Gambling behaviour and industry

Content tagged with
'Gambling behaviour and industry'

Publications

Evidence Review of Remote Treatment Intervention & Support for Gambling Harm

GambleAware commissioned the Responsible Gambling Council to carry out a systematic literature review to provide a critical assessment of the current understanding of the effectiveness of treatment interventions and support for gambling harm.

This unique review considered multiple available mediums of remote interventions and support (excluding helplines). It explores international research to identify areas of consensus and best practice, as well as gaps and opportunities for improvement in intervention and support provision, evaluation and research.

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Remote Interventions: Applying behavioural insights to design better safer gambling tools (Part 2: Commitment devices)

Deposit limit tools — which cap the amount of money customers are able to deposit each day, week or month, to their online gambling account — are offered by all licensed remote gambling companies in Britain. Such tools are aimed at helping customers to limit their spending and control their behaviour.

The trial reported here assessed whether building out the functionality of industry-standard deposit limit tools to include a ‘commitment device’ could impact customers’ use of the tool, and their subsequent behaviour. A commitment device is a voluntary arrangement, designed to dissuade people from breaking their intentions.

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Patterns of Play - Gambling behaviour: What can bank transaction data tell us? A feasibility study (Part 2: Analysis of HSBC UK customer data)

GambleAware’s Patterns of Play programme of research is a wide-ranging endeavour to use behavioural datasets to build a more accurate picture of the varied ways in which people gamble, and the potential impact it has on them. As part of this programme, bank transaction data was identified as offering the potential for richer information about gambling behaviour and new insights into tackling gambling harms. The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) embarked on a project to investigate the feasibility of working with banks, and their data, to those ends.

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Patterns of Play - Gambling behaviour: What can bank transaction data tell us? A feasibility study (Part 1: Analysis of Monzo customer data)

GambleAware’s Patterns of Play programme of research is a wide-ranging endeavour to use behavioural datasets to build a more accurate picture of the varied ways in which people gamble, and the potential impact it has on them. As part of this programme, bank transaction data was identified as offering the potential for richer information about gambling behaviour and new insights into tackling gambling harms. The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) embarked on a project to investigate the feasibility of working with banks, and their data, to those ends.

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Lifting the Lid on Loot-Boxes

This report by the University of Plymouth and University of Wolverhampton explores any links between video game ‘loot boxes’ and problem gambling, as well as identifying any particular demographics more likely to engage with these features.

As part of GambleAware's research grant to the University of Plymouth and University of Wolverhampton to investigate gambling, gaming, and loot-boxes, researchers produced an article, 'Loot boxes, problem gambling and problem video gaming: A systematic review and meta-synthesis', which was published in the academic journal, New Media and Society.

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Safer Gambling Messaging (phase II) - An Impact Evaluation

Messaging has an important role to play in reducing gambling harm. Safer gambling messaging comprises, for example, advertisements that appear on television, or notifications that appear on-screen when logged into an online gambling platform. Recent evidence indicates that a generic warning label approach may not be effective , and consequently a more individualised, operator-led approach might have more impact. However, much of the evidence is from laboratory studies or experiments conducted away from the environments in which people would normally gamble and there are some questions about how well the evidence might generalise to a more natural setting. This impact evaluation aims to complement existing research by examining safer gambling messaging as implemented by gambling operators on their customers in live play.

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Safer Gambling Messaging Project evaluation (phase II) - A Process Evaluation

A summative process evaluation of phase two of the Safer Gambling Messaging Project was conducted to understand how the project was implemented, and the factors that influenced its effectiveness. The process evaluation aims to complement the findings from the impact evaluation. Part one of the process evaluation involved exploring the co-creation process, including the perceptions and experiences of the process of operators co-designing the messaging interventions with Revealing Reality, and to identify any factors that influenced the efficiency of this process. The second part of the process evaluation focused on the implementation of interventions, including the barriers and facilitators to intervention design and delivery, and factors influencing how well it was perceived to have worked.

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An Integrated Approach To Safer Gambling

After working with five operators (Betfred (both retail and digital), Genting Casino, Buzz Bingo, Gamesys (Jackpotjoy brand) and 888 (Casino brand)) between autumn 2019 and summer 2020, Revealing Reality were able to identify that with the right tools and support in place, going forward, operators could make significant progress when developing successful safer gambling messages. By adopting this integrated approach, operators would be taking a preventative, rather than reactive, approach to safer gambling messaging and would therefore be able to frame safer gambling as the default way to play for all customers.

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Process and Impact Evaluation of the Multi-Operator Self-Exclusion Schemes - Baseline report (Evaluation Phase 1)

The key aim of the evaluation is to explore how far Multiple-Operator Self-Exclusion Schemes have led to the desired changes in levels of awareness and to explore perceptions and delivery arrangements of the schemes. It also aims to highlight any unanticipated barriers to the achievement of the self-exclusion objectives that might form the focus of future policy improvements.

