GambleAware publishes Bet Regret Summary

London, 04 June 2021: GambleAware has today published a short summary of the Bet Regret campaign, outlining the results of the campaign over the past two years.

The overall aim of the Bet Regret campaign was to help moderate gambling behaviour of younger male sports bettors. During the first year of the campaign, the aim was to shift attitudes and provoke conversations amongst the target audience about moderation of sports betting. For the second year, the aim shifted to increase the number of risky sports bettors who were taking steps to cut down their gambling by using specific moderation techniques and aids.

Based on tracking study data from each stage of the Bet Regret campaign, tracking study results have shown a consistently high level of awareness for the campaign, despite it having a relatively low share of voice compared to gambling operators. Campaign recognition has averaged at 60% amongst the broader target audience, with this rising to 75% amongst the highest risk band.

Ipsos MORI conducted a tracking study of the campaign and found that almost two in five (38%) of the campaign audience say they try to ‘tap out’ of their app before deciding to place a bet. This rises to over half (53%) for those with higher risk profiles who have some intention to cut down their betting. Furthermore, 17% of the target audience say they are actively using ‘tapping out’ as a tool to cut down their gambling.

The Bet Regret campaign was originally developed and launched following a commitment by the gambling industry and broadcasters to fund a Safer Gambling Campaign for two years, from 2018. The initial two-year period was extended to April 2021, due to a suspension of live sport as a result of the pandemic.

The new GambleAware paper, available here, outlines detail of the development of the Bet Regret campaign, its performance over the two-year period and the intention to continue the campaign. The paper summarises the focus of potential future campaign activity, which would be on behavioural ‘nudges’, to help younger sports bettors avoid gambling harms.

A detailed narrative report – Avoiding Bet Regret; an overview of the campaign to date – provides an overview of the context, development, implementation and impacts of the campaign up to December 2020 and is available separately.

A Synthesis Report was also published in January 2021, outlining how research was used to inform the development of the various stages of the campaign and ensure an evidence-based approach was applied throughout, this can be viewed here.

The full news announcement for this can be downloaded here.