Thesis (M.A.)--University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2007. / Adviser: Terry J. Knapp. Includes bibliographical references.

The purpose of this study was three-fold / to determine the personality and financial risk-taking attitude differences between sports gambling students and non-gambling students, to specify gambling motivations of the sport gambling students and to identify the relationship among personality traits, financial risk-taking attitude and gambling motivations of the students who gamble on sport events. The subject group of this research was composed of 1109 Middle East Technical University students who were participating in sport gambling activities (n=435) and who had never participated in sport gambling activities (n=674). While males were composing the 63.1% (n=700), females composed 36.9% (n=409) of the total research group. The mean age of the subject group was 21.77 &plusmn / 2.12. Big Five Personality Inventory (John, Donahue, &amp / Kentle, 1991), Investment Risk Attitude Scale (Nyhus, 1995) and Gambling Motivation Scales (Chantal, Vallerand and Vallieres, 1994) were used in the data collection process of the research. Results indicated that sport gambling students and non-gambling students showed significant differences in personality (p&lt / .01). There was significant differences between sport gambling students and non-gamblers in extraversion , conscientiousness and in openness trait (p&lt / .002). Also, results demonstrated that sport gambling students and non-gambling students showed significant differences in financial risk-taking attitudes (p&lt / .01). Personality and gender variables accounted for a significant amount on the financial risk-taking attitude of the non-gambling subjects. Personality, gambling motivations and gender accounted for a significant amount on the financial risk-taking attitude of sport gambling subjects. Sport gambling students showed no significant difference in their gambling motivations according to their gender (p&gt / .01). Sport gambling students were primarily motivated with intrinsic motivating factors of gambling. Personality, financial risk-taking attitude and gambling experience accounted for a significant amount on the gambling motivations of sport gambling students. Finally, this study pointed that university students who were more extraverted and more open were more prone to gambling on sport events and were more permissive towards financial risk-taking. Additionally, results revealed that enjoyment, amusement and learning were the primary motivating factors that lead university students towards sport gambling.