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Evaluating online blocking software

Winning Moves and partners were commissioned to deliver this evaluation between November 2017 and August 2018. The evaluation included technical testing of software, discussion with industry stakeholders and direct engagement with problem gamblers to understand whether and how blocking software can, or could, be useful.

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Can behavioural insights be used to reduce risky play in online environments?

The rise of online gambling sites means that placing a bet is only a few keystrokes away. For those that are negatively affected by gambling, increased accessibility poses a risk of financial, social or health-related harm. As such, the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) was commissioned by GambleAware to conduct the third phase of its remote gambling research programme, which aims to support operators in reducing reduce problem gambling.

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Analysis of play among British online gamblers on slots and other casino-style games

In the last few years, operators of land venues, in particular in the bookmaker and casino sectors, have provided data for research commissioned by GambleAware which has enabled analysis of patterns of play on gaming machines. For example, this has brought into the public domain basic information, hitherto unknown, on the proportions of gaming sessions ending in large losses or of long duration. However, the patterns of play in these traditional environments may not be replicated in the online environment where a large (more than 30%) and increasing proportion of gaming by British consumers takes place. As a first step towards filling this gap in knowledge, thirteen operators have provided one month of data to the Gambling Commission to allow analysis of patterns of play on products, slots and non-slots (casino games excluding poker), comparable to those offered in the land-based sectors.
This Report to GambleAware presents descriptive analysis of the data provided to the Gambling Commission and comments on what further data might usefully be obtained from operators to enable further progress on Priority Action 4 of the National Responsible Gambling Strategy.

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Evaluation of BetKnowMore UK Don't Gamble with Health pilot project

This is an evaluation report of the GambleAware-funded Don’t Gamble with Health (DGWH) pilot harm-minimisation project based in Islington, north
London, delivered by BetKnowMore UK. The team works with high street betting shop staff in the local area to improve their understanding of gambling-related harm, to raise awareness of support available to customers at risk and provide support service to customers who are at risk or are problem-gamblers.

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Getting grounded in problematic play: using digital grounded theory to understand problem gambling and harm minimisation opportunities in remote gambling

This project was commissioned by GambleAware as part of its programme of research designed to improve understanding in relation to risky behaviour in remote gambling environments and to examine how such risks and associated harms can be mitigated. The study was designed to explore patterns of problem gambling in the remote gambling sector and to provide new ideas and theoretical foundations for strategies to mitigate risks and harms.

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Remote Gambling Research: Interim Report on Phase 2

Gamble Aware has commissioned a programme of research aiming to explore the potential usefulness of industry-held data and behavioural analytics in the remote gambling sector, primarily to indicate markers of harmful or risky behaviour and then to recommend practical applications of harm minimisation. Importantly, there is an emphasis on how harmful and risky behaviour can be mitigated, not just if it can be identified and mitigated.

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A study on cognitive biases in gambling: Hot hand and gamblers' fallacy

People who appear to believe in the hot hand expect winning streaks to continue whereas those suffering from the gamblers’ fallacy unreasonably expect losing streaks to reverse. 565,915 sports bets made by 776 online gamblers in 2010 were used for analysis. People who won were more likely to win again whereas those who lost were more likely to lose again. However, selection of safer odds after winning and riskier ones after losing indicates that online sports gamblers expected their luck to reverse: they suffered from the gamblers’ fallacy. By following in the gamblers’ fallacy, they created their own hot hands. Some gamblers consistently outperformed their peers. They also consistently made higher profits or lower losses. They show real expertise. The key of real expertise is the ability to control loss.

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FOB-Ts in British betting shops: Further analysis of machine data to examine the impact of the £50 Regulations

The brief was to evaluate the impact of the introduction of the £50 Regulations, which were introduced in April, 2015, and which changed the conditions of use of Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOB-Ts) (gaming machines provided in British bookmaker shops). Analysis was to be based on data provided by the machine manufacturers. Particular attention was to be paid to identifying any changes in how players used the machines that might be indicative of either mitigation or aggravation of gambling-related harm.

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Follow-up study of loyalty card customers: Changes in gambling behaviour over time

This study is a follow-up to the 2014 study of holders of bookmakers loyalty cards, commissioned by the Responsible Gambling Trust (now GambleAware), as part of a programme of research looking at users of machines in bookmakers. The original survey is called the baseline study hereafter. This report summarises headline findings on changes in behaviour over time, changes in problem gambling status, and the characteristics of machine users who are most at risk of becoming problem gamblers.

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Key issues in product based harm-minimisation

The aim of this report is to review evidence and theory regarding the gambling product through its structural characteristics (i.e., the ‘agent’ component of the epidemiological triangle). By providing a better understanding of structural characteristics, stakeholders should be better equipped to promote and evaluate responsible gambling and harm-minimisation strategies.

