Exploring the relationships between problem and responsible gambling behaviors across time

Recent legislative and technological changes have transformed the gambling landscape in the United States, underscoring the need to better understand both problem gambling and responsible gambling behaviors. The Positive Play framework conceptualizes responsible gambling from the player's perspective, yet little is known about how these behaviors change over time. The present study examined longitudinal changes in Positive Play scores and problem gambling symptoms among a sample of adult gamblers (n = 2,942). Participants completed repeated assessments of the Positive Play Scale and the Problem Gambling Severity Index across five waves over approximately two years. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the original four-factor structure of the Positive Play Scale. Latent growth models indicated that scores across all Positive Play subscales increased over time, while problem gambling symptoms decreased. Notably, increases in gambling literacy scores were associated with greater reductions in problem gambling severity, whereas changes in other Positive Play domains were not. These findings suggest that gambling literacy, in particular, may be associated with reductions in gambling-related harm over time.