2022/2023

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin garnered substantial media attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. In conjunction with increased popularity, technical innovations have also occurred, which reduce barriers to entry to cryptocurrency for individual retail investors. However, at present, the empirical literature on the psychological factors associated with cryptocurrency use is very limited. This research study will address this gap in the literature by enhancing our understanding of cryptocurrency ownership in Canada. The primary objectives of this research are to elucidate patterns of cryptocurrency ownership, psychological characteristics, motives, and potential associations with gambling severity/involvement among cryptocurrency owners.

Our team has collected two waves of data with the same cryptocurrency owners over a one-year timespan. Wave 1 (baseline) data was collected from December 2023 to January 2024. Wave 2 (follow-up) data was collected approximately 12 months later in January 2025. The baseline data was analyzed, and a manuscript based on the results was submitted to the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance in 2025. However, the manuscript was rejected following peer-review. Dr. McGrath is making changed to the manuscript for re-submission to another journal. A subsample of the data has also been accepted for presentation at upcoming Current Advances in Gambling Research (CAGR) conference as well as the European Association for the Study of Gambling (EASG) conference. Finally, Dr. McGrath has recruited Naomi Sharlin to the MSc in psychology program at the University of Calgary. Naomi will be analyzing changes in cryptocurrency ownership from Time 1 to Time 2 as the core research component of her master’s thesis. 

Our team expects that this dataset will make a meaningful contribution to our understanding of cryptocurrency ownership among Canadians. The baseline dataset is comprised of 2,510 lifetime cryptocurrency owners and contains information on demographics, patterns of ownership, motives for use, cryptocurrency information sources, problematic speculation, and personality. The 2025 follow-up wave contained 1,250 participants. It is anticipated that this project will provide the first comprehensive assessment of cryptocurrency ownership in Canada. Furthermore, with the inclusion of the second wave of longitudinal data, our team will investigate the potential predictors of change in cryptocurrency ownership status over time. This component will comprise the MSc thesis being conducted by Naomi Sharlin. In addition, it is anticipated that this data will result in 3 publications. Lastly, the data has been presented at a number of conferences and public presentations by Dr. McGrath.

McGrath, D.S. (2026, September). The role of personality traits in gambling and financial speculation. Presentation at the 15th European Conference on Gambling Studies and Policy Issues, Copenhagen, Denmark.

McGrath, D.S. (2026, May). Risk factors for cryptocasino gambling: The role of demographics, cryptocurrency engagement, substance use, and gambling involvement. Presentation at the Current Advances in Gambling Research (CAGR) conference, Helsinki, Finland. 

McGrath, D.S. (2024, September). An examination of cryptocurrency ownership in Canada and its relationship with gambling. Presentation at the 14th European Conference on Gambling Studies and Policy Issues, Rome, Italy.

McGrath, D.S. (2024, April). An assessment of cryptocurrency ownership in a national sample of Canadians. Presentation at the Alberta Gambling Research Institute’s (AGRI) 23rd Annual Conference, Banff, Alberta, Canada.

The primary aim of this project is to increase our understanding of the brain mechanisms which make gambling both enticing but also potentially addictive. We are focused on the role of unpredictable reward. One model suggests that unpredictable rewards (referred to as “random-ratio reward schedule”) increase the value of gambling because they offer far more high value, short-latency payouts than a predictable schedule. Beginning in Spring 2025, we initiated a rat study to test the prediction that decreasing the speed of gambling would increase the attractiveness of a random schedule relative to a fixed schedule. To better manipulate task pace, we replaced response ratios with delays: rats pressed a lever and then waited for either a fixed or a random delay (with the same average duration). We ran two cohorts of rats, each for over 4 months. Analysis is still on-going, but the results show that rats preference for random delays increases as the delay gets longer. Most surprising was that, at shorter delays, rats actually show a preference for fixed delays over random delays. This is a striking contrast with random verses fixed response ratios, where rats show a very strong preference for the random option.  These novel findings suggest that its not just the delay to reward that is important in the attraction of random ratio schedules; its also important that the animal be actively responding during the delay interval. This brings us a little closer to understanding the draw of gambling activities like slot machines.

The other arm of our research tests the effect of random rewards in humans. In this experiment, subjects are asked to play on two side-by-side slot machine simulators.  One delivers reward on a random schedule, the other a fixed schedule (i.e., one payout every 20 spins).  Initially, we sought to test the effect of payout probability on the relative preference for the random-ratio schedule. However, we have found that, unlike results from numerous animal studies, human subjects do not consistently prefer a random-ratio schedule. Across three prior studies under different conditions (unrewarded, dual-task, and lottery-based reward), no consistent preference emerged. From September 2025 through March 2026, my graduate student Madison tested 100 participants using this paradigm with paid bonus rewards based on gambling outcomes and again found no overall preference for random over fixed schedules. These findings challenge the long-held assumption that random schedules are the primary driver of slot machine appeal, and ongoing analyses aim to clarify the mechanisms underlying this unexpected result.
 

Our research aims to uncover basic mechanisms of gambling addiction, using both animal and human testing.  Most psychological theories suppose that the randomness of gambling rewards is a major factor their attractiveness. Hence, we have focused on the effects of that randomness on the brain. If our theoretical framework is validated, it will suggests new diagnostic criteria which may be helpful in predicting an individual’s on-going risk of gambling escalation. It may also predicts which aspects of a gambling game (e.g., speed of play, payout  ratio, reward distribution) contribute the most to the attraction of that activity, potentially allowing for the development of guidelines to reduce the propensity of gambling machines to cause addiction.

This past year’s findings, to be shared in preliminary form with the research community at the AGRI conference, 2026, raise important questions about our fundamental understanding of what drives gambling engagement.  Our work in rats suggests that active responding, not just the delay between rewards, is a critical component in making gambling activities enticing.  Our work in humans raises fundamental questions about whether the effects of reward schedules, discovered by B.F. Skinner and others in the 1950s, actually apply to humans. Rather than random schedules, perhaps humans are drawn to gambling more by the enticement of high payouts or by the possibility to tune out troubles and get “in the zone.” Ongoing work will further clarify these mechanisms, with the expectation that it will reshape current models of gambling addiction and inform both clinical approaches and regulatory strategies.

Two manuscripts in progress.

Gal, M. Laverty, T., Letkeman, A., Christie, H., and Euston, D.R. (2025). Schedule preference between unpredictable and predictable: Parallel studies between rats and humans. Poster presented at the Alberta Gambling Research Institute Annual Conference.  Banff, Alberta.  April 24-26, 2025.

Le May, J.M., Dorchak, D.L., Gal, M., Hiebert, P., Goldhawk, C., Crawford, A., and Euston, D.R. (2024). Tick-Tock Jackpot: The Key Role of Delay in Gambling Reward Schedules. Poster presented at the Alberta Gambling Research Institute Annual Conference.  Banff, Alberta.  April 11-13, 2024.

Le May, J.M., Dorchak, D.L., Patel, D., Gal, M., and Euston, D.R. (2023). Sex Differences in Choice Impulsivity. Presented at the Alberta Gambling Research Institute Annual Conference. Banff, Alberta. March 31 – April 1, 2023.