tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/online-gambling-7654/articles
Online gambling – The Conversation
2023-05-19T02:54:21Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/205843
2023-05-19T02:54:21Z
2023-05-19T02:54:21Z
Sport is being used to normalise gambling. We should treat the problem just like smoking
<p>Turn on the TV and you’re <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/extent-of-and-children-and-young-peoples-exposure-to-gambling-advertising-in-sport-and-non-sport-tv-679/">four times more likely</a> to see a gambling ad during a sports broadcast than during other programming.</p>
<p>The number of gambling ads on TV has grown from <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/extent-of-and-children-and-young-peoples-exposure-to-gambling-advertising-in-sport-and-non-sport-tv-679/">374 a day</a> in 2016 to <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media/948-gambling-ads-daily-on-victorian-free-to-air-tv-in-2021/">948 in 2021</a>. The Australian Football League and National Rubgy League have an “official wagering partner”, whose logo is displayed prominently. Individual clubs have sponsorship deals with gambling companies, displaying their logos on team jerseys.</p>
<p>It’s something Prime Minister Anthony Albanese agrees is “<a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/politicians-say-tv-gambling-ads-are-problematic-but-banning-them-will-do-little-experts-say/j4aapxz57">annoying</a>”, after Opposition leader Peter Dutton <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/13/peter-dutton-cranks-up-pressure-on-labor-to-further-restrict-gambling-ads#:%7E:text=%E2%80%9CI%20announce%20that%20a%20Coalition,to%20get%20it%20implemented%20now.%E2%80%9D">proposed a ban</a> on gambling ads an hour before and after sports matches. </p>
<p>At present, <a href="https://www.acma.gov.au/gambling-ads-during-live-sport-broadcast-tv-and-radio">a voluntary code governs</a> when these <a href="https://www.freetv.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Free_TV_Commercial_Television_Industry_Code_of_Practice_2018.pdf">ads can be shown</a>. Generally this means they are not allowed until after 8:30pm. But as any parent will tell you, this won’t stop <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/extent-of-and-children-and-young-peoples-exposure-to-gambling-advertising-in-sport-and-non-sport-tv-679/">sports-mad kids</a> seeing them. </p>
<p>Children are regularly, and heavily, exposed to these ads. Parents are alarmed at the changing way their children view sport. It’s not just about the game, or the players, or the teams any more. Now children recite <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/child-and-parent-recall-of-gambling-sponsorship-in-australian-sport-67/">bookmaker brands</a> and the odds as they discuss the weekend’s sport.</p>
<h2>Normalising harmful behaviour</h2>
<p>As with cigarette marketing in decades past, sports sponsorship and advertising has been the primary mechanism for the aggressive “normalisation” of gambling. It presents betting on your team (especially with your mates) as the mark of a dedicated supporter.</p>
<p>Associating a product with a popular pastime, and with sporting or other heroes, is a clear tactic of harmful commodity industries from tobacco, to alcohol, fast food, and gambling. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/news-and-media-releases/articles/study-shows-betting-ads-influencing-childrens-attitudes-to-gambling">Alarming evidence</a> is emerging that shows how young people are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/mar/27/children-more-likely-to-become-gamblers-due-to-high-volume-of-betting-ads">influenced by this marketing</a>. This includes evidence that <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-03/2302-overview_gambling-participation-harm-views.pdf">young people’s exposure to gambling ads</a> is linked to gambling activity as adults.</p>
<p>Gambling ads are effective in persuading people to make specific bets, and to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-11/sports-betting-online-group-chats-young-people-gambling-research/101945456">encourage their friends</a> to sign up.</p>
<p>Young men are particularly susceptible. More than 70% of <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/research/research-snapshots/gambling-participation-and-experience-harm-australia">male punters aged 18 to 35</a> are at risk of harm, according to the Australian Institute of Family Studies. </p>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Proportion of Australian adults who gambled and were classified as being at risk of gambling harm in past 12 months." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=319&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=319&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=319&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Proportion of Australian adults who gambled and were classified as being at risk of gambling harm in the past 12 months.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://aifs.gov.au/research/research-snapshots/gambling-participation-and-experience-harm-australia">AIFS</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<h2>What other countries are doing</h2>
<p>These concerns have now lead to multiple countries prohibiting gambling ads altogether. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sportcal.com/betting/sports-betting-advertising-restrictions-planned-in-netherlands/">The Netherlands</a> will ban all TV, radio, print and billboard gambling ads from July, with strict conditions on online advertising. A ban on club sponsorship will come into effect in 2025. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/belgium-bans-gambling-advertising-july-1-2023-03-09/">Belgium</a> is going further, ban gambling ads online as well from July. It will ban advertising in stadiums from 2025, and sponsoring of sports clubs in 2028.</p>
<p><a href="https://euroweeklynews.com/2021/08/31/spain-ban-gambling-advertising/">Spain</a> imposed a blanket ban on gambling advertising in 2021, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/gambling-act-review-how-eu-countries-are-tightening-restrictions-on-ads-and-why-the-uk-should-too-199354">Italy</a> in 2019.</p>
<p>In the UK, the Premier League last month agreed to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/apr/13/premier-league-clubs-ban-gambling-sponsors-on-front-of-shirts-from-2026-27">ban bookies’ logos</a> from player match shirts, though critics argue this barely addresses <a href="https://theconversation.com/premier-leagues-front-of-shirt-gambling-ad-ban-is-a-flawed-approach-australia-should-learn-from-it-204105">the scale of the problem</a>.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/premier-leagues-front-of-shirt-gambling-ad-ban-is-a-flawed-approach-australia-should-learn-from-it-204105">Premier League’s front-of-shirt gambling ad ban is a flawed approach. Australia should learn from it</a>
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<h2>How to denormalise harmful behaviour</h2>
<p>“Denormalisation” was a key strategy of <a href="https://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-5-uptake/5-24-denormalising-smoking">tobacco control efforts</a> in Australia. These are now seen as a massive public health success, with smoking and associated disease rates dropping dramatically. </p>
<p>There are at least two aspects to denormalising harmful products. </p>
<p>The first is to reduce the avenues through which the product can be promoted. With <a href="https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/tobacco-control-toc%7Etimeline#:%7E:text=1976%20%2D%20bans%20on%20all%20cigarette,increase%20in%20the%20tobacco%20excise.">tobacco</a> this includes even regulating the packaging. For gambling, getting rid of all forms of gambling promotion during sporting events is the obvious first step.</p>
<p>It’s also important to have counter-marketing. When Victoria banned tobacco sponsorship in 1987, it established the <a href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/about-us/our-history#:%7E:text=We%20were%20established%20by%20the,of%20sport%20and%20the%20arts.">Victorian Health Promotion Foundation </a>, funded by tobacco taxes, initially to support teams that had lost sponsorship. </p>
<p>If gambling ads were banned, it would be logical to replace at least some of the bookies’ ads with messaging that helps people avoid a gambling habit, or get help if they already have an issue.</p>
<h2>What needs to be done</h2>
<p>If the current <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/onlinegambling">parliamentary inquiry into online gambling</a> makes recommendations in line with submissions from concerned citizens and non-government organisations, we can expect an extension of current restrictions. This should include banning ads in line with Peter Dutton’s suggestions.</p>
<p>It would also make sense to go further than just more restrictions on broadcast ads, to include online and social media promotion. </p>
<p>Even though gambling companies spend most of their marketing dollars on television, use of <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/the-receptivity-of-young-people-to-gambling-marketing-strategies-on-social-media-platforms-1155/">social media</a> is increasing, with alcohol and gambling ads that deliberately <a href="https://fare.org.au/facebook-and-instagram-are-bombarding-young-people-with-targeted-alcohol-gambling-and-unhealthy-food-ads/#:%7E:text=%E2%80%9CWe%20observed%20that%20alcohol%2C%20unhealthy,points%20collected%20about%20each%20child.%E2%80%9D">target young people</a>. This is despite platforms like Facebook saying it <a href="https://www.facebook.com/business/help/345214789920228?id=434838534925385">doesn’t allow targeting</a> for online gambling and gaming ads to people under the age of 18.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-odds-youll-gamble-on-the-grand-final-are-high-when-punting-is-woven-into-our-very-social-fabric-124157">The odds you’ll gamble on the Grand Final are high when punting is woven into our very social fabric</a>
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<p>A program of successive marketing restrictions, moving towards total prohibition, can give the broadcast industry, and the sporting codes, time to line up new sponsors. </p>
<p>There is a need for national uniformity, with a national regulator to replace current clunky arrangements. And only the federal government has any hope of making social media adhere to regulation. </p>
<p>We gained enormous benefits from removing tobacco advertising from our TV screens and billboards. We have the opportunity to protect a new generation from further serious, avoidable gambling harm. </p>
<p>No one can say Australian sport is worse off without tobacco ads.</p>
<p>Providing a clear timeline for the end of gambling ads will give our professional sports organisations the incentive they need to find an ethical solution that avoids entrapping a new generation in gambling harm.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205843/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Foundation, the (former) Victorian Gambling Research Panel, and the South Australian Independent Gambling Authority (the funds for which were derived from hypothecation of gambling tax revenue to research purposes), from the Australian and New Zealand School of Government and the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, and from non-government organisations for research into multiple aspects of poker machine gambling, including regulatory reform, existing harm minimisation practices, and technical characteristics of gambling forms. He has received travel and co-operation grants from the Alberta Problem Gambling Research Institute, the Finnish Institute for Public Health, the Finnish Alcohol Research Foundation, the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Committee, the Turkish Red Crescent Society, and the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand. He was a Chief Investigator on an Australian Research Council funded project researching mechanisms of influence on government by the tobacco, alcohol and gambling industries. He has undertaken consultancy research for local governments and non-government organisations in Australia and the UK seeking to restrict or reduce the concentration of poker machines and gambling impacts, and was a member of the Australian government's Ministerial Expert Advisory Group on Gambling in 2010-11. He is a member of the Lancet Public Health Commission into gambling, and of the World Health Organisation expert group on gambling and gambling harm.</span></em></p>
No one can say Australian sport is worse off without tobacco ads. We can protect a new generation of young sports fans from harm by following other nations’ lead – and phasing out gambling ads.
Charles Livingstone, Associate Professor, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/204641
2023-05-12T15:25:27Z
2023-05-12T15:25:27Z
Technology can play a vital role in limiting online gambling – here’s how
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525363/original/file-20230510-23-ufsdxd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C0%2C7880%2C5249&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Over a quarter of people in the UK gamble online at least once every four weeks.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-male-hands-holding-credit-card-1569629677">Wpadington / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than a quarter of people in the UK gamble online <a href="https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/sites/default/files/asset/document/enabling-safer-online-gambling-policy-briefing.pdf">at least once every four weeks</a>. And 1%–2% of UK adults demonstrate moderate-to-high risk levels of gambling-related harms.</p>
<p>The substantive and striking changes that the rise of online gambling have introduced are acknowledged by the UK government’s recently published plans to change the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-stakes-gambling-reform-for-the-digital-age/high-stakes-gambling-reform-for-the-digital-age">law in this area</a>.</p>
<p>Through smartphones or other internet-enabled devices, people can gamble online anywhere, at any time. Gambling online also often allows those experiencing gambling-related harm to more easily <a href="https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/projects/digital-addiction-research/hidden-stories-online-gamblers">hide this from those around them</a>. </p>
<p>The reach of online gambling by operators, and gambling overall, is further enhanced by online promotion using social media. In an analysis of Twitter posts by several UK gambling operators, we found that over 80% of tweets related to sports, but less than 11% of tweets <a href="https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/sites/default/files/asset/document/social-media-gambling-infographic.pdf">related to responsible gambling</a>.</p>
<p>Greater use of social media for responsible gambling messages would increase the impact of responsible gambling strategies. It would also enable more personalised targeting of this messaging to groups who may be at higher risk of harms, such as <a href="https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/sites/default/files/asset/document/reducing-gambling-related-harm-lgbtq-communities-policy-briefing.pdf">members of the LGBTQ+ community</a>, who report a higher number of life stressors.</p>
<h2>Loot boxes</h2>
<p>There is also the increasing phenomenon of merging online gambling and other activities, notably loot boxes – which contain random game items that may or may not be desirable or valuable – in video games. These might allow the player to buy better weapons or armour for use in their game, or customise a player’s avatar. Players can purchase loot boxes in games, with either in-game or real-world currency. </p>
<p>In our research, we found that video game players perceive loot boxes to be a <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0263567">form of gambling</a>, despite attempts by the video game industry to <a href="https://www.polygon.com/2019/6/21/18691760/ea-vp-loot-boxes-surprise-mechanics-ethical-enjoyable">re-brand them with a less descriptive name</a>, such as “surprise mechanics”.</p>
<p>From social psychology research, we know that how we behave and the attitudes we hold are strongly influenced by what we <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/09687631003610977?journalCode=idep20">perceive to be the norm</a>. Also, there are overlaps in the harms experienced with loot boxes, <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0263567">both in our research</a> and <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-54906393">media reports</a> of issues that would be typically seen in gambling difficulties, such as overspending. Based on this, it seems likely that engaging with loot boxes will prime children and young adults towards becoming involved in gambling. </p>
<p>As has been noted by the Young Gamers and Gamblers Education trust (YGAM), <a href="https://www.ygam.org/mindful-resilience/">awareness raising and training are needed</a>. The concern about loot boxes is so great that they have been banned in Belgium, albeit with an acknowledgment that the ban will be <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-49674333">difficult to enforce</a>.</p>
<h2>Responsible gambling tools and messages</h2>
<p>The technologies that create the risks and challenges of online gambling can also be used to prevent and reduce harms. Various techniques – known in the industry as responsible gambling tools – are already available from operators to help players take control of their gambling. These include deposit limits and self-exclusion, where users can ask to be denied access.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-018-6281-0">uptake of these tools is low</a>, and impact relies upon people recognising that they are at risk and being motivated to engage with these tools. So we welcome the suggestion in the government’s new white paper around making deposit limits mandatory, which is consistent with the views of people who have <a href="https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/36868/">experienced problem gambling</a>.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/projects/responsible-gambling-projects">Gambling Research Group</a> has explored how technology can be used to further prevent and reduce harms, including how players respond to personalised, targeted responsible gambling messaging based on <a href="https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/3/e065400">social norms and goal setting</a>.</p>
<p>This ability to receive immediate feedback regarding a harm prevention strategy from the target population is relatively new in psychology, and potentially very powerful. So including people with real experience of gambling problems in the co-creation of responsible gambling messages will result in <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339662855_Gambling_Data_and_Modalities_of_Interaction_for_Responsible_Online_Gambling_A_Qualitative_Study">more effective strategies</a>.</p>
<p>The proposals included in the white paper would utilise some of the opportunities afforded by online technologies. For example, the use of affordability checks facilitated through credit reference agencies would likely reduce some of the harms associated with online gambling. </p>
<p>Similarly, online data-sharing on high-risk customers is a positive step, as many individuals engaging in problematic gambling report <a href="https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/36868/">chasing losses</a> until their money runs out.</p>
<h2>Safer by design</h2>
<p>We also welcome the proposed limit on online slots, which brings it in line with the 2019 <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/1402/contents/made">reduction in stake</a> in fixed-odds betting terminals, and the proposal to make online games safer by design. Our research has shown that individuals who are new to gambling are less aware of persuasive design techniques and thus potentially at <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0164121222001935?via%3Dihub">greater risk from them</a>.</p>
<p>Similarly, addressing gaps in legislation to ensure under-18s cannot gamble online may help prevent young people from developing problematic gambling behaviour later on. However, this impact may be limited by the UK government’s response in 2022 that no further legislation is planned to regulate loot boxes. Currently, little is known about the impact of gambling-related harms on children aged under 18. </p>
<p>It also cannot be underestimated how skilled gambling-addicted people are at finding a way around any restrictions. The white paper recognises the risks on unregulated gambling in online black markets, and calls for preventative action. But how this will be achieved remains to be seen. </p>
<p>The white paper’s new statutory levy is also a positive step that contributes to funding and the <a href="https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/sites/default/files/asset/document/How%20to%20Create%20Safer%20Online%20Gambling.pdf">transparency of funding sources</a> for quality gambling research, education and treatment. </p>
<p>While most people gamble online safely and responsibly, those who develop problems can experience severe effects. These negative consequences are not limited to the individual but can also <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7387499/">affect</a> those around them, including <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317387586_A_typical_problem_gambler_affects_six_others">family, friends and work colleagues</a>. </p>
<p>As technology continues evolving, it is vital that we continue to be mindful of the unique risks and opportunities that arise in online gambling to prevent people from being harmed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204641/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John McAlaney receives funding from GambleAware, the International Centre for Responsible Gaming (both charitable organisations that have received funding from gambling companies), and the Gaming Innovation Group. He is affiliated with the Gordon Moody Association. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Arden-Close has received funding from GambleAware, the International Center for Responsible Gaming (both charitable organisations that have received funding from gambling companies) and Kindred Group.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Hodge receives funding from GambleAware, the International Centre for Responsible Gaming (both charitable organisations that have received funding from gambling companies), Kindred, Playtech, and the Gaming Innovation Group.</span></em></p>
We can make better use of technology to limit problem online gambling.
