests that promotional game participants may be similar to gamblers in terms of lifestyles and personality traits, such as sensation seeking. The current study extends existing research on this topic, by utilizing a telephone survey of randomly selected adults from two major cities in the U.S. (N=555), to examine this notion. Results support the similarity between promotional game participants and gamblers. Respondents' race, gambling interest levels, variety of gambling activities and sensation seeking are all found to be associated with liking to participate in promotional games.