New research: multi-dimensional player evaluation and preventive measures affect gambling consumption
October 18, Sustainable Interaction’s psychologisk and responsible gambling expert Jakob Jonsson defends his dissertation Preventing problem gambling: Focus on overconsumption at the psychological institute at Stockholm University. In the dissertation, Jakob studies what role overconsumption has for gambling problems, and applies the findings in a study at the Norwegian gambling company Norsk tipping (NT).
The study with NT was conducted in 2017. 3000 of the players who had lost the most during the previous year were elected and randomly placed in one of three categories: one third received a call, one third received a letter (with the same information as the players who received a call), and one third were placed in a control group and did not get contacted. Those who received a call were asked if they knew how much they’d lost during the previous year, and whether they were interested in finding out the actual number. From there, the conversation focused on whether the player would be interested in any responsible gambling measures, such as limits or self exclusion. The results? Over the course of the next year, those who had received a phone call reduced their gambling by 30%, while those who received a letter reduced theirs by 13%. The control group reduced their gambling by around 7%. In the one year follow-up, the numbers had not changed, indicating that the method is constant.
”The results indicate that high consuming gamblers have a poor understanding of how much they are actually losing, and that most will reduce their gambling when they find out how big that number is”, says Jakob Jonsson
The method used at NT is called Proactive calls, and is used successfully by several operators. Since the Swedish gambling market was re-regulated in January 2019, the operators are required and expected to get to know their customers and apply measures where needed (i.e. the Duty of Care). As the industry and the legislation evolves, gambling operators are expected to take additional measures and work actively to prevent problem gambling. And while many do, there is limited research on what exactly should be done.
”Reaching out to players with risky or problematic gambling habits is an important part of the Duty of Care on the regulated Swedish gambling market. The technical progress has made it possible for gambling operators to fulfill the Duty of Care, but they need further help and clearer regulations in order to become more efficient”, Jakob says, “Today, there is good reason to believe that there are big differences in the amount of care operators on the Swedish market take towards their customers, such as limits on how much money you can lose before they reach out to you - if they reach out at all.”
In the dissertation, Jakob is also looking at what role overconsumption has for gambling problems. He found that differentiating between overconsumption of time and money is important, and also that an emotional component must be present in order to see a direct connection to gambling problems.
Download the dissertation here (pdf).
Kontakt
Jakob Jonsson
jakob@sustainableinteraction.se
Johan Brandsten, VD Sustainable Interaction