Gambling Harm-Minimisation Tools and Their Impact on Gambling Behaviour: A Review of the Empirical Evidence

Journals must do their part in requiring authors to report all funding sources and potential conflicts of interest. Because choosing the single most focal hypothesis test was difficult in many cases, we summarize the range of point estimates across the 13 iterations rather than focusing just on the single z-curve composed of p-values that we deemed most focal. They should reduce gambling to the extent that they correct misbeliefs that cause excessive play and should minimize losses to the extent that they help users make statistically optimal decisions. A total of 1.6 million gambling sessions were analysed (800,000 evaluating the simple pop-up message and 800,000 evaluating the enhanced pop-up message). In the simple pop-up condition, 11,232 sessions lasted at least 1000 spins and these players were exposed to the pop-up (1.4 % of the total sessions). Of the 11,232 sessions, 75 were immediately terminated following pop-up exposure (0.67 %).

Consent for publication

Z-curve takes as input the set of significant findings (to mimic the editorial process of publishing only positive findings) and uses this truncated distribution to estimate the most likely shape of the non-truncated distribution of the population represented by the significant studies. To account for heterogeneity in effect sizes and power, z-curve estimates the distribution of all conducted studies using a finite mixture model of seven distributions, centered on z-scores of 0,1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, respectively. An expectation maximization algorithm is used to assign studies probabilities of belonging to each distribution (34). More generally, the absence of widespread transparent practices in the published gambling literature is not completely surprising, and we do not draw attention to this issue to single anyone out. Contemporary dialogue related to open science principles and practices became widespread in related academic sectors around 2012 (e.g., psychology 135, 136); however, editorials addressing these topics to gambling researchers are more recent 137. Supporting these editorials’ calls for greater attention to open science with empirical evidence and transparent research practices should help advance meaningful change in gambling studies.

First, studies were most likely to involve structural tools, followed by user-directed tools, and then game-specific regulations. Auer and Griffiths (2013a, b) examined the efficacy of limit-setting among high intensity gamblers, across a variety of gambling activities, in a real-world online setting. Data were initially collected from a representative random sample of 100,000 players, of which 5000 had opted to use the voluntary time and/or monetary limits. The top 10 % most intense gamblers, as derived via theoretical loss (house advantage multiplied by amount wagered; see Auer et al. 2012), were taken from each of the sub-gambling type groups (i.e., poker, lottery, and casino games). Results showed that theoretical loss significantly decreased among the top 10 % most gaming-intense lottery players in the 30 days following all kinds of voluntary limit-setting (time and money) compared to the total theoretical loss in the 30 days prior to the implementation of limits.

• But I suspect the authors will again rebut this point, and we could go back and forth on this for awhile.
• Consequently, the Expected Discovery Rate should more accurately predict the outcome of actual replication efforts than the Expected Replication Rate.
• Greater transparency and precision are paramount to improving the evidence base for responsible product design to mitigate gambling-related harm.

Static Messaging Versus Dynamic Messaging

Moreover, literature is mainly focused on gambling venues’ proximity to or removal of ATMs, while consequences of those actions can also be valid for other places that allow access to money, such as cash for gold stores or pawn shops. A specific area for educational intervention is family/parent training interventions 34,40. Interventions that strengthen families and create effective parenting practices are considered one of the most powerful ways to reduce adolescent problem behaviors and reduce problems at later ages. However, more studies are needed in this area because the certainty of evidence is very low 12. The actual impact of advertising on consumer behavior is complex to understand, and little is known about the effects of gambling advertising on gambling behavior 40. However, many studies have proved that gambling advertisements have a great impact on the propensity to gamble among problem gamblers.

But to be clear, it seems like the authors have done a good job with this work, and I commend them making all of their material available online, including data and analysis scripts. It’s just that the way that it’s written doesn’t work very well for the reader, in my opinion, and that the paper overall needs a more singular focus. I do hope to see these data published in the near future, and I hope these comments help the authors to make this happen. Please provide a table with the list of included studies within the manuscript text. Furthermore please also provide a table with the list of included studies within the manuscript text.”

