Impact of wagering inducements on the gambling behaviors of on‐line gamblers: A longitudinal study based on gambling tracking data

Abstract

Aims To estimate whether the use of wagering inducements has a significant impact on the gambling behaviors of on‐line gamblers and describe this temporal relation under naturalistic conditions. Design This longitudinal observational study is part of the second stage of the Screening for Excessive Gambling Behaviors on the Internet (EDEIN) research program. Setting Gambling tracking data from the French national on‐line gambling authority (poker, horse race betting and sports betting) and from the French national lottery operator (lotteries and scratch games). Participants A total of 9306 gamblers who played poker, horse race or sports betting and 5682 gamblers who played lotteries and scratch games completed an on‐line survey. The gender ratio was largely male (between 87.1% and 92.9% for poker, horse race betting and sports betting, and equal to 65.1% for lotteries). Median age ranged from 35 (sports betting) to 53 (horse race betting and lotteries). Measurements The survey used the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) to determine the status of the gamblers (at‐risk or not). Gambling tracking data included weekly gambling intensity (wagers, deposits), gambling frequency (number of gambling days), proxies of at‐risk gambling behaviors (chasing and breadth of involvement) and use of wagering inducements. Findings The use of wagering inducements was associated with an increase of gambling intensity [β between −0.06 (−0.08; –0.05) and 0.57 (0.54; 0.60)], gambling frequency [β between 0.12 (0.10; 0.18) and 0.29 (0.28; 0.31)] and at‐risk gambling behaviors [odds ratio between 1.32 (1.16; 1.50) and 4.82 (4.61; 5.05)] at the same week of their use. This effect was stronger for at‐risk gambling behaviors and at‐risk gamblers. Conclusions Wagering inducements may represent a risk factor for developing or exacerbating gambling problems.

The frequency and content of televised UK gambling advertising during the men’s 2020 Euro soccer tournament

“…Many adverts contain offers of financial inducements, that are, unique bonuses, boosted odds, or free bets that are not normally available to customers. It is important to track the frequency and particular content of financial inducements, given previous research linking them to ongoing gambling behavior (Balem et al, 2021;Browne et al, 2019;Hing et al, 2016Hing et al, , 2018Hing et al, , 2019. Other adverts contain the odds on specific bets in an upcoming or ongoing sporting event, e.g., "Harry Kane to score the first goal, 2-to-1".…”

“…Many adverts contain offers of financial inducements, that are, unique bonuses, boosted odds, or free bets that are not normally available to customers. It is important to track the frequency and particular content of financial inducements, given previous research linking them to ongoing gambling behavior (Balem et al, 2021; Browne et al, 2019; Hing et al, 2016; 2018; 2019). Other adverts contain the odds on specific bets in an upcoming or ongoing sporting event, for example, “Harry Kane to score the first goal, 2-to-1.” This is also a relevant category of advertising to track, as previous research indicates that this advertising has skewed toward increasingly complex odds, containing many events, with corresponding long odds, for example, “Harry Kane to score the first goal, England to win 3-1, and three or more yellow cards, 50-to-1” (Newall, Thobhani, et al, 2019).…”

‘No evidence of harm’ implies no evidence of safety: Framing the lack of causal evidence in gambling advertising research

“…Gambling advertising can be highly prevalent, especially around live sport [5,6]; features certain distinct types of content which use a variety of psychological hooks [5,6], and is often perceived poorly by its recipients [5,6]. Research has also linked selfreported advertising exposure and gambling [7][8][9], especially among disordered gamblers, and linked the use of wagering inducements to gambling behaviour using data from an on-line gambling operator [10].Evidence also suggests that the safer gambling messages found in many gambling adverts are unlikely to counteract any potential harms from advertising [11,12]. In time, econometric analyses might be run to test for causal reductions in gambling harm from various governmental restrictions on gambling advertising.Policy decisions regarding gambling advertising should not necessitate evidence of a direct causal link to change the status quo, as those who argue that gambling advertising is safe have not been held to the same evidential standard.…”

“…Gambling advertising can be highly prevalent, especially around live sport [5,6]; features certain distinct types of content which use a variety of psychological hooks [5,6], and is often perceived poorly by its recipients [5,6]. Research has also linked selfreported advertising exposure and gambling [7][8][9], especially among disordered gamblers, and linked the use of wagering inducements to gambling behaviour using data from an on-line gambling operator [10].…”

Gambling and COVID-19: Swedish national gambling data from a state-owned gambling sports and casino operator

“…We thus aimed to estimate changes in gambling activity during the COVID-19-affected periods among all gamblers at Svenska Spel and analyse observable sex differences. The hypotheses were defined prior to calculating the results ( Balem, Karlsson, et al., 2022 ).…”