What Behaviours and Cognitions Support Responsible Consumption of Gambling? Results from an Expert Survey

Satisfaction of Basic Psychological Needs and Adherence to Responsible Gambling Practices: The Mediating Role of Flourishing

Responsible gambling (RG) is a practical approach to contain potential gambling-associated harms to an acceptable level. However, few studies have proposed a theoretical framework to account for significant individual differences in RG adherence, which hinders an effective RG promotion in public. To address this missing link, the current study aims to identify psychological need factors associated with adherence to RG practices. We applied the self-determination theory (SDT) to explore the association between the satisfaction of basic psychological needs (i.e., relatedness, competency, and autonomy) and RG adherence in a probability Chinese community adult sample (N = 1002; 55.7% women and M _age = 44.28 years), acquired from a telephone survey conducted in the 2018 fall with a two-stage cluster random sampling method. We found that the three types of basic needs satisfaction were significantly and positively related to RG adherence via a full mediation of flourishing. The findings provide practical insights to understanding individual differences in RG adherence and designing corresponding SDT-based interventions for gambling communities globally.

A scoping review of hard systems and tools that restrict money and cash for gambling

BACKGROUND

Gamblers engage in a range of "soft" financial options to limit access to money or cash for gambling (e.g., family looks after cash). Such barriers are easily overturned, resulting in a demand for financial systems and tools that offer "hard" restrictions on access to money and cash in a gambling context. The aim of this scoping review was to determine the attitudes and preferences of gamblers and their families on systems or tools to restrict access to money and cash, as well as the effectiveness of systems and tools that can be used to accomplish that goal.

METHODS

A systematic search of articles related to financial restrictions and gambling was conducted. Eligibility criteria included samples of gamblers or affected others and interventions targeted at money or cash restrictions in a gambling context. Soft financial barriers such as family involvement were excluded, as were limit-setting systems which focused on gambling expenditure in gambling venues.

RESULTS

Nine studies met the eligibility criteria, with three focused on financial systems (e.g., ban on credit betting) and six focused on removal of cash machines from gambling venues. The included literature was generally of low quality, with just two pre-post studies and seven cross-sectional or qualitative ones.

CONCLUSIONS

The included studies provided strong support for financial mechanisms to support gamblers and their families. Future studies need to involve multiple stakeholders to provide this type of support as well as to evaluate the holistic impact that such hard barriers can have on gambling and gambling-related harms.

Making EGMs Accountable: Can an Informative and Dynamic Interface Help Players Self-regulate?

Electronic gaming machines (EGMs) are recognised as one of the most harmful gambling forms, because they promote high-speed repetitive gambling and automatically reinvest winnings. These features, amongst others, make it difficult for EGM gamblers to keep track of their play. Tools to assist gamblers exist, but have limited effectiveness because they require user registration and manual activation, leading to low uptake. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of a more informative interface (including removal of automatic reinvestment of winnings) and pop-up messages on gambling behaviour, and on player experience. A total of 213 Australian participants, recruited through social media, played a simulated online EGM. The experiment was a two (standard vs. informative interface) × two (pop-ups absent vs. present) between-subjects design. The informative interface: promoted keeping track of spins played; increased accurate estimation of amount spent (as did pop-up messages) and time played; and provided game usage figures which acted as cues to quit play. Once the initial deposit (but not winnings) was expended, informative interface users could opt to reinvest their winnings, although many opted to exit at that point. No difference in total spending or dissociation was observed between experimental groups. Informative interface users reported no reduction in enjoyment. Pop-up messages reduced enjoyment with the standard interface, but increased enjoyment when paired with an informative interface. These findings indicate that a more informative interface and pop-up messages may be useful in reducing the harmful nature of EGMs.