Gambling harm prevention and harm reduction in online environments a call for action Full Text

An overview of digital and online strategies to reduce gambling harm

A more detailed analysis of implementation conditions can provide helpful indications for explaining the absence of significant effects highlighted by previous reviews, and identify the preconditions or circumstances necessary to enhance the effectiveness of each strategy. Preventive and harm reduction strategies can target the general population, gamblers, or risky and problematic gamblers. These three target groups should be considered when analyzing the effectiveness of each strategy. This paper has provided an overview of possible avenues and challenges for harm prevention and harm reduction for gambling in online environments.

• We observed that 6 information aid studies (25%) suggested information aids had no or unfavorable responsible gambling impact.
• In the responsible product design literature, researchers often report only standardized effect sizes.
• Furthermore, small standardized effects may have large practical effects in the long-term or when scaled to a large population 27.
• They struggle in regard to guaranteeing strategy coherence and homogeneity, which were identified as relevant elements for increasing effectiveness (e.g., for the limitations of venue operating hours).
• Now, uptake of preprints in gambling studies is likely low, but at least in principle allow authors a low-cost way to communicate their findings.

Table 2. Characteristics of studies included in scoping review.

These findings are consistent with trends in psychological science, in which uptake of pre-registration between 2014 and 2017 was rare 134, perhaps because the studies on which such publications were based were conducted before knowledge of pre-registration was widespread. We observed 4 precommitment studies (25%) suggesting that precommitment had no or unfavorable responsible gambling impact. In arguably the best-designed study that met inclusion criteria 11, researchers manipulated whether Finnish online gamblers were presented with a prompt to consider setting a deposit limit.

In terms of actual behavioural evidence, results have shown that use of behavioural tracking tools that feedback to players the amount of time they have been gambling relative to normative data, show an overall reduced theoretical loss and gambling session duration. However, this effect is small with results from the mentor system showing its effect is only slightly (although significantly) above chance level. The use of colour coded feedback systems, informing players of their level of risk according to expressed gambling behaviour, appear to have a positive influence on a majority of gamblers in various sub-groups categorised according to their level of risk. Overall reductions in deposit limits have been found as a result of behavioural tracking systems for those gamblers already demonstrating safe and RG behaviour—an effect that is sustained at a six-month interval.

Imposing a 5-second pause between bets reduced the number of rounds played and the magnitudes of monetary losses. The typical justification for mandatory pauses in between rounds or after playing for a certain duration is that gambling induces in at-risk players a dissociative state that undermines rational decision-making 114, 115. In games of chance, the break in play would purportedly mitigate excessive gambling by lifting players out of their trance. In games of skill, a forced pause would give losing players the time to reevaluate their strategy.

Education campaigns play a vital role in disseminating information, challenging misconceptions, and encouraging help-seeking behavior. These campaigns target diverse audiences, including gamblers, their families, and the wider community. Age verification and identity checks are crucial for preventing underage gambling and ensuring compliance with legal regulations.

Another peculiarity of this review is its focus on prevention and harm reduction strategies that can be implemented at the local level, for example by municipalities, regions, or other local agencies. First, local agencies may have more control and pay attention to the implementation conditions. They also have more opportunities to focus on specific targets or on particular at-risk areas than national agencies do.

Replicability: Z-curve

Research has mainly focused on youth prevention program evaluation, and few studies regard adult educational interventions 12. Most adult educational interventions focus on knowledge, misconceptions and fallacies, but they have little impact on behaviors 38. In some counties, “Responsible Gambling Information Centers” (RGICs) are located within gambling venues to provide information and education about the risks of gambling and to identify and support visitors who are experiencing problems with gambling. An evaluation of their effectiveness showed that visitors appeared to modify misconceptions about randomness but did not have any immediate or long-term impact on gambling behavior 40.

However, significant differences were found at time point three following prohibition. Following prohibition, and controlling for potential confounding variables, slot machine gambling frequency was reduced by 20 %, the proportion of ‘frequent’ slot machine gamblers was reduced by 26 %, and overall gambling frequency was reduced by 10 %. In terms of wagering amounts, while ‘red’ players reduced their wagering between enrolment and 24 weeks later, this amount did not differ compared to the control group. However, for the same period, ‘yellow’ and ‘green’ gamblers significantly reduced their wagering amounts compared to a control group. This suggests that behavioural feedback via behavioural tracking may have a positive impact in keeping controlled gamblers safe, as well as positively impacting at-risk players, while the effects on those gamblers already exhibiting problematic symptoms appears minimal. This supports the notion of behavioural feedback as an RG tool aimed at preventative measures, rather than an intervention for problem gamblers.

Evaluation of behaviour over a more sustained period of time should shed further light on this suggestion. Much research has been conducted on the effectiveness of harm reduction and harm prevention efforts in land-based gambling, including several systematic reviews and a recent umbrella review see 17,18,19,20,21,22. These studies have shown that many harm prevention and harm reduction efforts can reduce consumption or harms in land-based environments, although effectiveness depends largely on implementation and how effects are measured. Impact studies have been scarce in gambling research and the effectiveness of many interventions has only been measured in terms of total consumption, or in some cases, changes in the number of individuals meeting psychometric criteria for problem gambling.

