Gambling Behavior of Excluded Gamblers in a Multi-venue Exclusion System: Results from a Three-Wave Survey Conducted in Switzerland

Abstract

Gamblers enrolled in the Swiss Multi-Venue Exclusion Program completed a written questionnaire three times, at six-month intervals. In addition to sociodemographic information, they provided details of their gambling behavior, and completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen-Revised (SOGS-R). The excluded gamblers were compared to a control group of non-excluded gamblers who also completed the questionnaire. The baseline survey demonstrated that there was a significant association between gamblers status (excluded n = 87 and non-excluded n = 259) and income (p = .039), as well as debt situation (p < .001) and SOGS-R score classification (p < .001). Over the course of three surveys, 242 gamblers participated. Of these, 133 respondents were not excluded from casinos at any time, 33 were excluded at the time of the first survey wave and remained so, while the exclusion status of 76 respondents changed over time, thus they were excluded for a minimum of one wave. Overall, 12.1% of excluded individuals stopped gambling altogether. Although exclusion is circumvented by some gamblers, it is associated with significant reductions in frequency, duration, and expenditure, as well as severity of problem gambling. The effects were more significant among gamblers who were excluded from casinos during the entire survey period. The results suggest that the duration of an exclusion should be at least six months instead of the current three months. 62.6% of the excluded gamblers had at least one exclusion lifted during the survey period. Further research is needed to investigate the implications of repeated exclusions for gambling-specific problems.