John McAlaney, Professor in Psychology, Bournemouth University
Emily Arden-Close, Principal Academic in Psychology, Bournemouth University
Sarah Hodge, Lecturer in Psychology and Cyberpsychology, Bournemouth University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/204105
2023-04-28T05:40:50Z
2023-04-28T05:40:50Z
Premier League’s front-of-shirt gambling ad ban is a flawed approach. Australia should learn from it
<p>“Excellent decision.”</p>
<p>This was the reaction from English football great Gary Lineker to the <a href="https://twitter.com/premierleague/status/1646469550106345472?s=20">announcement that the English Premier League</a> has agreed to voluntarily “withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of their matchday shirts”. </p>
<p>The league announced its decision after an “extensive consultation” with the UK government about its review of gambling legislation. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1646471488688599040"}"></div></p>
<p>This decision was held up by the government as a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-stakes-gambling-reform-for-the-digital-age/high-stakes-gambling-reform-for-the-digital-age">key strategy</a> to reduce children’s incidental exposure to gambling logos while watching football, in the UK’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/gambling-reform-in-the-digital-age">gambling white paper</a> released Thursday.</p>
<p>The white paper also identified the front-of-shirt ban as part of an effort to move towards “socially responsible” sports sponsorship. </p>
<p>Some UK campaigners cautiously welcomed the decision, saying it was an important admission from the Premier League that <a href="https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1646783724405530628?s=20">gambling advertising is harmful</a>.</p>
<p>In Australia, some gambling reform groups said the measure was <a href="https://twitter.com/ReformGambling/status/1646770316545343488?s=20">great news</a>, and that Australian sporting codes should do the same.</p>
<p>However, in the following days, extensive criticism of the deal emerged. <a href="https://twitter.com/felly500/status/1646869806547718147?s=20">Public health experts</a> and other stakeholders argued the measure was more about public relations than harm prevention. </p>
<p>Experts argued the ban would do little to tackle the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/9c3713ab-4317-4205-96ce-1075ecc5f865?accessToken=zwAF-dLxW63YkdOcNxOrQxdCBdOWzhB17MX4ZQ.MEUCIFx5oi98ZhAh3FTD_BpyqM1tP72rNMeLJwnbD1kGhrbZAiEA2RJOC47Nt7PmRTa3Fn39YPJ5JU94qGDsv2vsfHF87OU&sharetype=gift&token=000a957f-9f7e-432f-ad15-915115b38fb2">entrenched relationship between the gambling industry and sport</a>, and could even be a step backwards. </p>
<p>Many were concerned the measure deflected from the urgent need for comprehensive restrictions on gambling marketing – a measure widely supported to prevent the normalisation of gambling for children.</p>
<p>And the UK white paper did little to implement the comprehensive restrictions needed to <a href="http://www.adph.org.uk/2023/04/wpresponse/">reduce children’s daily exposure to gambling promotions</a>.</p>
<h2>A flawed approach</h2>
<p>At the heart of the criticisms were that the decision, as well as related measures, did very little to address the proliferation of gambling marketing in sport. </p>
<p>The agreement:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>only removes a small part of marketing on the front of matchday shirts. This leaves the door open for gambling branding to remain on other parts of the uniform, and on other kits</p></li>
<li><p>doesn’t address marketing or branding around sporting grounds</p></li>
<li><p>will not be implemented until the end of the 2025-26 season – hardly a sign of an urgent imperative to reduce the marketing of a harmful product</p></li>
<li><p>includes a promise to establish a “new code for responsible gambling sponsorship”</p></li>
<li><p>and seemingly <a href="https://academic.oup.com/heapro/article/38/2/daac194/7080461">ignores the evidence</a> that voluntary codes serve primarily to <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj.p161.full">protect the interests of advertisers</a>, not the community.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The flaws with the Premier League’s decision highlight the significant problems with allowing those with vested interests to make decisions about what they’re prepared to engage in (or not) to protect the health of the public. </p>
<p>History shows <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(12)62089-3/fulltext">these types of initiatives are rarely effective</a> in reducing marketing for these products, or in <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(19)32540-1/fulltext?fbclid=IwAR2TJ3MJNaZuL9d4g2DWxu04mVxFGzJahxBR4BTHk332kdkZ_LfAdHETaJs">protecting children</a>. </p>
<p>Far from signalling progress, they serve to delay regulation that would protect public health. Voluntary measures and self-regulation are convenient for governments that don’t want to regulate a powerful industry. They form part of the narrative for government that “something is being done”.</p>
<h2>Vested interests</h2>
<p>In Australia, sporting organisations have a significant vested interest in making money from gambling products, sponsorships and promotions. Some, including the AFL, also <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/apr/04/afl-receives-cut-of-gambling-turnover-outside-sponsorship-inquiry-hears">receive a cut of gambling turnover on matches</a>. </p>
<p>Peak sporting bodies <a href="https://www.compps.com.au/index.html">claim</a> sport delivers “long-term social, health, community and economic benefits”. While this is clearly true in many cases, it’s inconsistent with the stance many Australian sporting codes have taken on gambling. This is especially so given the <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/gambling-victoria/gambling-harm-victoria/types-harm-gambling/">irrefutable links</a> between gambling and some of Australia’s most pressing health and social problems, including homelessness, family violence, criminality and mental health issues.</p>
<p>Instead of taking a strong stand to restrict gambling marketing, some sporting codes have continued to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/hpja.721">normalise the promotion of gambling products</a>. We saw this all too clearly in the recent <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;db=COMMITTEES;id=committees%2Fcommrep%2F26412%2F0004;query=Id%3A%22committees%2Fcommrep%2F26412%2F0000%22">testimonies of the chief executives of the AFL and NRL</a> to the current Australian Parliamentary Inquiry into Online Gambling. </p>
<p>The AFL and NRL chiefs, Gillon McLachlan and Andrew Abdo, did acknowledge concerns about gambling marketing, and said responsibility to the community was taken “seriously”. But both spoke repeatedly about the need for regulatory “balance” in relation to gambling. </p>
<p>McLachlan added: “I don’t believe that brand advertising per se is too much.”</p>
<p>But our research tells a different story. </p>
<h2>Normalising gambling for kids</h2>
<p>Children as young as eight have <a href="https://academic.oup.com/heapro/article/38/2/daac194/7080461">awareness and recall of gambling brands and promotions</a>. They can name multiple gambling brands, describe the advertising in detail, and even tell us what colours certain gambling companies are. Young people tell us that much of this awareness comes from seeing gambling marketing in sport. </p>
<p>The gambling industry is also becoming more creative in linking gambling with sport. This includes promotions on <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-tv-to-tiktok-young-people-are-exposed-to-gambling-promotions-everywhere-200067">platforms such as TikTok</a>. Sportsbet chief executive Barni Evans justified these promotions by <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;db=COMMITTEES;id=committees%2Fcommrep%2F26412%2F0005;query=Id%3A%22committees%2Fcommrep%2F26412%2F0000%22">telling</a> the parliamentary inquiry “we only work with partners such as TikTok who have reliable and robust age-gating technology”. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1629036740626493440"}"></div></p>
<h2>Learning from tobacco control</h2>
<p>Government action is clearly the most effective intervention in curbing marketing for harmful products. That’s why governments took decisions about advertising and sponsorship away from the tobacco industry. </p>
<p>Sporting organisations also resisted restrictions on tobacco advertising and sponsorship (with many of the same arguments now used in defence of gambling promotions).</p>
<p>But history shows us that <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-push-to-end-tobacco-advertising-in-the-1970s-could-be-used-to-curb-gambling-ads-today-200915">legislated bans</a> on tobacco advertising through sport made a huge difference to <a href="https://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-11-advertising/11-1-the-merits-of-banning-tobacco-advertising">preventing young people from being exposed</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="VicHealth anti-smoking campaign poster." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523379/original/file-20230428-22-27pgvp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523379/original/file-20230428-22-27pgvp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523379/original/file-20230428-22-27pgvp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523379/original/file-20230428-22-27pgvp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523379/original/file-20230428-22-27pgvp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523379/original/file-20230428-22-27pgvp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523379/original/file-20230428-22-27pgvp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Strong action was taken by governments on tobacco sponsorship in sport.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/VicHealth-30th-anniversary.pdf">© Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/gambling-needs-tobacco-like-regulation-in-sports-advertising-and-sponsorship-123106">Gambling needs tobacco-like regulation in sports advertising and sponsorship</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>An opportunity for change</h2>
<p>The Australian parliamentary inquiry into online gambling is looking at how to best respond to gambling marketing. It’s important we don’t follow the ineffective voluntary approach to marketing restrictions that the UK is taking. </p>
<p>As public pressure for action grows, we’re likely to see vested interests offering further minor concessions that have little impact on their advertising or their capacity to target young people.</p>
<p>We need strong action by governments, not small steps that <a href="https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12954-018-0254-6">lead nowhere</a>. Gambling and sporting bodies should play no part in decisions about keeping young people and the community safe from this predatory industry.</p>
<p>And their predatory ads should be removed completely from the sporting arena, not just the front of matchday shirts in the English Premier League.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204105/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samantha Thomas has received funding for gambling research from the Australian Research Council, Healthway, the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, and the NSW Office for Gambing. She is currently the Editor in Chief of Health Promotion International, an Oxford University Press Journal. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Hannah Pitt has received funding for gambling research from the Australian Research Council, the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, the NSW Office for Responsible Gambling, VicHealth and Deakin University. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Simone McCarthy has been employed on research projects that are funded by the Australian Research Council and the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation.</span></em></p>
It’s important Australia doesn’t follow the ineffective voluntary approach to gambling marketing that the UK is taking.
