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Journal article
How structural changes in online gambling are shaping the contemporary experiences and behaviours of online gamblers: an interview study
BMC Public Health, Vol.22(1), pp.1-16
26/08/2022
PMID: 36028827
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Abstract
Background. Over the last decade, the provision of online gambling has intensified with increased access, enhanced betting markets, a broader product range, and prolific marketing. However, little research has explored how this intensification is influencing contemporary gambling experiences. This study focused on two research questions: 1) What changes in online gambling have online gamblers observed over the past decade? 2) How have these changes influenced the online gambling experiences and behaviours reported by treatment-seeking and non-treatment-seeking gamblers?
Methods. Two samples of Australian adults were interviewed: 1) 19 people who had been gambling online for at least a decade and with no history of treatment-seeking for online gambling, and 2) 10 people who had recently sought professional help for an online gambling problem. Telephone interviews were semi-structured, with questions that encouraged participants to consider how their online gambling, including any harmful gambling, had been influenced by changes in operator practices and online gambling environments. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Results. Both treatment- and non-treatment-seekers noted the increased speed and ease of online gambling, which now enables instant access from anywhere at any time and increased their gambling opportunities. Both groups highlighted the continued proliferation of advertising and inducements for online gambling, particularly during televised sports and racing events, in social media, and through targeted push marketing. Many treatment- and non-treatment-seekers were aware of the vast range of recently introduced bet types, particularly multi-bets. Treatment-seekers disproportionately reported negative effects from these changes, and described how and why they fostered their increased gambling, impulsive gambling, persistence and loss-chasing. They reported limited uptake and effectiveness of current harm minimisation tools.
Conclusions. Counter to stated policy and practice objectives to minimise gambling harm, industry changes that have made online gambling easier, faster, and more heavily incentivised, and increased the array of complex bets with poorer odds, unduly affect addicted and harmed individuals – who are also the most profitable customers. Further consideration is needed to ensure gambling policy, industry practices and public health measures more effectively reduce gambling harm in contemporary settings. Inducements and the poor pricing of complex bets such as multi-bets, and their outsized attraction to players with problems, should be a key focus.
Details
- Title
- How structural changes in online gambling are shaping the contemporary experiences and behaviours of online gamblers: an interview study
- Creators
- Nerilee Hing - Central Queensland UniversityMichele Smith - Central Queensland UniversityMatthew Rockloff - Central Queensland UniversityHannah Thorne - Experimental Gambling Research LaboratoryAlex M. T. Russell - Experimental Gambling Research LaboratoryNicki A. Dowling - Deakin UniversityHelen Breen - Southern Cross University
- Publication Details
- BMC Public Health, Vol.22(1), pp.1-16
- Comment
- The authors acknowledge the contribution of George Loram from Deakin University who conducted the interviews with 10 treatment-seekers. The data that support the findings of this study are available from Gambling Research Australia, but restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for the current study, and so are not publicly available. Data are however available from the authors upon reasonable request and with permission of Gambling Research Australia.
- Publisher
- BMC
- Grant note
- Funding for this study was provided by Gambling Research Australia, a partnership between the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments to initiate and manage a national gambling research program. Central Queensland University also provided a stipend to MS for a Summer Scholarship to support her work on this manuscript.
- Identifiers
- 991013048713602368
- Copyright
- ©The Author(s)2022. Open Access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Business, Law and Arts
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article