REVIEW article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Addictive Behaviors
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1585094
This article is part of the Research TopicSocial Interaction in Cyberspace: Online Gaming, Social Media, and Mental HealthView all 5 articles
Stock and Cryptocurrency Trading and Problem Gambling Behaviour during Early Phases of the COVID-19 pandemic: a Narrative Literature Review
Provisionally accepted
Natalie Leong Wei Leong1
Yeo Hui Yu1Claudia Choong Startup1
John Koh2
Vinh-Long Tran-Chi3*
Cyrus SH Ho1,4Tji Tjian Chee1,4*- 1National University Hospital, Singapore, Singapore
- 2Changi General Hospital, Singapore, Singapore
- 3Faculty of Psychology, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
- 4Department of Psychological Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
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The Coronavirus Disease of 2019 resulted in a global shift in gambling and trading behaviours. At present, a gap exists in understanding the relationship between excessive trading behaviour and problem gambling, especially during the COVID-19 period. This narrative review analysed (1) the changes in trading and gambling activity during the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) whether the pattern of trading activity resembles problem gambling, and (3) whether excessive trading and problem gambling share similar consequences.We searched databases such as Medline, PsychINFO, Scopus, and Google Scholar using relevant keywords, and included 60 reports for narrative synthesis.During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were major changes to trading behavior, possibly due to market sentiments and psychology, personal financial needs, social media influence, and the behavior of other investors. The progression of the pandemic led to an increase in brokerage account openings and an increase in trading activities among existing investors, likely due to the development of digital trading platforms that enhanced accessibility for technology-adept investors. There was also a shift from gambling at physical destinations to online gambling, with an increase in frequency and spending among individuals who continued gambling. Feelings of boredom, stress, and the need for relaxation may motivate people to engage in gambling.Individuals who engaged in excessive trading and problem gambling shared similar traits and may thus face similar psychiatric consequences. The findings indicate that we can apply the diagnostic criteria for pathological gambling and gambling disorders to excessive trading, given that many of these individuals meet the criteria for an addictive disorder.
Keywords: trading, Gambling, Addictive Behaviour, Impulse Control Disorders, cryptocurrency
Received: 28 Feb 2025; Accepted: 09 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Leong, Yu, Startup, Koh, Tran-Chi, Ho and Chee. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Vinh-Long Tran-Chi, Faculty of Psychology, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
Tji Tjian Chee, National University Hospital, Singapore, 119074, Singapore
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.