Professor Alex Blaszczynski PhD

The University of Sydney Gambling Research Unit

Gambling prevention & research: From legislation to action

The provision of player information: Its effectiveness & impact on excessive gambling

Dorigny-Lausanne1 – 2 march 2005

Acknowledgments

• Collaborators:– Professor Robert Ladouceur, Laval University,

Quebec

– Dr. Lia Nower, University of Missouri, St. Louis, Missouri

– Australian Gaming Council

Questions

• What is responsible gambling?• Industry versus Personal responsibility?• What is informed choice?• What player information is required?• Evidence for effectiveness?

What is responsible gambling & what does it hope to achieve?• Provision of a safe gambling product:

– No exploitation

– No misleading claims

– Does not promote or induce excess

– Does not fosters loss of controlor dependence

• Objective:

– Reduce incidence of problem gambling

• Objective of player information:– Primary prevention: to prevent entry into

problem gambling&/or change attitudes

– Tertiary prevention: regain control & reduce problem gambling

Health & lifestyle choices

What are the relative responsibilities of individuals & industry in preventing problem gambling?

• Individuals retain responsibility over personal choices & decisions

• Industry must provide sufficient information for informed choices to be made

Cognitive models of problem gambling• People gamble because of the belief in the possibility

of winning

– Misunderstanding crucial elements (probabilities) of games of chance leads to:

• An overestimate of the chance of winning• Belief that personal skills can influence outcome• Erroneous beliefs regarding independent events &

randomness

What is informed choice?

• Capacity to choose between options given all relevant information to determine implications & consequences of choice made

What are requirements for informed choice?

• Competence• Disclosure/understanding

– Relevant– Accurate– Accessible– Full– Timely

• Voluntary

What specific player information is required to allow informed choice

Categories of information• Warning: gambling may lead to addiction/harm• Counselling services• Operation, characteristics & configuration of games• Attitude shift: recreation versus income• Tracking time & money spent

Is there any evidence player information influences behaviour?

Empirical data

• Hing (2004)– Survey to determine awareness, perceived

adequacy & effectiveness of responsible gaming initiatives

– 86% aware of responsible gaming policy

– 67% aware of signs related to chance of winning

– 20% reported impact on behaviour

• Similar findings reported by:– Steenbergh, Whelan, Meyers, May & Floyd (2004)

– Focal Research Nova Scotia (2004)

• Interaction between information & motivation to change influences attention to, & absorption of, player information

Does knowledge of statistics & probabilities influence erroneous beliefs?

• Behnsain & Ladouceur (2004)– Compared students attending statistics & non-

statistics courses– Statistics group more knowledgeable– No difference in rates of erroneous perceptions

during play (70% vs 61%)

• Implications: cognitions shift during play irrespective of player information

Should information be provided at school?

• Two studies evaluated school programs:1. Gaboury & Ladouceur (1993)

– Improved learning about gambling & coping skills

– Failure to translate knowledge into changes in behaviour or attitudes

Should information be provided at school?2. Williams, Connolly, Wood et al., (2004)

– Statistics vs non-statistics university students

– Information did not lead to differences between groups or across time in respect to:– Attitudes

– Time or money gambled

– Canadian Problem Gambling Index scores

Should information be provided at school?2. Williams, Connolly, Wood et al., (2004)

• Educational program to Grades 10 & 11• Improved knowledge, awareness & resistance

to gambling fallacies• Reduction in time & money spent gambling

Summary

• Simple provision of information & odds is insufficient to effect change

• Development of negative attitudes toward gambling is best predictor of decreased gambling behaviour

• Education about problem gambling & erroneous cognitions contributing to gambling fallacies is the mechanism through which attitude change is achieved

Balance between marketing & player information

• Gaming machines are recreational devices on which you spend money

• It is possible to win in the short-term• In the long term, in all but the most unusual cases

& extraordinary circumstances, this outcome is virtually impossible

Professor Alex Blaszczynski PhD

The University of Sydney Gambling Research Unit

Gambling prevention & research: Gambling prevention & research: From legislation to actionFrom legislation to action

The provision of player information: Its effectiveness & impact on excessive

gambling

Dorigny-Lausanne1 – 2 march 2005