Samantha Thomas, Professor of Public Health, Deakin University
Hannah Pitt, VicHealth Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Deakin University
Simone McCarthy, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Deakin University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/200915
2023-03-05T19:20:16Z
2023-03-05T19:20:16Z
How the push to end tobacco advertising in the 1970s could be used to curb gambling ads today
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513337/original/file-20230303-22-gxmkp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Julian Smith/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you think you are seeing a lot more gambling ads on television and online platforms, you are not imagining it. They are so common that <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/high-profile-players-refuse-to-play-ball-on-afl-betting-ads-20230228-p5cobo.html">high-profile AFL players have refused</a> to participate in sponsored gambling. </p>
<p>Online gambling companies are ploughing huge amounts of money into advertising, and for good reason. The ads work. While fewer people are gambling overall, online gambling is a booming industry.</p>
<p>There are uncanny parallels between the public health challenges posed by gambling advertising today and tobacco advertising 50 years ago. In 1970, a tobacco ad ran on Australian television every eight to 14 minutes. These ads portrayed smoking as cool and adult, and often relied on celebrity endorsements. They worked, driving a new generation of youth into smoking amid predictions of a dramatic increase in the future cancer burden.</p>
<p>Like the tobacco industry in earlier decades, online gambling advertising targets young people. Advertisements that use laconic, blokey humour and carefully selected celebrities like former American basketball superstar Shaquille O’Neal and American actor Mark Wahlberg are skilfully designed to appeal to 18-to-24-year-old men. <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-netball-australia-eyes-betting-sponsorship-women-and-girls-are-at-increased-risk-of-gambling-harm-185407">Young women also represent a growing customer base</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513338/original/file-20230303-18-7b1r25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513338/original/file-20230303-18-7b1r25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513338/original/file-20230303-18-7b1r25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513338/original/file-20230303-18-7b1r25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513338/original/file-20230303-18-7b1r25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513338/original/file-20230303-18-7b1r25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513338/original/file-20230303-18-7b1r25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Most Australian children aged eight to 16 think gambling is a normal part of sport.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Worryingly, <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-tv-to-tiktok-young-people-are-exposed-to-gambling-promotions-everywhere-200067">research</a> has shown children as young as 11 are susceptible to the marketing and sales tactics of betting agencies, and that <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1753-6405.12564">75% of 8-to-16-year-olds</a> think gambling is just a normal or common part of sport.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-netball-australia-eyes-betting-sponsorship-women-and-girls-are-at-increased-risk-of-gambling-harm-185407">As Netball Australia eyes betting sponsorship, women and girls are at increased risk of gambling harm</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>As with Commonwealth governments in the 1960s when faced with tobacco advertising, today’s politicians have tinkered around the edges of gambling advertising reform, but shied away from decisive action. </p>
<p>In 2018, the Turnbull government <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-06/gambling-ads-during-live-sporting-events-to-be-banned/8502524">banned</a> gambling ads before 8.30pm on live sports events. But gambling companies <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-netball-australia-eyes-betting-sponsorship-women-and-girls-are-at-increased-risk-of-gambling-harm-185407">easily circumvent</a> these laws. They simply flood the half-time break and post-match coverage with ads. <a href="https://www.acma.gov.au/articles/2022-10/seven-and-nine-breach-gambling-advertising-rules">They have even breached the law</a>. </p>
<p>Streaming services remain completely unregulated, and ads are ubiquitous on platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.</p>
<p>Gambling companies, like tobacco companies before them, proclaim their own efforts at self-regulation by providing embedded warnings that champion “<a href="https://helpcentre.sportsbet.com.au/hc/en-us/articles/115004973288-Responsible-Gambling">responsible gambling</a>”. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-netball-australia-eyes-betting-sponsorship-women-and-girls-are-at-increased-risk-of-gambling-harm-185407">As Netball Australia eyes betting sponsorship, women and girls are at increased risk of gambling harm</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Yet phrases used in their ads, such as “bet responsibly, no matter who you bet with”, have no demonstrable effect on dangerous gambling behaviours. Punters simply ignore warnings against excessive or problem gambling. They <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35413823/">buy into</a> the responsible gambling trope and believe they have control.</p>
<p>As with the link between smoking and lung cancer, the harms associated with gambling are well established. Apart from the massive financial losses – an estimated <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/communities-and-vulnerable-people-programs-services/gambling">$25 billion</a> in 2018-19 – there are cascading physical and mental health impacts. These include suicide, incapacity to work or study, damage to close relationships and, in some cases, a resort to criminal behaviour.</p>
<p>In 1970, a large majority of the Australian public (74%) disliked cigarette ads and wanted them banned. The figure is similar for gambling advertising today. In a 2022 survey, <a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Polling-Advertising-on-TV-Web-1.pdf">71%</a> agreed these ads should be banned.</p>
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<p>In the face of such a compelling case for action, why won’t governments act? Back in the 1970s, the tobacco industry and the television and radio stations on which they advertised (to the tune of $125 million a year in today’s money) were powerful lobby groups that reached into the heart of government. </p>
<p>While health experts and organisations like the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria (now Cancer Council of Victoria) advocated for reform, tobacco growers, cigarette companies, the media and those politicians beholden to these interests pushed back.</p>
<p>In a familiar pattern, the online gambling industry <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/dark-money-and-gambling-companies-flood-political-donations-20230210-p5cjgs.html">exerts its influence increasingly</a> in the political arena. Sportsbet, for example, donated <a href="https://transparency.aec.gov.au/AnnualDonor/ReturnDetail?returnId=65646">$313,424 to political parties in 2022</a>, spreading its contributions between the Coalition and the ALP. </p>
<p>It <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/michelle-rowland-s-8960-rockpool-election-eve-fundraising-dinner-paid-for-by-sportsbet-20230206-p5ci49.html">donated $19,000 in 2022</a> to the election campaign of the now Communications Minister Michelle Rowland, whose portfolio includes advertising regulation. Given that gambling companies provide a <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/gambling-victoria/gambling-advertising/">significant and expanding source of revenue</a> for both conventional and new media companies, they form a powerful coalition of self-interest.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-tv-to-tiktok-young-people-are-exposed-to-gambling-promotions-everywhere-200067">From TV to TikTok, young people are exposed to gambling promotions everywhere</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>So, how did the anti-tobacco lobby burst through a similar impasse 50 years ago? And can we transfer these lessons to the present?</p>
<p>The Victorian Anti-Cancer Council, then led by Dr Nigel Gray, and other cancer control bodies led a sustained program of non-partisan, evidence-based advocacy to government about the health effects of smoking, and the links between advertising and youth smoking uptake.</p>
<p>But the act that finally embarrassed the government into action was a series of 26 anti-tobacco ads starring celebrity actors Warren Mitchell and Miriam Karlin from the UK and Australian Fred Parslow. Conceived by Gray, his director of public education, David Hill, and advertising creative John Bevins, the ads lampooned tobacco advertising with satire. </p>
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<p>For instance, they contrasted the illusion of the international jet-setting lifestyle portrayed in the adverts with the realities of lung cancer and repulsive coughing. An important feature of the campaign was the inclusion of one “straight” educational advertisement on the dangers of smoking and the effect of tobacco ads on youth by the first Australian of the Year, esteemed Nobel Prize-winning scientist Sir Frank McFarlane Burnet.</p>
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<p>The television channels played into Gray’s plan by refusing to air the Anti-Cancer Council ads. The print media picked up the story of Burnet being denied a chance to speak to the public. The Coalition government was criticised for failing to intervene despite public support for limiting or banning tobacco advertising, and the evidence from <a href="http://directory.umm.ac.id/Journals/Journal%2520of%2520Health%2520Economics/Vol19.Issue6.Dec2001/683.pdf">Denmark, the US and the UK</a>, presented by Gray, showing that banning tobacco advertising reduced youth smoking. </p>
<p>Embarrassed, the government forced the TV stations to air the anti-tobacco ads in July 1971, creating even more media scrutiny. The public attention brought by this debacle finally pressured the McMahon government into introducing some limits on tobacco advertising.</p>
<p>When Gough Whitlam won the 1972 election, Labor legislated a phased ban on tobacco advertising. Despite internal debate within the Liberal Party, the subsequent Fraser government maintained it and implemented a total ban on tobacco advertising on television and radio by 1977 — a major win for tobacco control and public health.</p>
<p>The media environment has clearly changed markedly since the 1970s. But the success of the highly creative 1971 anti-tobacco campaign offers some inspiration for taking on gambling, which is among the major public health issues of our time. </p>
<p>Gray recognised that merely providing honest information about smoking was not enough. The tobacco control effort had to galvanise public dissatisfaction and motivate media action through evidence-driven, high-profile advocacy. A similar approach could be a way of forcing government to take action against the powerful interest groups supporting pervasive gambling advertising today.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200915/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carolyn Holbrook receives funding from the Australian Research Council. This research was supported by Australian Research Council Linkage grant LP210100204, 'Cancer Culture: Understanding Anti-Cancer Campaigns in Australia'. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Kehoe receives funding from the Australian Research Council. This research was supported by Australian Research Council Linkage grant LP210100204, 'Cancer Culture: Understanding Anti-Cancer Campaigns in Australia'. He is affiliated with Cancer Council Victoria. </span></em></p>
In the 1970s, the Anti-Cancer Council launched a concerted, evidence-based public health campaign to end tobacco advertising – and many of their strategies could be used today on gambling advertising.
Carolyn Holbrook, Senior Lecturer in History, Deakin University
Thomas Kehoe, Historian, Cancer Council Victoria
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/200067
2023-02-23T19:03:35Z
2023-02-23T19:03:35Z
From TV to TikTok, young people are exposed to gambling promotions everywhere
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511560/original/file-20230222-28-3rwx9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=110%2C15%2C3191%2C2075&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>I’ve walked past two TABs pretty much weekly, because one’s near our ice cream shop and one’s next to the shopping centre. So, we go there a lot. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This quote from a 12-year-old girl in our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667321523000045?utm_campaign=STMJ_AUTH_SERV_PUBLISHED&utm_medium=email&utm_acid=79886569&SIS_ID=&dgcid=STMJ_AUTH_SERV_PUBLISHED&CMX_ID=&utm_in=DM331526&utm_source=AC_#bbib73">latest research</a> shines new light on young people’s exposure to gambling in their everyday lives. The 11- to 17-year-olds who took part in our study told us they regularly come into contact with gambling not just during sports, but in a range of everyday environments. </p>
<p>They saw promotions for gambling in local shopping centres, at post offices, during sporting matches, movies and television shows. They were also aware of a range of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/feb/14/sportsbet-is-targeting-young-women-on-tiktok-to-diversify-male-client-base-experts-say">novel products and marketing strategies</a> the gambling industry is using to reach the next generation of customers.</p>
<h2>‘It must be something normal’</h2>
<p>This constant exposure created a perception gambling was “always there in your face” and “a natural thing to do”. This was particularly the case when it was placed alongside non-gambling activities in everyday settings. As one 16-year-old boy told us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think just the number of ads and there’s posters up for it around shops. […] It makes it seem, because it’s everywhere, it must be something normal. </p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510965/original/file-20230219-25-onlwr3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510965/original/file-20230219-25-onlwr3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=745&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510965/original/file-20230219-25-onlwr3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=745&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510965/original/file-20230219-25-onlwr3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=745&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510965/original/file-20230219-25-onlwr3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=936&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510965/original/file-20230219-25-onlwr3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=936&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510965/original/file-20230219-25-onlwr3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=936&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Advertisement on a phone booth for The Lott’s Instant Scratch-Its.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While the excessive promotion of gambling in sports has been a catalyst for public concern, governments have largely failed to act. Rather, it appears they have decided the harms and costs associated with young people being exposed to gambling marketing are outweighed by any benefits to the gambling industry, sports (through sponsorships), and broadcasters (through advertising revenue). </p>
<p>There is also little publicly available evidence that school programs or public education campaigns run by organisations such as the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation are having a significant impact, or that they are able to <a href="https://www.audit.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-03/20210318-Gambling-Harm-report.pdf?">compete with the might of commercial marketing strategies</a>. The gambling industry’s own “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235282732200101X">educational activities</a>” are at best useless, and may well be counterproductive. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="NBA star Shaquille O’Neal on an advertisement for PointsBet on Instagram" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511559/original/file-20230222-24-lflp5d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511559/original/file-20230222-24-lflp5d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511559/original/file-20230222-24-lflp5d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511559/original/file-20230222-24-lflp5d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511559/original/file-20230222-24-lflp5d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=753&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511559/original/file-20230222-24-lflp5d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=753&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511559/original/file-20230222-24-lflp5d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=753&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">NBA star Shaquille O’Neal on an advertisement for PointsBet on Instagram.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ChwL6UmvksL/">@pointsbet/instagram</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How young people engage with gambling ads</h2>
<p>Our research shows the clear impact of gambling marketing on young people. They are able to name <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1753-6405.12564">gambling brands</a> and can quote <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1753-6405.12728">taglines and slogans</a>. They report seeing different types of gambling promotions in sports, and on a range of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667321523000045">popular television shows</a>, including “Gogglebox” and “MasterChef”. </p>
<p>Young people also said they see gambling promotions “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667321523000045">pop up in my feed</a>” on <a href="https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12954-018-0254-6">social media sites</a> such as Instagram and YouTube. As a 15-year-old boy told us: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>[I see them] on YouTube before I watch a video. A funny Sportsbet skit comes on. It’s not about gambling though […] I see them when I watch highlights, too.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Our research also shows that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6376397/">inducements</a> such as free bets and <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-016-3610-z">celebrity promotions</a> have a particular influence on young people believing that gambling is a “risk-free” activity and the promotions they see can be trusted. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-netball-australia-eyes-betting-sponsorship-women-and-girls-are-at-increased-risk-of-gambling-harm-185407">As Netball Australia eyes betting sponsorship, women and girls are at increased risk of gambling harm</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Is change possible?</h2>
<p>However, there is a clear opportunity for change. The current <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/onlinegambling">Parliamentary Inquiry into Online Gambling</a> is investigating the effectiveness of gambling advertising restrictions on limiting children’s exposure to gambling products and services. </p>
<p>Our own <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Social_Policy_and_Legal_Affairs/Onlinegamblingimpacts/Submissions">submission to the inquiry</a> has argued for strong government restrictions and bans on marketing, with a key goal of protecting young people. </p>
<p>While such restrictions <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/feb/10/australian-tv-broadcasters-claim-more-gambling-ad-restrictions-could-cut-free-sport-coverage">are opposed</a> by a range of stakeholders, including sporting organisations, broadcasters, advertisers and sectors of the gambling industry, there is clearly growing public and political support for gambling marketing bans, including from young people themselves. </p>
<p>In developing robust policy responses to gambling, another issue needs to be addressed. </p>
<p>Recent revelations about donations from online bookmaker Sportsbet to the now- minister for communications, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/michelle-rowland-s-8960-rockpool-election-eve-fundraising-dinner-paid-for-by-sportsbet-20230206-p5ci49.html">Michelle Rowland</a>, before the 2022 federal election have also raised <a href="https://www.katechaney.com.au/media-statements/4m02cl6hpbtq56hexgjg1w5v1syua9">legitimate concerns</a> about mechanisms to protect gambling policy from commercial and other vested interests. </p>
<p>This includes the extent to which we can trust the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0HyrmbRZNo">policy decisions</a> that are made about gambling. This is especially important when considering policies that are concerned with the health and wellbeing of young people. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/y0HyrmbRZNo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>What do young people think is the way forward?</h2>
<p>The young people in our research share <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-022-13201-0">similar views</a> to public health experts when it comes to strategies to protect them from the predatory tactics of the gambling industry. </p>
<p>They are <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-022-13201-0">critical</a> of “responsible” gambling messages, which they say are designed to absolve the gambling industry and governments of their responsibility for harm prevention. They tell us governments should be responsible for action, <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-022-13201-0">including</a></p>
<ul>
<li><p>reducing the accessibility and availability of gambling products</p></li>
<li><p>making gambling products safer </p></li>
<li><p>removing gambling from sport, through regulation and sporting teams ending partnerships with gambling companies </p></li>
<li><p>implementing strong restrictions (including bans) on marketing, and</p></li>
<li><p>using public education to counter commercial messages about gambling, and provide honest information about the tactics of the gambling industry.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>There is an “exceptionalism” surrounding government policies on gambling, in which gambling is not seen as needing the same robust public health policy response as other issues. A docile approach by governments that sees gambling as being somehow different from other unhealthy products must change if we are to see effective, evidence-based approaches to gambling harm prevention.</p>
<p>Effective measures to protect young people from gambling marketing will inevitably be opposed by the gambling industry and its allies. But young people, parents and the community understand the cause for concern and the need for action that will genuinely curb the promotional activities of this powerful but predatory industry. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pubs-and-clubs-your-friendly-neighbourhood-money-laundering-service-thanks-to-86-640-pokies-193312">Pubs and clubs – your friendly neighbourhood money-laundering service, thanks to 86,640 pokies</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200067/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Simone McCarthy has been employed on research projects that are funded by the Australian Research Council and the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Hannah Pitt has received funding from the Australian Research Council, the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, the NSW Office for Responsible Gambling, VicHealth, and Deakin University. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Prof Samantha Thomas has received funding for gambling research from the Australian Research Council, the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, and the NSW Office for Responsible Gambling, and Healthway. She is a board member of the International Confederation of Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drug (ATOD) Research Associations. She is currently Editor in Chief for Health Promotion International an Oxford University Press journal.</span></em></p>
We interviewed 11- to 17-year-olds and they told us gambling advertising is so pervasive in their lives, it’s become normalised.