In the field of alcohol studies, it has long been accepted that there is a positive association between mean alcohol consumption among a population and the relative proportion of heavy or problem drinkers in that society (Babor et al. 2003). Such a relationship, originally proposed by Lederman (1956), is known as the total consumption model, or the single distribution theory. Emergent evidence suggests the total consumption model is valid in a wide variety of phenomena (Lund 2008). Targeted or dynamic forms of information are easy to implement online also for other groups. Data could allow personalised warnings and other information campaigns in online environments, in the same way as marketing campaigns are targeted and personalised. This can be done at a consumer-level but also at a more universal level of customer segments.

Despite some positive results, it appears evidence for the impact of informative messaging on cognition and gambling behaviour is largely inconsistent and limited. Drawing conclusions from the existing empirical literature, it may be argued that such informative messaging has a more consistent impact on correcting erroneous cognitions, but that this effect alone is not strong enough to exert influence over gambling behaviour. However, this does not negate the use of pop-up messaging as a harm-minimisation strategy as some effect (albeit weak) appears to occur. Instead, the message content itself may be manipulated to exert a greater effect in promoting RG behaviour. Therefore, the way in which information is presented, and in turn, perceived, may be critical for its influence over behaviour. Online gambling platforms and even land-based casinos are now equipped with various responsible gambling tools designed to help players manage their gambling behavior.

For example, Jardin and Wulfert 74, 75 compared pop-ups that remind participants about the chance-based nature of gambling to pop-ups with trivia and a control condition with no pop-ups. Participants who received reminder messages lost less money and made fewer bets than those who read trivia or did not see a pop-up. We included all 78 studies that contained inferential tests of their key hypothesis in the z-curve analysis. Two articles used the same dataset; we included only the first publication in z-curve, as the second article examined moderators of the findings reported in the first article. Collaborative efforts to estimate the replicability of studies published in eminent journals, 18, 19 as well as the increasing number of individual replication attempts 20, have undermined confidence in numerous foundational findings in the social sciences. Interventions and tools for the safe use of inherently risky consumer products take many forms.

Among the top 10 % most intense poker players, the amount lost in the poker rake decreased in the 30 days following limit-setting, but this was only the case for those who set weekly spend limits and daily time limits. Overall, time limits had the greatest effect on rake loss for poker players, with those setting daily time limits losing 73 % of the loss in the 30 days prior to the setting of limits. As expected, the setting of daily time and session length limits had a highly significant effect on overall play duration. This is important given the fact that excessive time spent gambling, and not just excessive monetary spent, can have deleterious impacts on the lives of gamblers. Consequently, the use of self-appraisal pop-up messages as a harm-minimisation tool has received increased attention in recent years and has received some positive but limited empirical support. In a laboratory-based computer-simulated gambling experiment, Monaghan and Blaszczynski (2010b) had participants play an EGM with exposure to messages encouraging self-appraisal of time and monetary expenditure.

Gambling, in its various forms, is a popular pastime enjoyed by millions worldwide. However, for some individuals, this recreational activity can transition into a problem, leading to significant personal, financial, and social consequences. Gambling harm encompasses a wide spectrum of negative impacts arising from gambling, extending beyond just financial losses to include emotional distress, relationship problems, and health issues. Recognizing the signs of potential harm is gullybet app the first step in implementing effective minimization strategies. More specific educational interventions for adult gamblers seem to be successful in reducing gambling behaviors.

The criteria used to select the studies were different across reviews and in some cases the list of primary studies was not available. However, consistency of results was verified, and differences in implementation and methods were considered. Finally, although most of the reviews reported conflicts of interests and funding sources, primary studies’ sources were not reported. There were 20 pop-up message studies (49%) suggesting that pop-up messages had a favorable responsible gambling impact.

For example, there are many papers from the same author(s), which of course would be similar to each other in terms of any relationship between variables, and would be likely to drive these results. We observed that 6 information aid studies (25%) suggested information aids had no or unfavorable responsible gambling impact. For example, Beresford and Blaszczynski 49 tested multiple formats to improve understanding of return-to-player percentage. The concept refers to the percentage of money that a game returns to players in the long run, but players often believe that it approximates the percentage of stakes that remain with the average player at the end of individual sessions. This belief is incorrect because EGM winnings are designed to vary substantially in the short-term, and reinvesting wins tends to reduce earnings to zero. The authors reported that neither an infographic, a vignette, or a brochure increased understanding of return-to-player percentage relative to the mandatory signage on EGMs in South Australia.

These programs aim to develop participants’ skills to cope with gambling, change gambling attitudes, and restructure cognitive processes 38. Moreover, they are delivered by professionals with a close relationship with participants (e.g., medical professionals). Other educational approaches can be developed to train people on how and when their gambling behaviors might indicate risk. These interventions may also be useful in designing targeted and individualized interventions for problematic gamblers 30. There were 8 information aid studies (33%) suggesting that information aids had a favorable responsible gambling impact.

Collaboration with app stores, developers, and distribution sites could offer a way forward. If your institution or institutions have a press office, please notify them about your upcoming paper at this point, to enable them to help maximize its impact. If they will be preparing press materials for this manuscript, please inform our press team within the next 48 hours. If your institution or institutions have a press office, please notify them about your upcoming paper to enable them to help maximize its impact.