Gambling Products Research Articles

Assessing the Risk of Online Gambling Products: A Replication and Validation of Behavioural Markers of Harm Using the Problem Gambling Severity Index.

In this paper, we investigate the validity of objective operator data as proxy indicators for riskier gambling as based upon an independent self-report measure. Such work is important to strengthen the validity of gambling research involving objective behavioral indicators of harm used to detect higher risk gambling or product choices. To address these aims, a total of 21,464 individual customers from a single international operator completed the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI). These data were then mapped to measures of player gambling activity and a range of objective behavioural markers of harm. The results confirmed that people scoring 8 + on the PGSI were found to have higher levels of gambling involvement (participation, days active and expenditure) on a range of gambling products, with differences generally larger for casino than wagering activities. Importantly, this group was also more likely to have a higher incidence of behavioural markers of harm (e.g., declined deposits). The data allowed for the replication of a previous study using such markers to detect differences in product risk, but further validated their use in a variety of analytical contexts by showing a concordance between self-reported and objective risk measures.

Effectiveness of Public Messaging Within the Gambling Domain: A Systematic Review

AbstractGambling messaging is one potential component of a public health approach towards reducing gambling-related harm (GRH). This systematic review examined the effectiveness of existing public health gambling messaging interventions. Four databases were searched from inception to June 2023. Twenty-one papers met inclusion criteria. Studies were conducted in diverse settings, employed various designs, and evaluated messaging interventions that differed in their aims and reported outcomes. Interventions were categorised into three groups: general population-level messaging, gambling harm reduction messages, and product risk warnings. The evidence—currently limited—suggests that existing gambling messaging interventions are ineffective in changing behaviours but can raise awareness of GRH. Our findings underpinned recommendations for how the format and presentation of currently used ‘safer’ gambling messages and product warning labels may be improved. Research is required to develop and test messages that can help prevent and reduce GRH both for the general population and people who gamble.

Threats to youth from cannabis industry and profits: NIDA

Nora Volkow, M.D., director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), called out the profit‐driven cannabis, tobacco, gambling, social media, and processed food industries for their harms to youth. She had some choice words for commercial interests involved in the addiction field in a Sept. 26 blog. Preying on the vulnerable — with drugs, social media, gambling, processed food, and other addictive products — is something she knows how to zone in on as an evil.

Social media plus profits spell danger for youth: NIDA director

Putting profits over public health is not endorsed by Nora Volkow, M.D., director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). She had some choice words for commercial interests involved in the addiction field in a brave Sept. 26 blog. Preying on the vulnerable — with drugs, social media, gambling, processed food, and other addictive products — is something she knows how to zone in on as an evil.

Digitalisation of gambling harm? Gambling consumption, negative consequences, and clinical characteristics among Swedish help-seekers

Gambling is connected to a range of harms and negative consequences. Gambling is also evolving at a fast pace, particularly in digital environments. Understanding the effects of this on-going change and digitalisation of gambling markets requires systematic measuring of gambling consumption patterns, clinical characteristics, and gambling-related harms.The current study compares two cohorts of help-seekers for gambling in Sweden (2019; 2023), recruited via the Swedish national helpline. The aim is to assess harms and consumption across the two cohorts at a time of increased offer of digital gambling in Sweden. We used eight different screens to measure gambling-related behaviours and consequences, including the Gambling Disorder Identification Test (GDIT). Results were analysed using descriptive statistics, and differences across the two cohorts were tested for statistical significance.The results show that across 2019–2023, gambling consumption has intensified. Online EGMs are by far the most prevalent form of gambling among help-seekers. We also found that the experience of co-morbidities as well as most gambling-related harms were common in both cohorts, with some statistically significant increases in 2023. Harms were more commonly experienced amongst those who engaged in online EGM gambling in comparison to those who did not.The results suggest that the digitalisation of gambling and gambling products appears to be associated with a variety of harmful consequences. The results also show the importance of systematic and comprehensive measurement to capture different severity levels of harms and their wide range amongst those who gamble.