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Secondary Analysis of Machines Data

A consortium of NatCen Social Research, Featurespace, Geofutures and RTI International conducted the Responsible Gambling Trust’s (RGT) Machines Research Programme in 2014. This report explored: whether data could be used to develop algorithms to predict behaviour; the demographics of B2/B3 players; descriptive data about the £100 stake; and whether gambling behaviour differs when gambling winnings or loading new money.

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Tracked play on B1 gaming machines in British casinos

This Report is linked to the suite of research, commissioned by The Responsible Gambling Trust, which examines issues related to the use of gaming machines in Great Britain. The Trust’s focus on gaming machines was motivated by long-standing concerns among that gaming machines may carry greater potential for harm than many other gambling activities.

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Remote Gambling Research - Interim report on Phase 1

This work has been commissioned by the Responsible Gambling Trust (RGT) and is being led by PwC who are working alongside the Responsible Gambling Council of Canada (RGC). In addition this work is being made possible by the cooperation of the UK's leading remote gambling operators. The purpose of this document is to introduce the project, summarise Phase 1 and to introduce our approach to Phases 2 and 3 which we intend to complete in 2016.

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People who play machines in bookmakers: secondary analysis of loyalty card survey data

In 2014, a survey of 4001 people who gambled on machines in bookmakers (called B2 machines hereafter) and who held a loyalty card for William Hill, Ladbrokes or Paddy Power was conducted by NatCen Social Research. This survey collected information about gambling behaviour, including problem gambling, and linked survey responses with data held by bookmakers about each person’s gambling behaviour on B2 machines between September 2013 and June 2014. The objective of this study was to conduct further analysis of the data.

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A longitudinal study mapping changes in explicit and implicit measures of gambling behaviour

The focus of this research is on what gamblers say about their behaviour during interview, implicit measures of that behaviour, and how traditional self-report questionnaires capture responses at the same time. The research explores what the relationships are between these methods, and if they change over time. It is anticipated that there will be significant relationships between elements of each of these methods that will add to the understanding and identification of problem gambling. It is expected that over time, as gamblers change their behaviours, these changes will be observed across the different methods of enquiry and relationships between different methods will be revealed.

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Patterns of play: analysis of data from machines in bookmakers

This report describes for the first time, transactional information collected by gambling machines in bookmakers, in Great Britain. Category B machines have become a key area of interest in recent years among both policy makers and the media, particularly B2 machines found in bookmakers. These machines allow gamblers to stake up to £100 at each bet. Each bet, or transaction, is recorded by the machine along with its outcome. These transactional data – how much money gamblers put into the machines and how much is paid out – have not been examined before. This report will help policy makers better understand how, when and where these machines are used.

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Operator-based Approaches to Harm Minimisation in Gambling

In this report we give critical consideration to the nature and effectiveness of harm minimisation in gambling. We identify gambling-related harm as both personal (e.g., health, wellbeing, relationships) and economic (e.g., financial) harm that occurs from exceeding one’s disposable income or disposable leisure time. We have elected to use the term ‘harm minimisation’ as the most appropriate term for reducing the impact of problem gambling, given its breadth in regard to the range of goals it seeks to achieve, and the range of means by which they may be achieved.

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Key issues in product based harm-minimisation

The purpose of this report was to examine the academic literature regarding self-exclusion as a form of harm minimisation in gambling and consider views from two key stakeholders: namely gambling operators and treatment providers in Great Britain.

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Routes in and out of problem internet gambling by gender and by gambling activity: A mixed-method study based on personal accounts of internet gamblers

In the last two decades, Internet gambling (IG) has emerged as a medium in which to gamble. This research aimed to increase understanding of IG by examining routes in and out of problem IG, and also investigating similarities and differences between men and women, players of different IG activities (betting, poker, casino, lottery), and problem and non-problem gamblers.

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The role of stake size in loss of control in within-session gambling

This research forms part of a series of research projects commissioned by the Responsible Gambling Trust to consider two questions set out by the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board (RGSB). These two questions were: a) Can we distinguish between harmful and non-harmful gaming machine play? b) If we can, what measures might limit harmful play without impacting on those who do not exhibit harmful behaviours?

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The relationship between the regulatory environment governing commercial gambling and the shape of the market in the supply and game parameters of gaming machines

This paper has three main purposes: 1, to set the controls over the supply and the game parameters of gaming machines within the broader regulatory environment governing commercial gambling in Great Britain; 2, to indicate how these controls have shaped the gaming machine market and the debate around the ways in which the government could realise its policy of striking a balance between the interests of both operators and players, and; 3, to provide a critical account of the regulatory regime governing the availability of gaming machines as the background against which the Responsible Gambling Trust's other commissioned contextual papers may be read.

