Vol.:(0123456789) Journal of Gambling Studies https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-020-09940-7 1 3 ORIGINAL PAPER Clustering Gambling Disorder Patients with Lotteries as a Preferred Form of Gambling Roser Granero 1,2  · Daniela León‑Vargas 3  · Virginia Martín‑Romera 4  · Fernando Fernández‑Aranda 1,5,6  · Teresa Mena‑Moreno 1,5  · Amparo del Pino‑Gutiérrez 5,7  · Ester Codina 5  · Mónica Gómez‑Peña 5  · Laura Moragas 5  · Neus Aymamí 5  · Gemma Mestre‑Bach 1,5  · Zaida Agüera 1,5  · Cristina Vintró‑Alcaraz 1,5  · María Lozano‑Madrid 1,5  · Gemma Casalé‑Salayet 5  · José M. Menchón 5,6,8  · Susana Jiménez‑Murcia 1,5,6 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020 Abstract Few studies have focused on the specifc subtype of gamblers who present lotteries as their main gambling problem. This study aimed to explore empirical subgroups of treatment- seeking patients who endorsed lotteries as their preferred form of gambling. The sample included n = 342 patients who were included in two-step cluster analysis procedures using sociodemographic and clinical measures as indicator variables. Three clusters were identi- fed: (a) Cluster 1 (labeled as “severely impaired young men”, n = 108, 31.6%) included mainly single young men that were employed, with short disorder duration, high gambling severity and high levels of comorbid psychopathology; (b) Cluster 2 (labeled as “moderate severity and highly functional”, n = 120, 35.1%) included patients that were middle-aged, highly educated, married, employed, with high socioeconomic position indexes and func- tional personality traits; and (c) Cluster 3 (labeled as “older, moderately impaired patients”, n = 114, 33.3%) included older patients, the highest percentage of separated or divorced subjects, high unemployment, low socioeconomic status and low levels of education. This study indicates that gambling disorder profles characterized by lotteries as a preferred form of gambling constitute a heterogeneous group in which distinct, empirically based phenotypes can be identifed. These factors should be taken into account for the devel- opment of reliable assessment instruments and for the design of efective prevention and treatment programs. Keywords Clustering · Gambling disorder · Lotteries · Personality · Psychopathology * Susana Jiménez-Murcia sjimenez@bellvitgehospital.cat Extended author information available on the last page of the article