The digital transformation of investment behavior: a systematic review of gambling tendencies in modern financial markets

This systematic literature review investigates how digital transformation has influenced trading behavior and fostered gambling tendencies in contemporary financial markets. Analyzing 57 peer-reviewed articles (2008–2025), we examine the interplay between technological platforms, demographics, psychological factors, and market structures in shaping gambling-like trading patterns. Our findings indicate approximately 9.5% of investors display problematic trading patterns, with digital interfaces and social media significantly amplifying overconfidence, herding behaviors, and emotional trading decisions. Technological elements such as gamification features and instant trading capabilities create dopamine-driven feedback loops resembling traditional gambling environments. While younger investors show higher digital platform adoption and risk appetite, even financially knowledgeable investors demonstrate vulnerability to speculative behavior, particularly in cryptocurrency markets. We propose a comprehensive framework integrating behavioral finance theory, prospect theory, and gambling psychology to understand the growing convergence between investment and gambling behaviors. This framework offers implications for investor education, platform design ethics, and regulatory considerations in increasingly digitalized financial markets.