Within-session chasing of losses and wins in an online eCasino

Chasing refers to the escalation of betting behaviour. It is conventionally seen when losing but can also be seen after wins. Diagnostic and screening items for gambling problems describe chasing as returning ‘another day’ to gamble. However, gamblers may also chase within sessions, and this is particularly relevant in online gambling. This study focused on two expressions of within-session chasing: (1) increasing the bet amount, or (2) a reduced probability of quitting the session, as a function of prior losses or wins. These expressions were examined across five online gambling products: slot machines, probability games, blackjack, video poker, and roulette. Our results showed that gamblers bet more and played longer sessions after immediate losses, but they bet less and played shorter sessions when losing cumulatively. The reversed pattern in the cumulative model may be due to financial constraints. For wins, gamblers bet more after both immediate and cumulative wins, but they also played shorter sessions. Chasing patterns were qualitatively similar by game type—with limited evidence for our hypothesis that chasing would be greatest for slot machines as an established high-risk category. Overall, chasing is multi-faceted, varying across the behavioural expressions, by the immediate or cumulative timeframe of prior outcomes, and by game type.

Gambling Harm-Minimisation Tools and Their Impact on Gambling Behaviour: A Review of the Empirical Evidence.

The harms accompanying disordered gambling are well documented. Additionally, there is growing attention to the harms that arise from people who gamble heavily but do not meet the criteria for a gambling disorder. Accordingly, there has been an increasing interest in the effectiveness of consumer protection tools for consumers of gambling products. Subsequently, there is a need to properly evaluate the evidence for their effectiveness. This review aimed to conduct a narrative synthesis of empirical studies to identify gaps, weaknesses, and strengths in the existing evidence for the effectiveness of harm minimisation tools available to people who gamble. This review includes studies published between January 2015 to July 2022 and comprises 55 peer-reviewed studies for final synthesis. Findings reveal that while more research is needed to examine the effectiveness of active and passive consumer protection tools, uptake of tools is low in part because users view them as tools for individuals already experiencing gambling harm as opposed to protective tools for all users. Research is needed to determine effective ways of communicating the value of consumer protection tools for gambling.

“It’s changing our lives, not for the better. It’s important that we have a say”. The role of young people in informing public health and policy decisions about gambling marketing

BackgroundMarketing has a significant impact on the normalisation of gambling for youth across the globe. This has included shaping positive attitudes towards gambling, as well as increasing the social and cultural acceptance of gambling – particularly aligned with valued activities such as sport. Because of this, public health experts argue that gambling marketing poses a significant risk to the health and wellbeing of youth. While young people are increasingly exposed to, and impacted by marketing for gambling products, they are rarely consulted about policy issues and options. This study aimed to explore young Australians’ perceptions of current policy responses to gambling advertising, whether they thought young people should be involved in discussions and decisions about gambling marketing regulations, and their perceptions of the duty of governments to protect young people from gambling industry marketing strategies.MethodsQualitative focus groups (n = 22) were held with n = 64, 12–17 year olds in the Australian states of Victoria and New South Wales. Participants were asked to reflect on current gambling policies, particularly relating to marketing, what they thought should be done about gambling marketing, and if and how young people should be included in public health responses to gambling. An interpretivist ‘Big Q’ approach to reflexive thematic analysis was used.ResultsYoung people highlighted the need for more effective regulations around the content and frequency of gambling marketing. They also wanted to see more realistic representations of the negative impacts of gambling to counter persistent positive commercial marketing messages. Most thought that young people should be given an opportunity to have a say about responses to gambling due to their unique experiences. Participants identified mechanisms to increase young people’s engagement in decision making, such as direct lines of communication to different levels of government, involvement in research, and diversifying ways of engagement. Specific recommendations included more regulatory action such as bans on gambling advertising.ConclusionsCreating formal structures that facilitate the inclusion of young people’s perspectives in decisions made about gambling can result in more innovative and effective strategies to prevent the harms from gambling industry products, promotions, and practices.