Availability of data and materials

Countries like France have already passed legislation to limit influencer marketing of harmful products in social media. It is crucial for regulations and harm prevention efforts to keep pace with the changing environment of online gambling marketing. Similarly, the data gambling companies collect on gamblers to propagate their marketing messages, could be put to better use in harm reduction, including using player data to target information on harmful play. Given that public health messaging is rarely sufficient on its own to change behaviour 39, the SGPs should also be used to change policy and practice. In addition to promoting the guidelines, gambling regulators and operators could facilitate use of the SGPs. They could provide budgeting tools to encourage gamblers to calculate an affordable gambling budget in the context of their overall household budget.

For example, a much longer period of time may be required before maladaptive cravings dissipate and the positive effects of a break may begin to surface. However, recommendations as to what this length of time should be needs to be empirically based, but is likely to differ on an individual-by-individual basis. In addition, given differences in responses between university and real life gamblers (Gainsbury et al. 2014), it remains to be determined if the findings have external validity in terms of how such effects are applicable to real gamblers in real world gambling environments.

A lack of transparency undermines the benefit of adopting practices that increase replicability. Pre-registration limits obfuscation of which analyses were planned versus exploratory 24. Although extant evidence does not support the contention that industry influences the methodology of responsible gambling research 132, pre-registration would be a worthwhile additional step to ensure independence between researchers and industry actors who fund them 133. We found that only a handful of studies in the responsible product design literature were pre-registered, and all of them were published in 2019 or 2020.

Such strategies include the use of breaks in play, ‘pop-up’ messaging, limit setting, and behavioural tracking. The present paper reviews the theoretical argument underpinning the application of specific harm-minimisation tools, as well as providing one of the first critical reviews of the empirical research assessing their efficacy, in terms of influencing gambling cognitions and behaviour. A harm reduction approach differs from the ‘responsible gambling’ approach in that it does not primarily focus on player gullybet app responsibility, the preservation of interests of recreational players and the industry 25, but on the fuller range of public health implications. Focus needs to be on multi-modal interventions, as systematic interventions and policies are usually more effective than stand-alone interventions 19.

The results of this umbrella review also showed the relevance of considering the targets when reviewing evidence. For example, the PNF or PFI may cause a “boomerang effect” when targeting low-frequency gamblers. Precommitment can be effective for some persons and can be problematic for others and self-exclusion programs should focus on the early detection of problematic gamblers. Moreover, educational programs are more effective when intermediate targets, such as professionals with a close relationship with participants, are considered.

‘Only take the money you want to lose’ strategies for sticking to limits in electronics venues, International Gambling Studies, pp1-19. PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here. The survey included 65 questions, although many of these were multi-item scales and question sets. Participants were advised that the survey would take approximately 20 minutes to complete. This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.

What is required is empirical behavioural gambling data to measure pre-and post-intervention effects. It must also be noted that the effects of the video on cognitive distortions were long-lasting, which may equip individuals well in the long run as a protective factor against developing problems with gambling, but longitudinal evidence is required to test such a proposition. In comparison to informative and control messages, results showed that self-appraisal messaging had a significantly greater self-reported effect on participants’ thoughts, behaviour, and awareness of the amount of time spent gambling. For example, Nevitt and Lundak (2005) demonstrated that self-report accounts of drinking habits for alcohol-offenders significantly underreported both drinking severity and the problems caused by drinking. This proposition for using self-appraisal messaging also has good face validity, particularly when considering the factors that contribute to problem gambling behaviour.

I agree with Reviewer 1, who noted that a lot of this around replication could be an editorial. But I suspect the authors will again rebut this point, and we could go back and forth on this for awhile. I think this will be a call for the editor, and I am of course happy to defer to her views. Z-curve is based on the idea that a distribution of z-scores can be derived from the average power of an entire set of studies. That distribution is truncated at the critical z-value (typically 1.96) after selection for statistical significance.