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Problem and pathological gambling: a conceptual review

This report provides a conceptual summary and critique of problem and pathological gambling and how these terms are used in policy, research and
clinical practice. It summarises the varying disciplinary approaches to understanding gambling-related disorders; the distinction drawn between
harm and behavioural indicators; issues in measurement; and, the significance of longitudinal evidence relating to the stability of gambling-related problems

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Consumer behaviour in relation to gaming machines: Introduction

An introduction to the special edition of the Journal of Gambling Business and Economics which comprises five papers with the shared purpose of providing a concise and accessible understanding about some of the key questions and issues that arise in the public discourse around commercial gambling generally, and gaming machine behaviour particularly.

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Examining machine player behaviour: a qualitative exploration

Commissioned by the Responsible Gambling Trust, this study examined the relationship between gambling machines characteristics and consumer behaviour.
The main objective of the research was to explore how players interact with a range of machine features during ‘real time’ play at selected gambling venues.

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The psychosocial impact of online problem gambling

The overall aims of this thesis were to establish (i) what makes internet gambling potentially addictive, (ii) how is internet gambling located, accessed, and utilised by players, and (iii) what the salient structural and situational characteristics of internet gambling are and how these impacted (psychologically and socially) on peoples‘ lives.

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Learning under uncertainty: A model-based approach for understanding gambling behaviour

Gamblers in the real world have been found to successfully navigate complex multivariate problems such as those of poker and the racetrack but also to misunderstand elementary problems such as those of roulette and dice. An account of gambling behaviour must accommodate both the strengths and weaknesses of decision making and yet neither of the dominating decision making traditions of heuristics and biases or Bayesian rational inference does. This thesis presents evidence supporting a model-based approach for studying gambling behaviour.

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Projects

Building Knowledge of Women’s Lived Experience of Gambling and Gambling Harms across Great Britain
Gambling harms
Gambling behaviour and industry
Lived experience
Inequalities and vulnerable communities

GambleAware has awarded a £250,000 grant to build knowledge about the drivers of gambling participation and of gambling harms experienced by women, and to understand the differences among sub-groups of women. The knowledge accrued from this research will be used to inform GambleAware’s commissioning practices.

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Online gambling data: initial analysis
Gambling behaviour and industry

This ambitious research project examining online gambling behaviour aims to better understand how gamblers’ patterns of play vary across different environments and activities. Player level data will be gathered from many of the largest online gambling firms and collated into one unified dataset, so that ‘big data’ analysis can be undertaken to identify indicators of potentially harmful behaviour.

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The impact of message framing on problem recognition amongst problem and at-risk gamblers
Gambling behaviour and industry

This piece of research will explore the impact of the phrasing and positioning of messages designed to encourage safer gambling, in order to support the development of future public health campaigns in this area.

This project aims to address important questions related to the way in which “safe” or “responsible” gambling is promoted, with a particular focus on the way that “problem gambling” is framed, as well as the way in which gambling or betting identities are made central to a campaign.

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The Future of Gambling
Gambling behaviour and industry

This project focusses on online computer gaming. It builds knowledge and understanding of the harms which may exist within chance-based elements within gaming. It focuses on ‘loot boxes’ in computer games that people pay to access, with the contents of the box (virtual game upgrades) dictated by chance.

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Safer Gambling App – EROGamb 2.0
Gambling behaviour and industry

This project will gather information related to gambling norms, and individuals’ gambling patterns. It will use that information to see whether it can empower people who gamble with a contextual and accurate understanding of their gambling, whilst increasing their control over their gambling patterns.

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Case studies

Ben's story

"No one ever talks about losses. So, it's really hard to even know if someone's got a problem or not, because if you haven’t won for a while – you just won’t say anything...Hearing other people’s stories that are similar to mine kind of makes you think ‘Wait a minute’… you realise you’re not a million miles away from it."

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Mina's story

"I try and set myself limits to keep it under control. You can sit there and say you’re in control – but sometimes you’re not. Having a spend calculator is really helpful….it visually shows how much you’re spending. You can’t ignore it."

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Adam's story

"I never thought I had a problem. I didn't want to be seen like a gambler and addict. But they're all the things that I was...I think now knowing that I can pick up the phone to someone, or I could reach out to someone and get help straight away…it might have been easier."

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Danni's story

"At first I wouldn’t say anything because actually... it's not really my place to say, it's not my money. Then I thought I could help him, but I realise now that's not the case and I should have looked after myself first… I still sometimes have to remember to do that."

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Joanne's story

"I never talked about anything. I wish I had, just saying stuff out loud makes such a difference… I went to group meetings and the more I spoke about my story, the more open I was. And the more I was getting asked questions and getting more involved. It was that that helped me in my recovery."

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