The role of metaphor in the corporate political strategies of health harming industries: Comparing the concept of balance in the gambling and opioid industry discourses

Scholars have identified notable similarities between the political strategies employed by health-harming industries. This includes similarities in the narratives employed by industry actors seeking to oppose public health regulations that threaten their commercial interests. This study seeks to examine the use of a specific concept – the balance metaphor – in the policy discourses of two health-harming industries. Namely, the pharmaceutical industry implicated in the prescription opioid crisis in the US, and the UK gambling industry, whose products and practices are associated with a serious, but largely neglected, series of harms. We first review research on metaphors, demonstrating how this provides additional theoretically-informed concepts with which to understand how industry discourse circumscribes the terrain of policy debates in ways amenable to commercial interests. Building from these insights, we conducted a rhetorical analysis, examining how the concept of balance is employed by different actors in distinct contexts to shape understandings of the social and policy problems associated with gambling and opioid products and to promote industry-favourable regulatory responses to these. This brings a micro-level of analysis to supplement previous meso- and macro-level scholarship in this space. We use our findings to argue that the depoliticization of the policy process and objectivization of the policy space – in ways that obscure its contingent and political nature – through discourses of balance is itself an arch political act. Examining the metaphors used in policy debates and their functions provides important insights that can be used to inform the construction of counter-narratives to industry-favourable discourses, including the creative use of novel metaphors in the service of public health goals.

The near-miss effect in online slot machine gambling: A series of conceptual replications.

Near-misses are a structural characteristic of gambling products that can be engineered within modern digital games. Over a series of preregistered experiments using an online slot machine simulation, we investigated the impact of near-miss outcomes on subjective ratings (motivation, valence) and two behavioral measures (speed of gambling, bet size). Participants were recruited using Prolific and gambled on an online three-reel slot machine simulator that delivered a one in three rate of X-X-O near-misses. Study 1 measured trial-by-trial subjective ratings of valence and motivation (Study 1a, n = 169; Study 1b, n = 148). Study 2 (n = 170) measured spin initiation latencies as a function of the previous trial outcome. Study 3 (n = 172) measured bet size as a function of the previous trial outcome. In Study 1a, near-misses increased the motivation to continue gambling relative to full-misses, supporting Hypothesis 1. On valence ratings, near-misses were rated significantly more positively than full-misses, in the opposite direction to Hypothesis 2; this effect was confirmed in a close replication (Study 1b). In Study 2, participants gambled faster following near-misses relative to full-misses, supporting Hypothesis 3. In Study 3, participants significantly increased their bet size following near-misses relative to full-misses, supporting Hypothesis 4. Across all dependent variables, near-miss outcomes yielded statistically significant differences from objectively equivalent full-miss outcomes, corroborating the "near-miss effect" across both subjective and behavioral measures, and in the environment of online gambling. The unexpected findings on valence ratings are considered in terms of boundary conditions for the near-miss effect, and competing theoretical accounts based on frustration/regret, goal generalization, and skill acquisition. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The COVID-19 lockdown experience suggests that restricting the supply of gambling can reduce gambling problems: An Australian prospective study.

COVID-19 lockdowns limited access to gambling but simultaneously elevated psychosocial stressors. This study assessed the relative effects of these changes on gambling risk status during and after the Australian COVID-19 lockdown from late-March to late-May 2020. The study administered three surveys to people who had gambled within the past year at T1. Wave 1 asked about before (T1, N = 2,125) and during lockdown (T2, N = 2,125). Subsequent surveys focused on one year (T3; N = 649) and two years after lockdown (T4, N = 458). The dependent variable was changes in reporting any problem gambling symptoms (PGSI 0 vs 1+). Bivariate analyses and multinomial logistic regression tested for significant associations with: demographics, psychosocial stressors (perceived stress, psychological distress, loneliness, health anxiety about COVID, financial hardship, stressful life events), gambling participation and gambling frequency. Gambling participation and at-risk gambling decreased between T1 and T2, increased at T3, with little further change at T4. When gambling availability was curtailed, decreased gambling frequency on EGMs, casino games, sports betting or race betting, and lower psychosocial stress, were associated with transitions from at-risk to non-problem gambling. When gambling availability resumed, increased EGM gambling frequency, decreased online gambling frequency, and higher psychosocial stress were associated with transitions from non-problem to at-risk gambling. Gambling availability appears a stronger influence on gambling problems, at the population level, than psychosocial risk factors. Reducing the supply of high-risk gambling products, particularly EGMs, is likely to reduce gambling harm.