Simone McCarthy, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Deakin University
Hannah Pitt, VicHealth Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Deakin University
Samantha Thomas, Professor of Public Health, Deakin University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/199354
2023-02-14T21:54:27Z
2023-02-14T21:54:27Z
Gambling Act review: how EU countries are tightening restrictions on ads and why the UK should too
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508437/original/file-20230206-13-ysb1s7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=22%2C13%2C940%2C622&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The UK is currently review its gambling regulations.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marko Aliaksandr/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When the 2005 Gambling Act was drafted the world was very different. Twitter, Facebook and YouTube didn’t exist. Gambling was often seen as a shady activity typically conducted in smoky high-street betting shops. You certainly couldn’t use a smartphone to gamble 24/7 with a couple of clicks.</p>
<p>Aware of these changes, in 2019 the UK government announced a review to ensure that the Gambling Act was “<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-the-gambling-act-2005-terms-of-reference-and-call-for-evidence/review-of-the-gambling-act-2005-terms-of-reference-and-call-for-evidence">fit for the digital age</a>”. The government recently <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/making-government-deliver-for-the-british-people/making-government-deliver-for-the-british-people-html">called the review a priority</a> but has not announced a new date for its publication <a href="https://www.nottinghampost.com/sport/football/football-news/wife-nottingham-forest-legend-slams-8130442">after announcing a delay in July 2022</a>.</p>
<p>As the government contemplates how to regulate this industry, new rules are needed to cover, not just sports betting, but the rise of online casinos, poker matches and virtual slot machines in the internet age.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/esports-could-be-quietly-spawning-a-whole-new-generation-of-problem-gamblers-147124">Esports could be quietly spawning a whole new generation of problem gamblers</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In particular, reform of gambling advertising is sorely needed. It has morphed out of all recognition in the last 18 years. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jun/05/gambling-logos-feature-700-times-in-football-match-says-ch4-documentary">Gambling logos</a> can be seen 700 times during major football matches on TV, while the social media accounts of big betting companies post <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0743915621999674">over 28,000 ads per year</a>. </p>
<p>Research shows that gambling ads on Twitter are <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/management/documents/what-are-the-odds-rossi-nairn-2021.pdf">particularly appealing to children and young people</a>. So it is perhaps no surprise that as many as 30,000 young people aged 11 to 16 may suffer from <a href="https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/statistics-and-research/publication/young-people-and-gambling-2022">harmful gambling habits</a>. Gambling harms include financial, emotional and social difficulties.</p>
<p>Another recent study indicated a link between exposure to gambling ads <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0033350622003420">and suffering from such harms</a> for all age groups. This is particularly worrying since there are already <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gambling-related-harms-evidence-review/gambling-related-harms-evidence-review-summary--2">400 gambling-related suicides every year</a> in the UK.</p>
<p>But the UK is actually at the global forefront of gambling <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40429-022-00457-0">advertising deregulation</a>, while other European countries have been tightening these rules. From changes announced in Italy four years ago to more recent reforms in Germany, Spain, Belgium, and the Netherlands over the last few months, the UK could learn a lot from these regulatory approaches.</p>
<h2>Italy: a complete ban on all gambling advertising</h2>
<p>At the start of 2019, Italy banned almost all gambling marketing. The Decreto Dignità (Dignity Decree) prohibited all TV, radio, press and internet gambling marketing. This blanket ban was brought in shortly after a study highlighted that 3% of the Italian population was <a href="https://www.minervamedica.it/en/journals/minerva-forensic-medicine/article.php?cod=R11Y2021N02A0029&acquista=1">suffering from gambling harms</a>. </p>
<p>The gambling industry said <a href="https://www.gamblinginsider.com/magazine/114/did-the-industry-cry-wolf-over-italy">such a ban would be ineffective</a> at addressing betting in settings such as shops or casinos. And that it would encourage customers to use illegal gambling sites such as unregulated online casinos. </p>
<p>It also complained that industry revenue dropped <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1063911/players-losses-of-money-in-the-gambling-market-in-italy/">from €19 billion in 2018 to €15 billion in 2021</a>. But since gambling revenue remained consistent until February 2020, it is <a href="https://www.gamblinginsider.com/magazine/114/did-the-industry-cry-wolf-over-italy">generally accepted</a> that this drop resulted from the COVID lockdowns, when sports events came to an almost total halt.</p>
<p><strong>Different approaches to gambling regulation</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509137/original/file-20230209-26-79fih.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509137/original/file-20230209-26-79fih.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=318&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509137/original/file-20230209-26-79fih.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=318&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509137/original/file-20230209-26-79fih.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=318&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509137/original/file-20230209-26-79fih.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509137/original/file-20230209-26-79fih.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509137/original/file-20230209-26-79fih.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Produced by the authors.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany: one step at a time</h2>
<p>Other EU countries have taken a more piecemeal approach to recent reforms than Italy.</p>
<p>In 2018 Belgium <a href="https://www.finsmes.com/2018/09/belgium-toughens-up-on-gambling-advertising.html">banned</a> the broadcasting of gambling adverts 15 minutes before or after children’s programming, public posters for gambling, and direct advertising to named individuals in any form. Even these moves were deemed inadequate, with the Belgian Justice Minister <a href="https://www.brusselstimes.com/223595/gambling-is-the-new-smoking-belgium-to-ban-nearly-all-betting-ads">arguing last year</a>: “Gambling advertising is fired at us from all sides every day and encourages these addictions, including among young people.” </p>
<p>Subsequently, the Belgian government <a href="https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2022/12/19/65456-belgium-approves-draft-royal-decree-to-restrict-gambling-advertising-as-of-june-2023">approved new legislation</a> in December 2022 to ban gambling advertising almost entirely as of July 2023. </p>
<p>The Netherlands has focused on restricting <a href="https://fd.nl/bedrijfsleven/1444902/kabinet-legt-gokreclames-verder-aan-banden">mass marketing</a> on television, radio, internet search engines and public spaces. This approach aims to prevent a <a href="https://igamingbusiness.com/legal-compliance/regulation/holding-back-tide/">“bombardment” of gambling ads</a>, particularly to children and young people.</p>
<p>Germany’s June 2021 <a href="https://www.cliffordchance.com/content/dam/cliffordchance/briefings/2021/07/new-german-interstate-treaty-on-gambling-entered-into-effect.pdf">State Treaty on Gambling</a> is the least restrictive measure of the four EU countries that have made the most recent changes to gambling regulations.</p>
<p>It includes a ban on advertising to minors or at-risk groups (such as people likely to suffer from certain mental health conditions, or who previously suffered from a gambling addiction). But most interesting is Germany’s “watershed” approach to licensed online casinos, poker and virtual slot operators. Gambling adverts for these providers are prohibited on radio, TV and the internet between 6am and 9pm. </p>
<p>While the UK also has a watershed approach, this only applies to TV adverts during live sporting events. In the digital era, this seems insufficient.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man using online sports betting services on phone and laptop" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508439/original/file-20230206-23-55pu6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508439/original/file-20230206-23-55pu6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508439/original/file-20230206-23-55pu6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508439/original/file-20230206-23-55pu6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508439/original/file-20230206-23-55pu6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508439/original/file-20230206-23-55pu6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508439/original/file-20230206-23-55pu6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There have also been calls for online sports betting restrictions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kaspars Grinvalds/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A senior commissioner in Germany’s ministry for health <a href="https://www.bundesdrogenbeauftragter.de/presse/detail/sucht-und-drogenbeauftragter-stellt-schwerpunkte-vor/">championed</a> this measure and also wants to expand it to sports betting.</p>
<p>Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany all have restrictions around sports betting given the close relationship between sport (particularly football) and gambling. In Germany, advertising with active athletes and officials is prohibited. <a href="https://thelawreviews.co.uk/title/the-gambling-law-review/belgium">Belgium</a>, the Netherlands and Italy have strong restrictions on most sports betting marketing including betting ads during football matches and full sponsorship bans.</p>
<p>A number of UK campaigners have called for a similar approach, including <a href="https://the-bigstep.com/">the Big Step</a> initiative, whose supporters include former England football star Peter Shilton.</p>
<h2>Reviewing the UK Gambling Act</h2>
<p>These four EU countries’ recent gambling reforms have been quite different, but they all have one thing in common: substantial legislative reforms. </p>
<p>For the UK, our research shows that the safest option, particularly for children and people at risk, is a full advertising and sponsorship ban such as Italy and Belgium have executed.</p>
<p>The UK gambling industry and its lobbying group, the Betting and Gaming Council, has <a href="https://sbcnews.co.uk/sportsbook/2022/02/18/bgc-points-to-european-black-markets-as-warning-to-ministers/">argued</a> that such measures would drive people into black market gambling. But we can find no credible evidence for such claims. It has also argued that there is no evidence to link gambling advertising to gambling harms. But research <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0033350622003420">has shown this link</a>.</p>
<p>The UK government has emphasised that the current gambling act review needs to “get the balance right” while “following the evidence”. So now is the time to listen, not only to public opinion, but also to mounting evidence about the links between gambling advertising and gambling harms and tighten the regulation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199354/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Raffaello Rossi currently receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), and the charity Action Against Gambling Harms. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Agnes Nairn works for the Bristol Hub for Gambling Harms Research at the University of Bristol. The Hub is funded by a grant awarded by the charity GambleAware (this charity receives donations from the gambling industry).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Ford works for the Bristol Hub for Gambling Harms Research at the University of Bristol. The Hub is funded by a grant awarded by the charity GambleAware (this charity receives donations from the gambling industry).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jamie Wheaton works for the Bristol Hub for Gambling Harms Research at the University of Bristol. The Hub is funded by a grant awarded by the charity GambleAware (this charity receives donations from the gambling industry).</span></em></p>
The UK has a gambling problem but some of its neighbours could provide inspiration on how to prevent gambling harms.
