Is "pop-up" messaging in online slot machine gambling effective as a responsible gambling strategy?

Abstract

Certain gambling operators now provide social responsibility tools to help players gamble more responsibly. One such innovation is the use of pop-up messages that aim to give feedback to the players about the time and money they have thus far spent gambling. Most studies of this innovation have been conducted in laboratory settings, and although controlled studies are indeed more reliable than real-world studies, the non-ecological validity of laboratory studies is still an issue. This study investigated the effects of a slot machine pop-up message in a real gambling environment by comparing the behavioural tracking data of two representative random samples of 400,000 gambling sessions before and after the pop-up message was introduced. The study comprised approximately 200,000 gamblers. The results indicated that, following the viewing of a pop-up message after 1000 consecutive gambles on an online slot machine game, nine times more gamblers ceased their gambling session than did those gamblers who had not viewed the message. The data suggest that pop-up messages can influence a small number of gamblers to cease their playing session, and that pop-ups appear to be another potentially helpful social responsibility tool in reducing excessive play within session.

Understanding Positive Play: An Exploration of Playing Experiences and Responsible Gambling Practices

“…Consequently, the range of responsible gambling initiatives available has expanded considerably and now includes such diverse features as: enhanced player information and support services, selfdiagnostic tests, behavioral tracking and feedback, encouraging pre-commitment to spend and timelimits when playing, warning messages, and educational videos (e.g., Auer & Griffiths, 2013;Auer, Malischnig & Griffiths, 2013;Bernhard, Lucas, & Jang, 2006;Monaghan, 2008;2009;Wood & 5 Griffiths, 2008;Griffiths, et al 2009;Monaghan & Blaszczynski, 2007;2010a;2010b;Nisbet, 2005;Sharpe et al, 2005;Williams, West & Simpson, 2007;Wohl et al, 2010;2011;Wood & Bernhard, 2010).…”

“…For example, playerdefined limits, detailed account information, behavioral feedback (alerting players to changes in their gambling behavior) and highly accessible, anonymous player support are all RG features that can be offered via online gambling sites. There are an increasing number of studies that are starting to show that such features have tangible benefits in helping players to play responsibly (e.g., Auer & Griffiths, 2013;Bernhard, Lucas, & Jang, 2006;Monaghan, 2008;2009;Monaghan & Blaszczynski, 2007;2010a;2010b;Griffiths, et al 2009;Nisbet, 2005;Sharpe et al, 2005;Williams, West & Simpson, 2007;Wohl et al 2010;2011Wood & Bernhard, 2010).…”

“…If such a tool were to be promoted to players as a helpful part of everyday positive play, then it would be important to help players to become familiar with it's use. Such a system has shown to be very effective on win2day website in Austria (Auer & Griffiths, 2013). Online tutorials, walkthroughs and demonstrations can also be an effective way to increase familiarity with a new service.…”

Identifying risk and mitigating gambling-related harm in online poker

“…However, all these studies rely on self--report and/or laboratory data support the effectiveness of pop--up messages on subsequent behaviour or gambling--related thoughts To date, only two real--world studies have been conducted examining pop--up messaging (i.e., Auer, Malischnig & Griffiths, 2014;. These studies investigated the effects of an online pop--up message that appeared after one hour of consecutive slot play.…”

“…In response, there have been significant attempts to develop interruptions to dissociative states when gambling via the use of pop--up messaging (Auer & Griffiths, 2015a;Auer, Malischnig & Griffiths, 2014;Blaszczynski et al, 2014;Cloutier et al, 2006;Monaghan & Blaszczynski, 2010;Wohl et al, 2014).…”