Availability restrictions and mandatory precommitment in land-based gambling: effects on online substitutes and total consumption in longitudinal sales data

BackgroundGambling causes important harms in societies. According to the public health approach, the most effective policies to reduce harms target full populations. Availability restrictions and mandatory precommitment are among the most effective measures. However, restrictions on the availability of some gambling products or channels may also be offset by increased consumption in other products. Substitution effects can have negative public health impacts due to differing harm potential across different gambling products. This paper uses longitudinal sales data (2019–2022) from the Finnish gambling monopoly Veikkaus. During the observation period, the availability of gambling was restricted in Finland due to subsequent waves of Covid-19-related restrictions. In addition, the gambling monopoly introduced mandatory precommitment to land-based EGMs. We focus on how these restrictive policy changes impacted the total consumption of gambling and possible substitution effects.MethodsThe Finnish gambling monopoly provided weekly theoretical loss data per gambling product category and gambling channel (online, land-based) for the period of January 2019 – July 2022 based on a statutory obligation. We analysed the effects of availability restrictions and other public health measures on the consumption of different products using descriptive time series and regression analyses. We compared the sale of land-based products to online equivalents at product category level and included main policy change periods in the models.ResultsTotal consumption of gambling declined during 2019–2022 mainly due to reduced land-based electronic gambling machine (EGM) consumption. Declines in land-based EGM sales were not offset by online alternatives or other close substitutes in the long term. However, during the first wave of Covid-19, there was an observable substitution of land-based table games by online alternatives and land-based horse betting and possibly sports betting by online horse betting. Overall, the results also show that Covid-19 functioned as a boost to an already existing trend of increasing digitalisation of gambling.ConclusionsThe study provides empirical support for the effectiveness of public health-oriented policies in reducing the total consumption of gambling. Availability restrictions and mandatory precommitment are therefore likely to also reduce the burden of harms of gambling to individuals and societies.

Harmful types of gambling: changes and emerging trends in longitudinal helpline data.

Gambling products differ in terms of their harm potential. Products are also constantly developing and changing. However, little research has addressed changes and trends in the types of gambling that are associated with harms. The current study explores trends in the gambling product categories identified as harmful in longitudinal helpline data from three Nordic countries. We use data collected by national helplines in Denmark (StopSpillet), Finland (Peluuri) and Sweden (Stödlinjen) in their daily operations (N = 46 646). The data consist of information collected on gamblers and concerned significant others who have contacted these helplines between January 2019 and December 2022. We analyse which gambling products are mentioned as harmful by clients. The analysis uses linear regression with the interaction term (country) times time regressed over the outcome variable (proportion per month). The results show that an increased share of contacts concern online gambling. Online casino products have become the most harmful category across contexts. The share of reported harms from online betting and new emerging online forms is also increasing. The share of land-based products as a reported source of harms has decreased across 2019-22. The results suggest that online gamlbing environments, and particularly online casino products, are associated with increasing harms to help-seekers. The harmfulness of different gambling products may not be stable, but change over time. Further harm prevention efforts are needed to address the online gambling field, including emerging formats.

Gambling, cryptocurrency, and financial trading app marketing in English Premier League football: A frequency analysis of in-game logos.

The gamblification of UK football has resulted in a proliferation of in-game marketing associated with gambling and gambling-like products such as cryptocurrencies and financial trading apps. The English Premier League (EPL) has in response banned gambling logos on shirt-fronts from 2026 onward. This ban does not affect other types of marketing for gambling (e.g., sleeves and pitch-side hoardings), nor gambling-like products. This study therefore aimed to assess the ban's implied overall reduction of different types of marketing exposure. We performed a frequency analysis of logos associated with gambling, cryptocurrency, and financial trading across 10 broadcasts from the 2022/23 EPL season. For each relevant logo, we coded: the marketed product, associated brand,number of individual logos, logo location, logo duration, and whether harm-reduction contentwas present. There were 20,941 relevant logos across the 10 broadcasts, of which 13,427(64.1%) were for gambling only, 2,236 (10.7%) were for both gambling and cryptocurrency, 2,014 (9.6%) were for cryptocurrency only, 2,068 (9.9%) were for both cryptocurrency and financial trading, and 1,196 (5.7%) were for financial trading only. There were 1,075 shirt-front gambling-associated logos, representing 6.9% of all gambling-associated logos, and 5.1% of all logos combined. Pitch-side hoardings were the most frequent marketing location (52.3%), and 3.4% of logos containedharm-reduction content. Brand logos associated with gambling, cryptocurrency, and financial trading are common within EPL broadcasts. Approximately 1 in 20gambling and gambling-like logos are subject to the EPL's voluntary ban on shirt-front gambling sponsorship.