Raffaello Rossi, Lecturer in Marketing, University of Bristol
Agnes Nairn, Professor of Marketing, University of Bristol
Ben Ford, Research Associate, University of Bristol
Jamie Wheaton, Research Associate, University of Bristol
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/133153
2020-03-10T05:35:04Z
2020-03-10T05:35:04Z
Restricting underage access to porn and gambling sites: a good idea, but technically tricky
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319501/original/file-20200310-61066-c0h5s2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=53%2C0%2C5923%2C3839&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> </figcaption></figure><p>Australia should work towards adopting a mandatory age-verification system for gambling and pornography websites, according to a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Social_Policy_and_Legal_Affairs/Onlineageverification/Report">recommendation</a> from the federal parliamentary cross-party committee on social and legal issues.</p>
<p>The recommendation follows the committee’s inquiry findings, released last month as a report titled <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Social_Policy_and_Legal_Affairs/Onlineageverification/Report">Protecting the age of innocence</a>. It identified high levels of concern, particularly among parents, about underage access to pornography and gambling sites.</p>
<p>The committee has asked Australia’s <a href="https://www.esafety.gov.au/">eSafety Commissioner</a> and <a href="https://www.dta.gov.au/">Digital Transformation Agency</a> to work towards implementing the system.</p>
<p>But as the UK’s recently aborted effort shows, delivering on this idea will mean overcoming a host of technical and logistical hurdles, including identity fraud and the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) or anonymising browsers such as Tor.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-that-porn-your-child-is-watching-online-how-do-you-know-64120">Is that porn your child is watching online? How do you know?</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<p>Like most developed countries, Australia has long had laws that restrict underage access to adults-only products. Attempting to buy a bottle of beer will quickly prompt a request for proof of age. </p>
<p>But for as long as there have been rules, people have looked for ways to break them. Would-be underage drinkers can attempt to find a fake ID, a retailer willing to ignore the law, or simply an older friend or relative willing to buy some beer for them.</p>
<p>Just like alcohol, access to gambling and pornography have been age-restricted by law for some time. This used to be relatively easy to enforce, when the only way to access such items was through a retail store. But everything changed when these things became available on the internet. </p>
<p>Pornography and gambling represent significant proportions of web searches and traffic. According to one <a href="https://www.statista.com/chart/16959/share-of-the-internet-that-is-porn/">recent estimate</a>, pornography accounts for up to 20% of internet activity.</p>
<p>According to the committee’s report, the average age of first exposure to pornography is now <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Social_Policy_and_Legal_Affairs/Onlineageverification/Report/section?id=committees%2freportrep%2f024436%2f72615">between 8 and 10 years</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s now not a matter of “if” a child will see pornography but “when”, and the when is getting younger and younger.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The report also warns that adolescents are <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Social_Policy_and_Legal_Affairs/Onlineageverification/Report/section?id=committees%2freportrep%2f024436%2f72616">increasingly exposed to gambling advertisements</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Adolescents today are increasingly exposed to gambling marketing… alongside increased accessibility and opportunities to gamble with the rise of internet and smart phone access.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In an era where age-limited content is available for free to anyone with a web browser, how do we enforce age restrictions? </p>
<p>Age verification legislation for online pornography has already been tried in the UK, when it introduced the <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2017/30/contents/enacted">Digital Economy Act 2017</a>. But by 2019 the attempt was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/oct/16/uk-drops-plans-for-online-pornography-age-verification-system">abandoned</a>, citing technical and privacy concerns. </p>
<h2>No easy task</h2>
<p>It seems simple in principle but is fraught with difficulty in practice. Given the global scale of these industries, it is almost impossible for the government to even generate a list of applicable websites. Without a definitive list, it will be difficult to block access to sites that do not comply. </p>
<p>The situation is complicated further by the fact that many sites are hosted overseas, meaning they may have to provide different age-verification mechanisms for users in different jurisdictions.</p>
<p>Credit card verification has become the default solution, as there are global platforms to verify credit cards. But while it is possible to verify a card number, there are various ways to obtain such details. </p>
<p>A minor could potentially use a parent’s credit card, or even fraudulently obtain their own. Other ID options such as driving licences could potentially be used instead, but this may not be a popular option for legitimate users because of the risks of identity fraud or privacy breaches. This would also pose logistical challenges: imagine a US-hosted pornography site having to verify Australian driving licence details.</p>
<h2>Workarounds already exist</h2>
<p>Even if a technical solution is found, there are already established ways to evade the rules. Consumers are increasingly turning to <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-a-virtual-private-network-vpn-12741">VPNs</a> to <a href="https://www.techradar.com/au/vpn/best-netflix-vpn">bypass regional restrictions on media content</a>. </p>
<p>A VPN allows a user’s internet traffic to appear to originate from another location. Often referred to as “tunnelling”, it effectively fools systems or services into thinking you are in another part of the world, by swapping the users’ local IP (internet) address with another address. Some VPN providers now explicitly advertise their product as a solution to the regional restrictions of streaming companies like Netflix and Amazon. </p>
<p>It’s not hard to imagine that many consumers would turn to VPNs to dodge any verification procedures implemented here in Australia.</p>
<p>Consumers concerned about privacy are also likely to use the <a href="https://www.cryptoversal.com/blog/how-to-bypass-restrictions-of-online-casinos-in-regulated-countries">Tor</a> browser. </p>
<p>Tor works in a similar way to a VPN. While it still hides the location of the user (potentially looking like they are in another country), Tor also ensures that traffic is bounced between multiple points on the internet to further obscure the user (and thus their age).</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-laws-are-not-necessarily-the-answer-to-counter-the-real-threat-pornography-poses-69287">New laws are not necessarily the answer to counter the real threat pornography poses</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The committee has acknowledged this but vowed to press on regardless, <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/House_of_Representatives/About_the_House_News/Media_Releases/Parliamentary_Committee_recommends_mandatory_age_verification_for_online_pornography_and_wagering">arguing</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>While age verification is not a silver bullet, it can create a significant barrier to prevent young people — and particularly young children — from exposure to harmful online content. We must not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It is still early days, and there is much work for the eSafety Commissioner and the Digital Transformation Agency to do. It is also clear there is both government and public pressure to identify and implement solutions to safeguard children and vulnerable individuals. But unfortunately, human nature will inevitably render any developed solution as more full of holes than a block of Emmental.</p>
<p>It would be easy to say we shouldn’t bother, or that parents should take responsibility. The reality is that implementing any solution will protect at least some of the vulnerable population and will form part of a layered approach. With widespread support, targeted education and age-verification, there is, perhaps, the potential for success.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/133153/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Haskell-Dowland does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Accessing gambling and pornography sites may well get harder in Australia, if plans for mandatory age-verification go ahead. But there are already technical workarounds for determined web users.
Paul Haskell-Dowland, Associate Dean (Computing and Security), Edith Cowan University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/130949
2020-02-07T02:21:25Z
2020-02-07T02:21:25Z
We’re told to ‘gamble responsibly’. But what does that actually mean?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313915/original/file-20200206-43123-oyhnf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C5%2C995%2C660&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/betting-bet-sport-phone-gamble-laptop-526821550">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Advertisements for gambling and online betting tell us to “gamble responsibly”. But what does this mean in reality? And how can you gamble responsibly online when another bet is just a click or swipe away?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/gambling-in-australian-culture-more-than-just-a-day-at-the-races-1706">Gambling in Australian culture: more than just a day at the races</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p><a href="https://aifs.gov.au/agrc/publications/gambling-activity-australia/1-introduction">A total of 64%</a> of Australian adults gamble at least once a year, with <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/agrc/publications/gambling-activity-australia/2-gambling-participation">one third</a> of gamblers participating in multiple forms of gambling. <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/agrc/publications/gambling-activity-australia/2-gambling-participation">Lottery is the most common form of gambling</a> among those who gamble regularly (76%), followed by instant scratch tickets (22%) and electronic gaming machines (or “pokies”, almost 21%).</p>
<p><a href="http://www.problemgambling.net.au/ausgambling.html">Up to 160,000 Australians</a> experience significant problems from gambling, and up to a further 350,000 experience moderate risks that make them vulnerable to developing a gambling problem.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/education-not-restriction-is-key-to-reducing-harm-from-offshore-gambling-100516">Education, not restriction, is key to reducing harm from offshore gambling</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In about the past 15 years, there’s been a <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/insight/tvepisode/online-gambling">rise in online gambling</a>. While rates of online gambling for Australians <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/agrc/publications/gambling-activity-australia">are low</a> compared to traditional forms of gambling, participation in online gambling appears to be increasing rapidly. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/online-gambling-market">If this continues</a>, online gambling may soon replace traditional, in-venue gambling, particularly for young people.</p>
<p><a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/gen-bet-has-gambling-gatecrashed-our-teens-16/">About one young person</a> in every 25 has a problem with gambling, which is an average of one in every high school classroom. Up to one in five bet on sports matches <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/gen-bet-has-gambling-gatecrashed-our-teens-16/">and</a> one in ten gamble online.</p>
<h2>Young people exposed to gambling when watching sport</h2>
<p>Advertisements for gambling and online betting are particularly common in Australian sport. While there has been a <a href="https://adstandards.com.au/issues/gambling-advertising">recent shift to regulate</a> when and how gambling is advertised during sporting matches, there is still a heavy presence. </p>
<p>In fact, three in four children aged eight to 16 who watch sports <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/reducing-harm/parents/teenagers-and-gambling/">can name at least one</a> betting company.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9DnC2DF1SSM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The campaign ‘Love the Game, not the Odds’ aims to disrupt the idea that gambling is a normal part of sport.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The public health campaign, “<a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/reducing-harm/love-the-game-program/">Love the Game, Not the Odds</a>”, was released addressing the issue of reducing the exposure of young people to sport betting. </p>
<p>It aims to disrupt the notion that gambling is a normal part of sport and being a spectator. And it aims to help start and facilitate conversations with children and adolescents about gambling not needing to be an integral part of gaming.</p>
<h2>How to ‘gamble responsibly’?</h2>
<p>The phrase “gamble responsibly” on advertisements and websites was used for years before researchers and public health advocates looked at the types of behaviours that underpin it.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bpj46f2Z9BA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">This video from Ladbrokes tells us to ‘gamble responsibly’, but what does this mean in practice?</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Responsible gambling is <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/behavioural-indicators-of-responsible-gambling-consumption-64/">defined</a> as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Exercising control and informed choice to ensure that gambling is kept within affordable limits of money and time, is enjoyable, in balance with other activities and responsibilities, and avoids gambling-related harm.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ways of achieving this <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/behavioural-indicators-of-responsible-gambling-consumption-64/">include</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li>ensuring gambling is affordable by not gambling with money needed for necessities (such as bills or food)</li>
<li>ensuring gambling doesn’t dominate your leisure time, and you are engaging in other social and leisure activities </li>
<li>avoiding borrowing money or using a credit card to gamble</li>
<li>avoiding gambling when under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, or as a way to manage emotions when you are bored, depressed or anxious</li>
<li>setting limits around how much and long you with gamble for, setting a limit on your maximum bet size, and avoiding increasing bets when winning or losing.</li>
</ul>
<p>Additional tips for people gambling online include:</p>
<ul>
<li>setting limits on how much you can gamble by only using websites with a daily limit spend</li>
<li>avoiding having multiple online gambling accounts. </li>
</ul>
<h2>How do I know if I have a gambling problem?</h2>
<p>There are clear signs when gambling moves from being a hobby to becoming a mental health concern. <a href="https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/gambling-disorder/what-is-gambling-disorder">These include</a>: </p>
<ul>
<li>needing to gamble with increasing amounts of money to achieve the desired excitement</li>
<li>feeling restless or irritable when trying to stop gambling</li>
<li>trying to stop or cut back gambling unsuccessfully</li>
<li>spending a lot of time thinking about gambling</li>
<li>gambling when you’re feeling anxious or upset</li>
<li>chasing losses (by trying to make up losses with more gambling)</li>
<li>lying to others to conceal the extent of your gambling</li>
<li>relying on others for money</li>
<li>jeopardising relationships, job or opportunities because of gambling. </li>
</ul>
<p>If you are concerned about your gambling, seek professional help and exclude yourself from gambling venues and websites.</p>
<p>In practice, for online gambling, this might mean disabling automatic logins and deleting accounts.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>If this article raises concerns for you or someone you know, gambling support is available via <a href="https://www.lifeline.org.au/get-help/topics/problem-gambling">Lifeline</a> (13 11 14), or via <a href="https://www.gamblinghelponline.org.au/">Gambling Help Online</a>, which lists services in your <a href="https://www.gamblinghelponline.org.au/services-in-your-state">state or territory</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130949/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anastasia Hronis is an author on a report produced for the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation on responsible gambling.</span></em></p>
It is possible to ‘gamble responsibly’, with these handy tips. But if you can’t, there’s help.
Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/126838
2019-11-15T04:13:07Z
2019-11-15T04:13:07Z
Place your bets: will banning illegal offshore sites really help kick our gambling habit?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301886/original/file-20191115-47184-1g3lekj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=83%2C92%2C5516%2C4099&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">While total gambling spending in Australia decreased during 2016-17, sports betting increased by 15.3%, from A$921 million to A$1.062 billion.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">SHUTTERSTOCK</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-11/illegal-offshore-gambling-websites-to-be-blocked-government/11691044">going to start</a> asking internet service providers to block certain offshore gambling websites. </p>
<p>The decision follows former New South Wales premier Barry O’Farrell’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/government-ignores-elephant-in-the-room-in-response-to-online-gambling-review-52751">2016 review</a> of the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00070">Interactive Gambling Act</a>, which suggested banning access to sites not licensed in Australia. </p>
<p>The review focused on the dangers of these “illegal” sites. The concern was that they didn’t offer consumers the same protection given by gambling businesses licensed in Australia. </p>
<p>In 2017, the federal government <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2017A00085">empowered ACMA</a> to block such sites, and prohibit online advertising promoting them.</p>
<h2>The wild, unregulated internet</h2>
<p>The perceived problem with offshore gambling sites is that they’re not regulated according to Australian standards. Also, they don’t pay tax in Australia. Federal cyber safety minister Paul Fletcher <a href="https://www.paulfletcher.com.au/media-releases/media-release-taking-action-against-illegal-offshore-gambling-websites">claims</a> this results in A$100 million in lost tax each year.</p>
<p>The Interactive Gambling Act also prohibits Australia’s online gambling providers offering any form of gambling apart from wagering or lottery sales. But on the internet, casino-style games, poker, and slot machines are readily available from offshore providers. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/education-not-restriction-is-key-to-reducing-harm-from-offshore-gambling-100516">Education, not restriction, is key to reducing harm from offshore gambling</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>However, the extent to which online gambling via offshore sites is a problem may be altogether exaggerated. </p>
<p>At the time of the O'Farrell review, A$400 million was being wagered on offshore sites by Australians, at most. Given Aussies lost about A$22 billion to gambling in 2015, that represented less than 2% of the gambling market. </p>
<p>Most gambling losses are from poker machines. During 2016-17, more than <a href="https://www.qgso.qld.gov.au/issues/2646/australian-gambling-statistics-34th-edn-1991-92-2016-17-summary-tables.xlsx">A$12 billion was lost on pokies</a>. This made up just over half of that period’s total losses of A$23.7 billion, compared to A$1 billion lost on sports betting and A$3.3 billion lost on race wagering. </p>
<p>In addition, the <a href="https://www.responsiblegambling.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/280537/NSW-Gambling-Survey-2019-Full-Report.PDF">2019 survey of gambling activity in NSW</a> indicated about 0.5% of the population used casino games on the internet, and about 0.3% bet on online poker. </p>
<p>Neither of these are legally available online in Australia. This indicates the population actually using offshore providers may be very small. </p>
<h2>It’s whack-a-mole, but not a hands-on solution</h2>
<p>In any event, attempting to block access to internet sites is problematic. It requires cooperation with (<a href="https://www.itnews.com.au/news/acma-to-force-isps-to-block-illegal-offshore-gambling-sites-533760">or coercion of</a>) Internet Service Providers. </p>
<p>Sites needing to be blocked must first be identified, and specific technical information must be provided to ISPs to facilitate the block. Meanwhile, those running the site can change its name or move domains, and start where they left off. It’s essentially a game of whack-a-mole. </p>
<p>That said, this doesn’t mean it can’t be done. The <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/news/testimony/law-enforcement-implications-of-illegal-online-gambling">United States has prosecuted</a> multiple offshore gambling providers for breaching its internet gambling ban. But enforcing such a ban chews up precious resources.</p>
<h2>The problems lie with us</h2>
<p>Most of <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/communities-and-vulnerable-people/programmes-services/gambling/review-of-illegal-offshore-wagering">O'Farrell’s recommendations</a> were concerned with improving consumer protection regulations for Australian sites, and <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/11_2018/national-policy-statement.pdf">developing and then persuading the states</a> to agree to these.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/action-on-problem-gambling-online-is-a-good-first-step-but-no-silver-bullet-76857">Action on problem gambling online is a good first step, but no silver bullet</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>At the time, more harm was being inflicted by Australian registered wagering companies than offshore sites. This is probably still the case. <a href="https://www.financialcounsellingaustralia.org.au/docs/duds-mugs-and-the-a-list-the-impact-of-uncontrolled-sportsbetting/">Financial Counselling Australia</a> pointed this out in great detail prior to the O'Farrell review, as did <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-gambling-review-should-not-ignore-the-problems-in-our-own-backyard-47155">others</a>. </p>
<p>The recommendations have now been largely adopted. The states have reformed taxation arrangements for Australian licensed bookmakers, imposing <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/new-online-betting-taxes-to-squeeze-foreign-bookies-20181231-p50oxv.html">point-of-consumption taxes</a>. This means the gambling tax on bookies is imposed in the state where the bet is placed, rather than where it’s licensed. </p>
<p>This makes allowance for the fact that, although most online Australian bookmakers are licensed in the Northern Territory, most of their business comes from other states. Bookies prefer the Northern Territory because of its low tax regime, which collects only A$7 million out of A$2 billion in wagering losses, less than <a href="https://www.qgso.qld.gov.au/issues/2646/australian-gambling-statistics-34th-edn-1991-92-2016-17-state-tables.xlsx">4% of revenue</a>. </p>
<p>It has also had a traditionally relaxed approach to regulation, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/sportsbet-ordered-to-pay-winnings-on-unfairly-cancelled-afl-bets-20191031-p536bt.html">although this may be changing</a>.</p>
<h2>Marketing drives gambling</h2>
<p>There’s little doubt <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/money/online-sports-betting-is-creating-a-new-generation-of-problem-gamblers-20170918-gyjlc3.html">online</a> gambling (done offshore or domestically) causes <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/assessing-gambling-related-harm-in-victoria-a-public-health-perspective-69/">significant</a> <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/weighing-up-the-odds-young-men-sports-and-betting-394/">harm</a>. It has the potential to cause even more, as an increasing number of people are attracted by bookies’ advertisements. </p>
<p>Gambling companies sponsor sports and sporting teams around Australia, with their logos prominent on sports uniforms, on the field, and on memorabilia. The recent Melbourne Cup carnival was a case in point, as are football finals, the Australian Open, and most other major sporting events.</p>
<p>While some people bet online with providers not licensed in Australia, there are still myriad online Australian betting sites available. Website <a href="https://www.sportsbetting.com.au/">Sportsbetting</a> grew by an average of just under <a href="https://www.qgso.qld.gov.au/issues/2646/australian-gambling-statistics-34th-edn-1991-92-2016-17-product-tables.xlsx">20% per year (adjusted for inflation) between 2011 and 2017</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pokies-sport-and-racing-harm-41-of-monthly-gamblers-survey-81486">Pokies, sport and racing harm 41% of monthly gamblers: survey</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The submission of the <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/documents/11/submission-impact-illegal-offshore-wagering.pdf">Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation</a> to the O'Farrell review in 2016 argued growth in online gambling was almost certainly fuelled by intense advertising by bookmakers.</p>
<h2>We need to re-focus</h2>
<p>If we were genuinely concerned about reducing gambling harm, an important step would be to ban or further restrict bookmakers’ advertising capacity.</p>
<p>Currently, “whistle to whistle” bans (five minutes before commencement of play, and until five minutes after play concludes) are in effect for football and other short broadcasts, courtesy of a <a href="https://www.freetv.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Free_TV_Commercial_Television_Industry_Code_of_Practice_2018.pdf">self-regulatory code</a>. </p>
<p>After 8.30pm, however, gambling advertising is permitted and plenty of young people are still watching at this time, being <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/extent-of-and-children-and-young-peoples-exposure-to-gambling-advertising-in-sport-and-non-sport-tv-679/">bombarded with bookies’ ads</a>.</p>
<p>There are also numerous exemptions for advertising during “long form” sports such as cricket, and for racing broadcasts. </p>
<p>As we’ve learned from <a href="https://www.who.int/tobacco/mpower/enforce/en/">tobacco</a>, our next step towards gambling harm prevention would be to prohibit advertising and sponsorship. That is, if we really do want to prevent harm.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126838/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charles Livingstone has received funding from the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, the (former) Victorian Gambling Research Panel, and the South Australian Independent Gambling Authority (the funds for which were derived from hypothecation of gambling tax revenue to research purposes), from the Australian and New Zealand School of Government and the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, and from non-government organisations for research into multiple aspects of poker machine gambling, including regulatory reform, existing harm minimisation practices, and technical characteristics of gambling forms. He has received travel and co-operation grants from the Alberta Problem Gambling Research Institute, the Finnish Institute for Public Health, the Finnish Alcohol Research Foundation, the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Committee, and the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand. He was a Chief Investigator on an Australian Research Council funded project researching mechanisms of influence on government by the tobacco, alcohol and gambling industries. He has undertaken consultancy research for local governments and non-government organisations in Australia and the UK seeking to restrict or reduce the concentration of poker machines and gambling impacts, and was a member of the Australian government's Ministerial Expert Advisory Group on Gambling in 2010-11. He is a member of the Australian Greens.</span></em></p>
Banning offshore gambling sites sounds sensible enough, and the federal government is planning to do this. But to what extent are these sites really ripping off Australian gamblers?
Charles Livingstone, Associate Professor, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/117480
2019-06-12T14:07:36Z
2019-06-12T14:07:36Z
Online gambling: children among easy prey for advertisers who face few sanctions
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278731/original/file-20190610-52758-137yw9u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">vectorfusionart/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With concerns growing that children and vulnerable people are being targeted by rogue online gambling advertising, <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3389996">my new research</a> suggests the current sanctions aren’t enough to change the practices of online advertisers.</p>
<p>In April 2019, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/apr/04/five-online-gambling-firms-break-uk-rules-ads-targeting-children">ran an experiment</a> using an advertising avatar, an online identity which mimicked the internet use of a child. It found five gambling brands were specifically targeting their gambling offers at under 18-year-olds. A <a href="http://live-gamblecom.cloud.contensis.com/PDF/survey-data/Young-People-and-Gambling-2017-Report.pdf">2017 survey</a> by the Gambling Commission found that 12% of children aged 11 to 16 had gambled with their own money in the previous week, and that 0.9% of children were problem gamblers. </p>
<p>In the wake of its experiment, the ASA <a href="https://www.asa.org.uk/resource/gambling-protecting-under-18s.html">announced a change</a> to its guidelines stipulating that online gambling advertising must not be targeted at minors and must not appear on sections of websites of high interest to children. But it’s uncertain whether this will solve the problem. To date there is little evidence that the algorithms used by advertising exchanges prevent the exposure of gambling adverts to children. </p>
<p>Given the financial incentives involved for advertisers, and the lack of tough sanctions if they break the existing rules, this is unlikely to change. Under the current regulatory system, advertising exchanges are not subject to sanctions other than negative publicity, as the ASA cannot impose fines.</p>
<h2>Targeting the vulnerable</h2>
<p>New <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3389996">research</a> my colleagues and I have carried out identified two fundamental problems for the regulation of gambling advertising online. </p>
<p>First, we found that the automation of advertising placements through ad exchanges leads to adverts being targeting at children and vulnerable people. Through these exchanges, run by tech giants such as Google and Facebook, online advertising is targeted at viewers based on an online profile linked to their previous consumption and browsing patterns. </p>
<p>The fundamental difference to offline advertising is this data matching process is driven by artificial intelligence and machine learning. This is built in such a way that the more likely a particular user is to click on an ad, the more it costs a company to advertise to them and so the more money the company hosting the advert will make. This placement process follows statistical criteria based on probability and hard economics, with little regard to ethical or legal standards.</p>
<p>In practice, what this means is that if a user’s online profile indicates they have potentially addictive behaviour, are unemployed, have low socio-economic standing, debt issues, or past episodes of problem gambling, they are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/aug/31/gambling-industry-third-party-companies-online-casinos">more likely</a> to be shown gambling ads while visiting non-gambling content online. A 2017 investigation by The Guardian found gambling companies were using third-parties to harvest information from people who enter prize draws and similar competitions in order to target people on low incomes with gambling advertising.</p>
<p>This automation process also makes it likely that social responsibility standards and ethical considerations are being seriously undermined and that advertising is targeting <a href="https://www.asa.org.uk/news/harnessing-new-technology-gambling-ads-children.html">children</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/aug/31/gambling-industry-third-party-companies-online-casinos">the vulnerable</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278732/original/file-20190610-52789-155s8do.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278732/original/file-20190610-52789-155s8do.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=263&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278732/original/file-20190610-52789-155s8do.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=263&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278732/original/file-20190610-52789-155s8do.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=263&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278732/original/file-20190610-52789-155s8do.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278732/original/file-20190610-52789-155s8do.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278732/original/file-20190610-52789-155s8do.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Advertising algorithms make more money from the vulnerable.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/1325110901?src=FQFckVYP5SQmom3szuUOlw-1-80&size=medium_jpg">Dana.S/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Hidden advertising</h2>
<p>In our research, we also found that social media websites provide ample opportunities for peer-to-peer marketing between users, blurring the lines between commercial advertising and user-generated content. So for example, if a social media user brags about a bet they made, it can be unclear whether they have been paid by a gambling operator to do so. This raises the issue of whether advertising is fair to consumers when it cannot be recognised as an advert, but appears more like a recommendation. </p>
<p>Both these problems with online advertising of gambling have been addressed by ASA through guidelines on <a href="https://www.asa.org.uk/news/don-t-gamble-with-under-18s-ad-protections.html">protecting young people</a> and what <a href="https://www.asa.org.uk/uploads/assets/uploaded/3af39c72-76e1-4a59-b2b47e81a034cd1d.pdf">constitutes an advert</a>. In the UK, social media users are required to disclose whether they have received a payment, free gift, or other perk for a post, by using #ad. But this is often not prominent and it’s not necessarily clear to the user seeing the post what it actually means – and the sanctions for breaching these rules have no real teeth. More fundamental legal changes and stricter enforcement is required, more than just tinkering with the rules at the edges.</p>
<p>Artificial intelligence used by ad exchanges should comply with a “safety by design” principle. Those responsible for designing big data applications used in the advertising ecosystem should comply with consumer protection and gambling laws. A hard look is required to force ad exchanges to build their algorithms in such a way that doesn’t lead to the exploitation of vulnerable users.</p>
<p>Social media sites should also create strict rules for their users obliging them to prominently identify commercial relationships with gambling advertisers. Instead of turning a blind eye, social media platforms should police their rules on undisclosed advertising and use automated tools to monitor whether users breach these rules. As a last resort, a powerful regulator should step in and enforce fair advertising principles through fines and sanctions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117480/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julia Hörnle has received funding from the EU Commission for a study which led to this research. </span></em></p>
Online gambling algorithims and blurred lines on what constitutes an advert on social media mean advertising principles are being flouted.
