Does size really matter: a review of the role of stake and prize levels in relation to gambling-related harm

Regulatory and industry decisions influencing commercial gambling activities require clear understanding of the role that stakes and prizes play in the development and facilitation of gambling-related harm. Although industry proponents argue for increases in stakes and prizes to meet market demands, regulators remain cautious about the potential implication for gambling-related harm, while industry opponents generally condemn relaxing aspects of gambling policies. To inform this debate, this paper provides a critical examination of the relevant literature. From the review, it is concluded that limitations of the existing literature restrict our ability to draw definitive conclusions regarding the effects of stake and prize variables. Most studies contain multiple, methodological limitations, the most significant of which are diluted risk and reward scenarios used in analogue research settings not reflective of real gambling situations. In addition, there is a lack of conceptual clarity regarding many constructs, particularly the parameters defining jackpots, and the interactive nature and effect of the differing configurations of game parameters and environments are often not taken into consideration when investigating changes to one or more variables. Notwithstanding these limitations, there is sufficient evidence to suggest that stake and prize levels merit consideration in relation to harm minimisation efforts. However, substantial knowledge gaps currently exist, particularly in relation to understanding staking and prize thresholds for risky behaviour, how the impact of stakes and prizes change depending on the configuration and interaction of other game characteristics, and the role of individual and situational determinants. Based on the potential risk factors and the implications for commercial appeal, a player-focussed harm minimisation response may hold the most promise for future research and evaluation in jurisdictions where gambling is a legal and legitimate leisure activity

Aggressive behaviour in adult slot-machine gamblers: a qualitative observational study

Gambling is acknowledged to have many negative effects on the individual. However, from a psychological perspective, aggression as an outcome of gambling has been overlooked. This paper investigates the dynamics of the relationship between aggression and slot ma-chine gambling. A non-participation observation study observed a small group of aggressive individuals (n = 8; identified in a previous study) over a period of eight weeks. Four catego-ries of aggressive behaviour were confirmed from previous research (verbal aggression to-wards the gambling arcade staff; verbal aggression towards the slot machines; verbal aggres-sion towards other slot machine players; and physical aggression towards the slot ma-chines). From the in-depth observations, possible reasons motivating these types of aggres-sive behaviour are discussed. It is suggested that the frustration, guilt and embarrassment of losing are the prime causes of such aggression

Exploring social gambling: scoping, classification and evidence review

The aim of this report is to speculate on the level of concern we might have regarding consumer risk in relation to ‘social gambling.’ In doing so, this report is intended to help form the basis to initiate debate around a new and under-researched social issue; assist in setting a scientific research agenda; and, where appropriate, highlight concerns about any potential areas that need to be considered in terms of precautionary regulation. This report does not present a set of empirical research findings regarding ‘social gambling’ but rather gathers information to improve stakeholder understanding

Internet gambling: an overview of psychosocial impacts

Technological innovation has always played a role in the development of gambling behaviour, primarily through providing new market opportunities. Early prevalence studies of Intemet gambling in the UK, Canada and the US have shown that Intemet gambling is not a eause for concern at present. However, this seems likely to change as more people start to use the Internet for leisure activities. After a brief overview of gambling technologies and deregulation issues, this paper examines the impact of technology on gambling by highlighting salient factors in the rise of Intemet gambling (i.e., accessibility, affordability, anonymity, convenience, escape immersion/dissociation, disinhibition, event frequency, asociability, interactivity, and simulation). The paper also overviews some of the main social impacts surrounding Intemet gambling, such as protection of the vulnerable, Intemet gambling in the workplace, electronic cash, and unscrupulous operators. Recommendations for Internet gambling operators are also provided

Operator-based approaches to harm minimisation in gambling: summary, review and future directions

In this report we give critical consideration to the nature and effectiveness of harm minimisation in gambling. We identify gambling-related harm as both personal (e.g., health, wellbeing, relationships) and economic (e.g., financial) harm that occurs from exceeding one’s disposable income or disposable leisure time. We have elected to use the term ‘harm minimisation’ as the most appropriate term for reducing the impact of problem gambling, given its breadth in regard to the range of goals it seeks to achieve, and the range of means by which they may be achieved. The extent to which an employee can proactively identify a problem gambler in a gambling venue is uncertain. Research suggests that indicators do exist, such as sessional information (e.g., duration or frequency of play) and negative emotional responses to gambling losses. However, the practical implications of requiring employees to identify and interact with customers suspected of experiencing harm are questionable, particularly as the employees may not possess the clinical intervention skills which may be necessary. Based on emerging evidence, behavioural indicators identifiable in industryheld data, could be used to identify customers experiencing harm. A programme of research is underway in Great Britain and in other jurisdiction

Internet Gambling: An Overview of Psychosocial Impacts

Technological innovation has always played a role in the development of gambling behaviour, primarily through providing new market opportunities. Early prevalence studies of Internet gambling in the UK, Canada and the US have shown that Internet gambling is not a cause for concern at present However, this seems likely to change as more people start to use the Internet for leisure activities. After a brief overview of gambling technologies and deregulation issues, this paper examines the impact of technology on gambling by highlighting salient factors in the rise of Internet gambling (i.e., accessibility, affordability, anonymity, convenience, escape immersion/dissociation, disinhibition, event frequency, asociability, interactivity, and simulation). The paper also overviews some of the main social impacts surrounding Internet gambling, such as protection of the vulnerable, Internet gambling in the workplace, electronic cash, and unscrupulous operators. Recommendations for Internet gambling operators are also provided

Getting grounded in problematic play: using digital grounded theory to understand problem gambling and harm minimisation opportunities in remote gambling

