Professor Alex Blaszczynski PhD The University of Sydney Gambling Research Unit Gambling prevention...
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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