Julia Hörnle, Professor of Internet Law, Queen Mary University of London
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/108848
2019-01-02T10:20:56Z
2019-01-02T10:20:56Z
We took a gamble on Premier League betting odds – and showed that football bets should come with a health warning
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250674/original/file-20181214-185261-17r6cj9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/soccer-ball-on-green-glass-white-1112645465?src=L_gUGRfWmcfEWmaeObTopg-5-68">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>“Please drink responsibly” is a familiar plea to those who might be inclined to consume alcohol, and we are also reminded to “gamble responsibly”, a timely reminder during a busy period <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-footballs-festive-fixture-congestion-is-so-bad-for-injuries-107413">for Premier League football</a>, full of fixtures and plenty of casual fans with time on their hands.</p>
<p>You can make a reasonable judgement about responsible drinking by using the percentage alcohol by volume (ABV) information on the label of whichever bottle has been opened. But how can we determine the strength of a football bet?</p>
<p>In fact, “gambling harm” can also be approximated by a percentage. The “gamblers’ losses” percentage is a measure of the money bet that a gambler will lose in the long term. Short term randomness around this percentage is what makes gambling interesting – but over longer time periods, gamblers will lose this percentage of all the money they bet.</p>
<p>We think most people probably have no idea of what percentage of all money bet is lost across different football bets. So <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/sxbaq">we looked</a> at eight seasons of Premier League betting odds and results using machine learning.</p>
<p>Machine learning allowed us to simulate three potential human betting strategies over long periods of time. One “random” strategy effectively simulated the risks of throwing darts at a set of betting odds. By comparison, a “most-skilled” strategy carefully studied the betting odds and results for three whole seasons before judiciously selecting the best bet it could find for each match. </p>
<p>We also looked at the returns of a strategy that deliberately tried to be as unskilled as possible. The “least-skilled” strategy chose what might be thought of as the worst case scenario for each match. This mirrors the returns of someone who is not merely unlucky, but is unskilled (and who may benefit from more help and advice). Any differences between these three strategies reflect the role of skill in Premier League football betting.</p>
<p>The risks varied based on both the type of bet chosen and the specific betting strategy used. When simulating the returns of a given bet of, say £1, we found that the gamblers’ losses percentage varied by a factor of 54. Using the drinking comparison, this is like the difference between a 1% reduced strength lager and a strong bottle of whisky.</p>
<p>Some of the highest risks came from betting on the correct score, a bet with pretty high odds, which you might have seen the actor Ray Winstone offering on British <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/3uc9s/">television over Christmas</a>. For example, Manchester City to win 3-1, might have odds of 9/1, meaning every £1 bet wins £9 if Manchester City win by that score line.</p>
<p>We found that that just randomly selecting correct score bets would hit you with a strong average loss of 34.3%. But the worse case scenario was a whopping average loss of 58.9%, which came when the least skilled strategy picked very high correct scores (such as the away team winning by four goals to nil). Of course, sometimes bets at high odds pay off. But overall, these figures mean that for every £100 bet, on average the gambler lost £34.30 and £58.90 for their betting strategies.</p>
<p>Luckily there are two tips that gamblers can do to keep their losses within reasonable limits. </p>
<p>The first tip is to select types of bets with relatively low odds. The bookmakers love advertising correct score bets, for example, because these bets offer high odds if gamblers guess the correct score. </p>
<h2>Good odds it’s a bad bet</h2>
<p>But one bet with lower odds is what we call a “home-draw-away” bet, either betting on Manchester City to win, a draw, or the away team to win. Here the random strategy returned average percentage losses of 8.7%, so nearly four times less than randomly choosing correct score bets.</p>
<p>The second tip is to select bets with relatively low odds within a given bet type. Manchester City are usually expected to win by the bookmakers, and at the time of writing, betting £1 on them to win their recent match <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46663366">against Southampton</a> gave a potential win of £1.27 if successful. By comparison, a £1 bet on Southampton to triumph would return £11 if successful. </p>
<p>Many gamblers might get excited by those higher odds on Southampton winning. But across each bet type, bets at low odds had the lowest average losses for gamblers. If a bet has odds that seem too high to be true, it probably is a bad bet on average.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251753/original/file-20181220-103660-88bb3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251753/original/file-20181220-103660-88bb3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251753/original/file-20181220-103660-88bb3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251753/original/file-20181220-103660-88bb3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251753/original/file-20181220-103660-88bb3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251753/original/file-20181220-103660-88bb3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251753/original/file-20181220-103660-88bb3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Warning label.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The gambling industry recently announced that it will stop showing gambling advertising pre-watershed, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/dec/13/betting-firms-to-ban-pre-watershed-tv-adverts-during-live-sport-events">starting from summer 2019</a>. So promoting betting odds on TV during the football will soon become a thing of the past. </p>
<p>But the industry is currently spending five times as much on online marketing (£1.2 billion) <a href="https://about.gambleaware.org/media/1857/2018-11-24-gambling-marketing-online-five-times-tv-ad-spend.pdf">as on its total TV advertising spend</a>. This online marketing is largely hidden to anyone who is not targeted to receive these messages.</p>
<p>We believe that the very high differences in product risk across football bets should at least be communicated in some way to consumers. While further research should investigate how best to educate football fans about these different risks, reminders to just “gamble responsibly” won’t cut it. </p>
<p>Consumers need to be told about the risks of football bets with high odds.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108848/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philip Newall was in 2018 included as a named researcher on a grant funded by GambleAware, an independent charity committed to minimizing gambling-related harm.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Arman Hassanniakalager does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Some football bets are 50 times more harmful than others.
Arman Hassanniakalager, Lecturer in Finance, University of Bath
Philip Newall, Postdoctoral fellow, University of Warwick
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/91052
2018-08-13T10:33:29Z
2018-08-13T10:33:29Z
Designed to deceive: How gambling distorts reality and hooks your brain
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231111/original/file-20180808-142251-u75psh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=240%2C7%2C4415%2C3437&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The longer they keep you plugged in to a game, the better it is for the house.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Catskills-Casino/676f83651f1f49c19876f7e5db5f90f3/8/0">AP Photo/Seth Wenig</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>To call gambling a “game of chance” evokes fun, random luck and a sense of collective engagement. These playful connotations may be part of why almost 80 percent of American adults <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291708002900">gamble at some point</a> in their lifetime. When I ask my psychology students why they think people gamble, the most frequent suggestions are for pleasure, money or the thrill.</p>
<p>While these might be reasons why people gamble initially, psychologists don’t definitely know why, for some, gambling stops being an enjoyable diversion and becomes compulsive. What keeps people playing even when it stops being fun? Why stick with games people know are designed for them to lose? Are some people just more unlucky than the rest of us, or simply worse at calculating the odds?</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PGE3iuMAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra">As an addiction researcher</a> for the past 15 years, I look to the brain to understand the hooks that make gambling so compelling. I’ve found that many are intentionally hidden in how the games are designed. And these hooks work on casual casino-goers just as well as they do on problem gamblers.</p>
<h2>Uncertainty as its own reward in the brain</h2>
<p>One of the hallmarks of gambling is <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/uncertainty-games">its uncertainty</a> – whether it’s the size of a jackpot or the probability of winning at all. And reward uncertainty plays a crucial role in gambling’s attraction.</p>
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine">Dopamine</a>, the neurotransmitter the brain releases during enjoyable activities such as eating, sex and drugs, is also released during situations where the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1077349">reward is uncertain</a>. In fact dopamine release increases particularly during the moments leading up to a potential reward. This anticipation effect might explain why dopamine release parallels an individual’s levels of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.02.006">gambling “high” and the severity of his or her gambling addiction</a>. It likely also plays a role in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.09.037">reinforcing the risk-taking behavior</a> seen in gambling. </p>
<p>Studies have shown that the release of dopamine during gambling <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03126.x">occurs in brain areas</a> similar to those activated by taking drugs of abuse. In fact, similar to drugs, repeated exposure to gambling and uncertainty produces <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2013.163">lasting changes in the human brain</a>. These reward pathways, similar to those seen in individuals suffering from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/adb.12242">drug addiction</a>, become hypersensitive. Animal studies suggest that these <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-018-0099-4">brain changes due to uncertainty</a> can even enhance gamblers’ cravings and desire for addictive drugs.</p>
<p>Repeated exposure to gambling and uncertainty can even change how you respond to losing. Counterintuitively, in individuals with a gambling problem, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.2010.01591.x">losing money comes to trigger</a> the rewarding release of dopamine almost to the same degree that winning does. As a result, in problem gamblers, losing sets off the urge to keep playing, rather than the disappointment that might prompt you to walk away, a phenomenon known as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2007.05.014">chasing losses</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231114/original/file-20180808-191013-1u4dsgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231114/original/file-20180808-191013-1u4dsgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231114/original/file-20180808-191013-1u4dsgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231114/original/file-20180808-191013-1u4dsgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231114/original/file-20180808-191013-1u4dsgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231114/original/file-20180808-191013-1u4dsgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231114/original/file-20180808-191013-1u4dsgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231114/original/file-20180808-191013-1u4dsgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">All the bells and whistles work to keep you engaged and playing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/persian-gulf-april-14-slot-machines-62296870">Pavel L Photo and Video/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Lights and sounds egg you on</h2>
<p>But gambling is more than just winning and losing. It can be a whole immersive environment with an array of flashing lights and sounds. This is particularly true in a busy casino, but even a game or gambling app on a smartphone includes plenty of audio and visual frills to capture your attention.</p>
<p>But are they just frills? Studies suggest that these lights and sounds become <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2012.10.006">more attractive</a> and capable of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2014.09.027">triggering urges to play</a> when they are paired with reward uncertainty. In particular, win-associated cues – such as jingles that vary in length and size as a function of jackpot size – both <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-013-9391-8">increase excitement and lead gamblers to overestimate</a> how often they are winning. Crucially, they can also keep you <a href="https://doi.org/10.1556/JBA.3.2014.006">gambling longer and encourage you to play faster</a>.</p>
<h2>Feeling like a winner while you’re losing</h2>
<p>Since games of chance are set up so the house always has an advantage, a gambler wins infrequently at best. You might only rarely experience the lights and sounds that come along with hitting a true jackpot. However, the gaming industry may have devised a way to overcome that issue.</p>
<p>Over the last few decades, casinos and game manufacturers significantly upgraded slot machines, retiring the old mechanical arms and reels in favor of electronic versions known as <a href="https://www.casinopedia.org/terms/e/electronic-gaming-machine-egm">electronic gaming machines</a>. These new computerized games and online slots come with more attractive colorful lights and a variety of sounds. They also possess more reels, ushering in a new era of multi-line video slot machines.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231112/original/file-20180808-191044-1iqnmo9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231112/original/file-20180808-191044-1iqnmo9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231112/original/file-20180808-191044-1iqnmo9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231112/original/file-20180808-191044-1iqnmo9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231112/original/file-20180808-191044-1iqnmo9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231112/original/file-20180808-191044-1iqnmo9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231112/original/file-20180808-191044-1iqnmo9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231112/original/file-20180808-191044-1iqnmo9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rather than just hoping for three cherries to line up in a horizontal row, players can bet on lining up icons on multiple lines going in a variety of directions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Casinos-Inflated-Expectations/55422441810a43f8a06117df2d3e199b/1/0">AP Photo/Alex Brandon</a></span>
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<p>Having multiple lines enables players to place a bunch of bets per spin, often up to 20 or more. Although each individual bet can be small, many players place the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/add.12675">maximum number of bets on each spin</a>. This strategy means a player can win on some lines while losing on others, netting less than the original wager. Even when you “win,” you don’t come out ahead, a phenomenon known as “<a href="http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2013/07/losses-disguised-as-wins-slot-machines-and-deception/">losses disguised as wins</a>.” Yet each win, even when it is a loss disguised as a win, comes with the lights and sounds of victory.</p>
<p>The result is that these multi-line slot machines produce <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/add.12675">more enjoyment and are highly preferred by players</a>. Crucially, they tend to make gamblers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-013-9411-8">overestimate how often they’re truly winning</a>. The dramatic increase in the frequency of wins, whether real or fabricated, produces more arousal and activation of reward pathways in the brain, possibly accelerating the rate at which brain changes occur. Multi-line slots also seem to promote the development of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-017-9695-1">“dark flow,” a trance-like state</a> in which players get wholly absorbed in the game, sometimes for hours on end.</p>
<h2>Almost: Near-miss effect and chasing your losses</h2>
<p>The rise of electronic gambling machines also means that rather than being constrained by the physical arrangement of different possible outcomes on each reel, possible outcomes are programmed onto a set of virtual reels. Gaming designers can therefore stack the deck to make certain events occur more frequently than others.</p>
<p>This includes near-misses, where one of the reels stops just short of lining up for a jackpot. These near-miss almost-wins recruit <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2008.12.031">areas of the brain that usually respond to wins</a>, and increase one’s desire to play more, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2016.43">especially in problem gamblers</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231115/original/file-20180808-191019-1oja5no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231115/original/file-20180808-191019-1oja5no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231115/original/file-20180808-191019-1oja5no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231115/original/file-20180808-191019-1oja5no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231115/original/file-20180808-191019-1oja5no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231115/original/file-20180808-191019-1oja5no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231115/original/file-20180808-191019-1oja5no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231115/original/file-20180808-191019-1oja5no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The same hooks that work in casinos work in smartphone apps.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bucharest-romania-january-25-2017-close-569219710">Alexandru Nika/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>This phenomenon is not confined to slot machines and casinos. Near-misses play an integral part in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-016-9633-7">addictive potential of smartphone games</a> like the very popular “Candy Crush.”</p>
<p>Near-misses are more arousing than losses – despite being more frustrating and significantly <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-015-9578-2">less pleasant than missing by a longshot</a>. But crucially, almost winning triggers a more substantial <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2008.12.031">urge to play</a> than even winning itself. Near-misses seem to be highly motivating and increase player commitment to a game, resulting in individuals <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11419232">playing longer than they intended</a>. The size of the dopamine response to a near-miss in fact <a href="https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5758-09.2010">correlates with the severity of an individual’s gambling addiction</a>. </p>
<h2>Gambling and its games</h2>
<p>When you engage in recreational gambling, you are not simply playing against the odds, but also battling an enemy trained in the art of deceit and subterfuge. Games of chance have a vested interest in hooking players for longer and letting them eventually walk away with the impression they did better than chance, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-017-9699-x">fostering a false impression of skill</a>.</p>
<p>For many people, these carefully designed outcomes enhance the satisfaction they get from gambling. It may remain easy for them to simply walk away when the chips run out.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231116/original/file-20180808-142251-c0ks6l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231116/original/file-20180808-142251-c0ks6l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231116/original/file-20180808-142251-c0ks6l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231116/original/file-20180808-142251-c0ks6l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231116/original/file-20180808-142251-c0ks6l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231116/original/file-20180808-142251-c0ks6l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231116/original/file-20180808-142251-c0ks6l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231116/original/file-20180808-142251-c0ks6l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Casinos aim to hook players – and sometimes their strategies work all too well.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/gambling-addicted-man-glasses-front-online-754693879">Alexander Kirch/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
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<p>But gambling isn’t only a lighthearted promise of a good time and a possible jackpot. Up to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291708002900">2 percent of the U.S. population</a> are problem gamblers, suffering from what’s recently been reclassified <a href="https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/gambling-disorder/what-is-gambling-disorder">as gambling disorder</a>.</p>
<p>It stands out as one of the few addictions that doesn’t involve consumption of a substance, such as a drug. Like other forms of addiction, gambling disorder is a <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d000/26410235cd37b68079c7ce6da4932a7b4d37.pdf">solitary</a> and <a href="https://consumer.healthday.com/mental-health-information-25/addiction-news-6/risky-gambling-tied-to-social-isolation-678614.html">isolating experience</a>. It’s tied to <a href="https://doi.org/10.4088/JCP.v66n0504">growing anxiety</a>, and problem gamblers are at <a href="https://www.elementsbehavioralhealth.com/news-and-research/problem-gamblers-have-increased-risk-of-suicide-personality-disorders/">greater risk of suicide</a>.</p>
<p>For these more susceptible individuals, the game designers’ hooks start to seem more sinister. A solution to life’s problems always feels just one spin away.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91052/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mike Robinson has previously received funding from the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG). </span></em></p>
When you engage in recreational gambling, you’re not simply playing against the odds – you’re battling an enemy trained in the art of deceit and subterfuge who uses human nature against you.