‘Creating Poverty Chances’: Young People Confront Gambling Harms in Malawi

Commercialised gambling products have spread rapidly through African countries in recent years and have been woven into the everyday experiences of young people. Research to date has documented this phenomenon through conventional social science methodologies, establishing an important body of knowledge. Absent from this work is research that adopts participatory and creative methods, often argued to be particularly well suited to empowering marginalised groups to co-produce research. In this piece, we describe a co-creative participatory approach to working with 24 young people in Malawi to explore experiences of commercial gambling and its impacts on their communities. Our approach was co-developed with the young people and produced a substantial body of community interviews, photovoice pieces, and creative representations of the research findings. Here, we focus on a song written and recorded by one of the young people that draws on and represents themes of distress, addiction, poverty, and false hope, which were present in the data the young people generated across the study.

Associations between recollected rates of Category D fruit machine use as a child and adult gambling in a young adult sample

There have been recent restrictions to the range of gambling products made available to UK children, with the industry association Bacta introducing a minimum age of 18 for Category D fruit machines, which can otherwise be legally used by children. Any potential government action on Category D fruit machines may want to consider limitations in the current evidence base. The present study addressed this issue, by conceptually replicating previous results associating recollected usage of Category D fruit machine usage as a child and adult gambling. Compared to previous studies, the present study used a younger adult sample, and also tested for potential moderation by subjective confidence. Three out of four main tested associations were significant and in the hypothesised direction, and a lack of significance on interaction terms yielded no evidence of potential moderation by subjective confidence. The present study therefore added to the limited evidence base on potential risks of legal Category D fruit machine usage as a child.

Order of first-play in simulated versus monetary gambling.

Simulated gambling products, like loot boxes and social casino games, contain gambling elements, but are not classified as gambling. They are available to minors, raising concerns about a "gateway effect" into gambling. This study examined the time course of young people's engagement in simulated and monetary gambling, and associations between simulated gambling and gambling problems and harm. A necessary, although not sufficient, condition for simulated games leading to real money gambling is that simulated play must come first. Participants were 1,026 young adults (aged 18-25 years) who played video games in the last year. They reported the age at which they first took part in seven simulated and twelve monetary gambling products, and current gambling problems and harm. First use of loot boxes and video games with gambling content tended to precede monetary gambling. Forms where gambling is a core gameplay element, such as social casino and demonstration games, tended to follow some monetary gambling forms. Engagement in most simulated gambling products was associated with greater harm from monetary gambling. The findings leave open the possibility of a catalyst pathway from youth engagement in loot boxes and games with gambling content to later monetary gambling, but causal psychosocial mechanisms remain unclear. However, a pathway from social casino and demonstration games to monetary gambling appears less likely, which may instead reflect containment or substitution effects. Simulated gambling disproportionately attracts youth who are vulnerable to gambling problems and harm, indicating the need for consumer protection measures.

Gambling-like digital assets and gambling severity: a correlational study with U.S. sports bettors consuming cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and fan tokens

ABSTRACT This paper explores the relationship with gambling severity of a relatively new set of speculative digital products, namely cryptocurrency trading, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and fan tokens. These products have gained notoriety in sports marketing strategies (among other realms) and are considered to be potentially problematic because, disguised as non-gambling products, they include gambling-like design features that might make sports fans more vulnerable when consuming them. A sample of regular sports bettors (N = 525) based in the U.S. was recruited in 2023 via an online panel to understand the association between these types of consumptions. The findings revealed a significant overlap between experiencing gambling problems and consuming cryptocurrency trading products, NFTs, and fan tokens. The results indicate a modest relationship between the severity of gambling and the likelihood of owning the studied digital assets, of holding positive attitudes toward them, and of being more frequently exposed to their advertising and marketing promotions. The relevancy of these findings resides in the fact that sports bettors might be perceiving and treating gambling and gambling-like assets as part of the same product category, when in reality the latter are legally required to comply with fewer consumer protection measures than gambling products.