The study was designed to explore patterns of problem gambling in the remote gambling sector and to provide new ideas and theoretical foundations for strategies to mitigate risks and harms. Only problem gamblers were studied; low-risk, moderate risk and non-problem gamblers were beyond the scope of this research. The study did not have a priori hypotheses to test; rather the research aim was to generate new theoretical concepts to help account for patterns of problem gambling observed within remote gambling environments. This means the focus of the study was to observe patterns of remote gambling of problem gamblers over a consistent time-period and to identify the specific gambling behaviours and variables that were related to probable harmful consequences for those participants. Particular emphasis in the study was placed on highlighting new concepts to emerge that are absent from existing problem gambling literature, but may assist in explaining problem gambling in remote settings

Transformation of Sports Betting into a Rapid and Continuous Gambling Activity: a Grounded Theoretical Investigation of Problem Sports Betting in Online Settings

There is an increasing trend for online sports betting to be identified in gambling treatment services as the principal gambling activity that leads to harmful consequences. The structure of sports betting in online settings has changed extensively in the last 5 years in response to developing information technology, and these changes appear to have increased the inherent risk associated with online sports betting. There is a current need to understand disordered patterns of sports betting in online settings, in order to commence the development of strategies to identify and, where possible, mitigate harm. Therefore, a systematic grounded theory study was conducted, utilising behavioural data and in-depth interviews with a sample of 19 online sports bettors who met the criteria for problem gambling, to produce a substantive outline of the salient sources of harmful participation in modern online sports betting. The core category to emerge was an Online Sports Betting Loop that was facilitated by new structural features of modern online sports betting such as live betting, cash out, micro-event betting and instant depositing. In addition, participants indicated that the immediate accessibility and the ubiquity of online sports betting marketing made it challenging to control sports betting involvement. The emergent findings demonstrate that attention must be directed towards creating mechanisms to reduce patterns of continuous online sports betting by increasing breaks in play in the structure of the activity and enabling customers to restrict usage of features that are associated with disordered play, such as live betting

Tit-for-Tat voting by contestants in the TV quiz-show ‘The Weakest Link’

Background It has not escaped the notice of researchers that TV quiz-shows like ‘The Weakest Link’ (WL) make ideal observational field experiments because they comprise the key ingredients of game theory: a finite group of players must select from a fixed set of actions to play for well defined payoffs. For example, WL has been used to assess the optimal banking strategy in economic decision making (Haan, Los & Riyanto, 2011), the trade-off between risk and return strategies in game playing (Février & Linnemer, 2006; Barmish & Boston, 2009), as a test of gender and race discrimination in voting (Levitt, 2004; Antonovics, Arcidiacono & Walsh, 2005; Goddard, 2012) and to demonstrate ‘neighbour’ effects in voting practice (Goddard, Ashley & Hunter, 2011). Research Questions:- We tested for three kinds of voting bias by players of WL. i.) spatial, ii.) gender and iii.) ‘Tit-for-Tat’ (TFT). Methodology-i.) Rules of WL:- A group of players (n=9) accumulated a pot of money by fielding a first round of questions. Next, each player identified one of their fellows as the ‘weakest’ in that round. The player accruing the majority of votes was summarily eliminated from the show. A second accumulation round of questions preceded another elimination vote, and so on, until the group was whittled down to the final pair, who then played out a tie-breaker to determine an outright winner. Methodology- ii.) Analysis:- The observed frequencies of votes cast in the first and second rounds of 72 episodes of WL were recorded. Simple probability theory was then used to calculate the corresponding expected frequencies due to chance. Significant departures from these expected patterns, identified by χ2 tests, indicated voting bias. Findings:- TFT voting occurred when recipients of round 1 votes responded in kind by voting for the perpetrator in round 2. TFT votes occurred significantly more often than expected, and, significantly more often than those made by the equivalent controls who had not received a vote in round 1. Spatial and gender biases were found: players avoided voting for direct neighbours and females received significantly more votes than males. Interpretation:-We suggest that TFT was played as a deliberate, explicit strategy, but, spatial/gender voting anomalies emerged implicitly. To elaborate, we suggest that a player’s voting decision was informed by two sources of information: situational, the game-specific, public performance of the other players, and, dispositional, their individual, internal, subjective-dependent attributions. In rounds where situational information was unequivocal, so the weakest player was easily identified by the other players (hi-consensus), there was no voting bias. However, significant biases emerged as uncertainty increased (consensus decreased) about the identity of the weakest player. In the absence of clear-cut situational information, because all players performed equally well (or badly!), players resorted to their private, bias-prone dispositional information source. Conclusion:- The format of WL quiz-shows provided an ideal context to analyse forced-choice decision making and the implicit biases and explicit strategies therein

Negative experiences of non-drinking college students in Great Britain: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

Research relating to alcohol use amongst university students primarily examines the effects of binge drinking. Researchers rarely focus on a range of drinking styles including light or non-drinking. This study was designed to gain an in-depth understanding of the lived experiences of female, first year UK undergraduates, who do not drink alcohol. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight participants. Narratives were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA; by Smith and Osborn (Sage 51-80, 2003). Three superordinate themes were identified: managing the feeling that you don’t belong^ highlights the importance of managing social interactions as a non-drinker; experiencing social exclusion recognises the impact on social bonding as a result of insufficient socialising opportunities; and experiencing peer pressure and social stigma highlights the scrutiny and labelling participants endured. These findings provide an understanding of some of the difficulties experienced by these undergraduates as a result of their non-drinking status. Implications of this research are discussed and areas for future research are outlined