Purpose- Leisure is influential in shaping social identity and helpful for social growth, which occurs in legal and illegal ways. The illegal form is a behavior that is out of control and causes irreversible damage to individuals and their families. Therefore, investigating the role of illegal leisure time (gambling and betting games) is necessary to improve the quality of social life, especially for rural households. To this end, this study aims to investigate the role of illegal leisure time, particularly gambling, on the social conditions of rural households. Design/methodology/approach - This research is descriptive-analytical in terms of its aim and method. The data collection tools are questionnaires and interviews from a sample of 362 households. The statistical population is rural households, both involved and uninvolved, in Varza Jang (an animal fight tournament) located in Kuchesfahan District, Belesbeneh Rural District (N = 5819). A sample group was selected using Cochran’s Formula and Quota sampling. In addition, a one-sample t-test, Friedman rank test and path analysis were used to analyze the data. Findings- The results of the t-test showed that in the component of social anomalies, the indicator of violence and tension in the family with an average of 3.86 had the highest, and the indicator of suicide with an average of 1.39 had the lowest social effects on the studied rural households. Also, in the component of family and individual abnormalities and problems, the stress indicator in children with an average of 3.91 had the highest, and the indicator of family separation and divorce with an average of 2.89 had the lowest average affecting the social effects of the respondents. Also, the results of the path analysis showed that betting and gambling were effective on all indicators of the two components of social anomalies and individual anomalies. Originality/value- For this reason, gambling significantly impacts children's stress, violence, tension and divorce in families.