Odds of gambling among adolescents: a secondary analysis of the cross-sectional European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs

BackgroundGambling among adolescents is associated with gambling disorder in adulthood. This study investigated factors associated with gambling and excessive gambling in adolescents. MethodsThis secondary analysis of the cross-sectional European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) used nationally representative data from the Irish cohort of the 2019 ESPAD wave. Data were collected between March and May 2019. We included 1949 students aged 15–16 years (946 [48·5%] male, 1003 [51·5%] female), with a response rate of 85%. We calculated past year gambling prevalence as the rate of those who had gambled for money on at least one of four games of chance (slot machines, cards or dice, the lottery, betting on sports or animals) in the past 12 months. An adapted version of the three-item Consumption Screen for Problem Gambling was used to identify excessive gambling (score ≥4). We carried out descriptive and logistic regression analyses using binary covariates with Stata v16.1. We included 19 variables in the multivariable analysis. Ethics approval was granted by Dublin Institute of Technology's Ethics Committee. Non-consent forms were issued to all parents to opt out. FindingsOverall, 447 (23%) of 1949 students gambled in the past year, of whom 45 (10%) engaged in excessive gambling. Using a mutually adjusted multivariable logistic regression analysis, past year gambling was associated with alcohol use (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1·6, 95% CI 1·1–2·2), experiencing serious arguments (aOR 1·4, 1·1–1·9), and trouble with the police (aOR 1·9, 1·2–2·8). Female gender was a protective factor (aOR 0·6, 0·4–0·9). In the univariable analysis, excessive gambling was associated with gaming (OR 2·3, 1·0–5·1), tobacco use (2·1, 1·1–4·2), e-cigarette use (2·1, 1·1–4·1), heavy episodic drinking (2·7, 1·4–5·1), trouble with the police (2·8, 1·5–5·4, p<0·01), and deliberately hurting themselves (2·8, 1·4–5·6). Female gender (OR 0·3, 0·1–0·6) and social media use (0·4, 0·2–0·8) were protective factors. Excessive gambling was also associated with betting on sports and animals (OR 3·6, 1·6–8·4), slot machines (2·9, 1·5–5·8), card or dice (2·4, 1·2–4·6), and online gambling (4·2, 2·0–8·0). InterpretationA large proportion of 15–16 year olds in Ireland have gambled for money in the past year, with one in ten of those having engaged in excessive gambling. This number is likely to be underestimated due to recall and social desirability bias. Reducing the availability, access, and appeal of gambling products in Ireland should be addressed through ongoing gambling reform. FundingInstitute of Public Health.

‘Odds Are: They Win’: a disruptive messaging innovation for challenging harmful products and practices of the gambling industry

ObjectiveThis paper presents an evidence informed rationale for focussing on harmful gambling products and industry practices in public health messaging through the example of a recent innovation called ‘Odds Are: They Win’. Methods‘Odds Are: They Win’ was initially developed through coproduction involving public health professionals and people with lived experience of gambling harms and implemented across a city-region area. A review of relevant evidence was undertaken, upon which the research team reflected to draw out the implications of ‘Odds Are: They Win’ for gambling harms messaging. ResultsEvidence is mounting that safer gambling campaigns framed in terms of individual responsibility are ineffective and can generate stigma. ‘Odds Are: They Win’ presents an alternative focus that is not anti-gambling but raises awareness of industry manipulation of the situational and structural context of gambling. This is in-keeping with historical lessons from the stop smoking field and emerging research in critical health literacy. The latter highlights the potential of education on the social and commercial determinants of health to stimulate behaviour change and collective action. Conclusion‘Odds Are: They Win’ is a potentially disruptive innovation for the gambling harms field. Research is required to robustly evaluate this intervention across diverse criteria, target audiences, and delivery settings.