Mike Robinson, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Wesleyan University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/100516
2018-08-08T03:10:01Z
2018-08-08T03:10:01Z
Education, not restriction, is key to reducing harm from offshore gambling
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229231/original/file-20180725-194124-f4pb35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Large proportions of regular internet gamblers use offshore sites.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australian internet gambling policies have been <a href="https://www.acma.gov.au/Industry/Internet/Internet-content/Interactive-gambling/interactive-gambling-act-reforms">refined</a> and prohibitions on illegal gambling sites clarified in recent years. </p>
<p>Despite this, offshore gambling sites are as popular as ever with Australians. Estimates of offshore wagering in Australia range from <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/communities-and-vulnerable-people/programs-services/gambling/review-of-illegal-offshore-wagering">A$63.9 to $400 million</a>. Some predict this will grow to $910 million by 2020. </p>
<p>These offshore sites not only pose potential harm to consumers in the form of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.08.010">fraudulent and deceptive dealings</a>, but also have long-term consequences through <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14459795.2011.619553">reducing the tax dollars</a> generated by the licensed market.</p>
<p>Despite many convincing reasons for governments to restrict the use of offshore gambling, the challenges of doing so create headaches for governments around the world.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/action-on-problem-gambling-online-is-a-good-first-step-but-no-silver-bullet-76857">Action on problem gambling online is a good first step, but no silver bullet</a>
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<p>Many consumers turn to offshore sites for more competitive odds and bonus offerings, thanks to the sites’ ability to bypass domestic regulatory requirements. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/poi3.182">Our research</a> takes a closer look at why gamblers use offshore sites, and the implications of this for policymaking.</p>
<h2>What is offshore internet gambling?</h2>
<p>In Australia, licensed operators can provide online lottery and wagering services. Other forms of internet gambling – including casino, slots, bingo and poker – are prohibited. </p>
<p>Offshore internet gambling services are based in other countries, often with much looser regulations. They can offer types of gambling that are restricted on a domestic site. The more diverse options they offer makes them attractive to some consumers.</p>
<p>However, this lack of regulation means these consumers might not be protected from potentially harmful practices that they would be safeguarded against if the site was licensed in Australia.</p>
<p>Our recent study examined the profile of consumers who use offshore sites as a way to improve understanding of consumers and their motivations for doing so. This is an essential step towards encouraging consumers to use protected, licensed sites.</p>
<p>We surveyed 1,001 Australian adult internet gamblers (57.2% male). They were asked about their online gambling behaviours, use of offshore sites, reasons for selecting those sites, awareness of regulations and experience of gambling-related problems, as well as demographic information. </p>
<h2>Offshore gamblers v domestic gamblers</h2>
<p>In our survey, we found just over half (52.7%) of the participants had gambled on offshore sites in the past month. Both groups of gamblers (domestic and offshore) had relatively low concerns about where a site was regulated. The most common reason for choosing sites was ease of use. </p>
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<p>Overall, offshore gamblers displayed a preference for domestic sites. However, their consideration of regulatory status took a back seat to other site qualities, such as payout rates and game experience.</p>
<p>Interestingly, while domestic gamblers (who only used domestically licensed sites) were more likely than offshore gamblers (who used offshore sites, but not necessarily exclusively) to know the site’s licensing jurisdiction, most respondents in both groups were unaware of current legislation and which operators held Australian licences. </p>
<p>We believe offshore gamblers’ lack of knowledge about where a site is based is not because they lack education or ability to access information, but because they do not want to seek it out. </p>
<p>Users of domestic licensed sites placed greater emphasis on the jurisdiction of a site’s licence. Just under one-quarter (24.1%) said an Australian gambling licence was a characteristic they looked for when choosing where to gamble. </p>
<p>Offshore gamblers were most likely to indicate that payout rates and overall gambling experience – including site ease of use, game experience and ability to use local currency – had the most influence on their decision where to gamble, rather than factors related to the operator’s relationship with local regulations.</p>
<p>Across both groups, the most popular site characteristics when selecting where to gamble were: ease of site use, ability to wager in Australian dollars, ease of placing bets, ease of account creation, promotional offers, operator reputation and available products. </p>
<h2>Impact of this research</h2>
<p>Large proportions of regular internet gamblers use offshore sites. This represents a distinct group that seeks a competitive product, regardless of where (and if) it is licensed by a recognised authority.</p>
<p>Compared to domestic gamblers, offshore gamblers had more intense gambling involvement and a greater risk of gambling problems. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/government-ignores-elephant-in-the-room-in-response-to-online-gambling-review-52751">Government ignores elephant in the room in response to online gambling review</a>
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<p>Restricting access to offshore sites has limited effectiveness, as it is difficult to police the internet. As such, public education campaigns targeted at internet gamblers and what they care about may be an important component of moderating this behaviour. </p>
<p>However, some offshore sites are more competitive or attractive simply because they can bypass regulatory requirements that restrict options, odds or bonus offerings. This creates difficult messaging for governments. Given gambling policies are meant to protect citizens from harm, they do not want to cross the line into promoting gambling, particularly with a group that has already been identified as having a greater risk of gambling-related problems. </p>
<p>That’s why we believe internet gamblers should be targeted with public education campaigns that focus on warning about the risks of using offshore gambling sites, and how to identify whether a site is licensed in Australia.</p>
<p>Encouraging gamblers to engage only with domestically licensed sites and ensuring that these provide high levels of harm-minimisation tools may reduce the problems experienced by online gamblers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100516/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Since 2015, Sally Gainsbury has received research funding from the Australian Research Council, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Responsible Wagering Australia, the Australian Communication and Media Authority, the University of Sydney, Star Entertainment, Manitoba Gambling Research Program. She has had travel costs paid and/or honorariums related to conference presentations by Generation Next, Office of Liquor & Gaming Regulation QLD, Responsible Gambling Council (Canada), Alberta Gambling Research Institute, GambleAware, National Council for Problem Gambling Singapore, Community Clubs Victoria, Financial and Consumer Rights Council, Credit Suisse, SNSUS, British Columbia Lottery Corporation, Australian Psychological Society. Honorariums for research consulting services have been received from Gambling Research Exchange Ontario, Communio Australia, MinterEllison, Greenslade Legal, KPMG, Clayton Utz.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Over the period 2015-2018, Alex Blaszczynski has received research funding from Australian and international government, or government-related funding agencies, and industry operators. These include Gambling Research Exchange Ontario, ClubsNSW, Dooleys Club Lidcombe, Aristocrat Leisure Industries, Australian Communications Media Authority, Gaming Technologies Association, Gambling Research Australia, Responsible Wagering Australia, Commonwealth Bank, NSW Department of Trade and Investment (NSW Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing), La Loterie Romande (Switzerland), Camelot (United Kingdom), La Française des Jeux (France), Loto-Quebec (Canada), and National Lottery (Belgium), and the National Association for Gambling Studies.
He has received honorariums from Manitoba Gambling Research Program and GambleAware (formerly UK Responsible Gambling Trust) for grant reviews, and royalties from several publishers for books and book chapters. He has also received travel and accommodation expenses from Leagues Clubs, Gambling Research Exchange Ontario, USA National Council on Problem Gambling, Japan Medical Society for Behavioural Addiction, Le Comité d'organisation Congrès international sur les troubles addictifs, Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries, and New Horizons (British Columbia Lottery Corporation to attend conferences and meetings.
All professional dealings have been conducted with the aim of enhancing responsible gambling and harm minimisation policies and practices, training counsellors in the treatment interventions, and advancing our understanding of the psychology of gambling.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr. Abarbanel has received funding (2013–2018) from the Manitoba Gambling Research Program, GP Consulting, U.S.-Japan Business Council, Wynn Las Vegas, Victoria Responsible Gambling Foundation, Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling, Bermuda Casino Gambling Commission, the State of Nevada, Canadian Partnership for Responsible Gambling, iDevelopment and Economic Association, Majestic Star Casinos, Oakland Raiders/National Football League, MGM Resorts International, and Caesars Entertainment. She has received reimbursement for travel from Association Cluster Sport International, Kansspelautoriteit, Gamification Group (Finland), British Columbia Lottery Corporation, International Association of Gaming Advisors, GambleAware, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Ultimate Media Ventures, Canadian Partnership for Responsible Gambling, and IGT Latin America. She is a member of the Singapore National Council on Problem Gambling International Advisory Panel.</span></em></p>
For online gamblers, there are many attractions to offshore sights, so governments must focus on arming consumers with better knowledge about its risk.
Sally Gainsbury, Deputy Director, Gambling Treatment and Research Clinic, Senior Lecturer, School of Psychology, University of Sydney
Alex Blaszczynski, University of Sydney
Brett Abarbanel, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/98507
2018-06-27T10:47:39Z
2018-06-27T10:47:39Z
World Cup online betting is the highest it’s ever been
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224948/original/file-20180626-112598-8wcp1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The 2018 World Cup inspires new gamblers.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.shutterstock.com%2Fgatekeeper%2FW3siZSI6MTUzMDA1MDY4NywiYyI6Il9waG90b19zZXNzaW9uX2lkIiwiZGMiOiJpZGxfMTExNDYwOTExOCIsImsiOiJwaG90by8xMTE0NjA5MTE4L2h1Z2UuanBnIiwibSI6MSwiZCI6InNodXR0ZXJzdG9jay1tZWRpYSJ9LCIzVGgyTEhEMWtJY2wxN1lVV1JYNFQ1ZUFDaDgiXQ%2Fshutterstock_1114609118.jpg&pi=33421636&m=1114609118&src=qI2blJTtWjBhNIh0dlh2bQ-2-98">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Sports betting is worth up to <a href="https://bbc.co.uk/sport/football/24354124">£625 billion per year</a>, with 70% of that trade reckoned to come from football. During big sporting competitions, such as the World Cup, even more money is spent gambling than usual. Over the 2018 World Cup, bookmakers are estimated to make a profit of <a href="https://alphasportsbetting.com/sports-betting-tactics/how-much-money-is-bet-on-the-fifa-world-cup">US$36.4 billion</a> (£41.3 billion). And in the UK, the amount of money spent on gambling during the World Cup is expected to more than double from £1 billion in 2014 <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/world-cup-kicks-off-a-2-5bn-betting-splurge-qgx8prl5m">to £2.5 billion</a> this year. </p>
<p>Sports gambling is being driven by the unlimited availability of online betting and the fact that no physical money is exchanged, making financial transactions seem less real. The vast amount of data that online gambling sites collect also enables them to personalise offers to individual gamblers. Instead, this data should be used to help people gamble responsibly by warning users in real-time that they are exhibiting problematic gambling behaviours.</p>
<p>For many people, gambling isn’t just a <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-just-financial-loss-the-social-impact-of-gambling-cannot-be-underestimated-86256">fun novelty every four years</a>. About <a href="http://gamblingcommission.gov.uk/PDF/survey-data/Gambling-behaviour-in-Great-Britain-2015.pdf">430,000 citizens</a> in the UK can be identified as <a href="https://theconversation.com/one-in-100-people-is-a-problem-gambler-but-the-health-service-does-little-to-help-74462">problem gamblers</a>. These individuals have lost hundreds of thousands of pounds online, which has impacted not only the gamblers but also their families. </p>
<p>High profile but infrequent betting events such as the Word Cup exacerbate the issues that problem gamblers face. Seeing others engage in betting, coupled with the advertisements from betting firms, leads problem gamblers to attempt to convince themselves that they do <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/002210317790049X">not have a problem</a>. <a href="http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/3911/4f52e150dc123408ba03120afce599727fc6.pdf">Environmental cues</a> can also trigger the urge to gamble in those who have a gambling problem. So, the intensive advertising used by betting firms during the World Cup, along with media coverage of the World Cup in general, may further push problem gamblers towards making harmful decisions.</p>
<h2>Watching your habit</h2>
<p>Online gambling sites have an infinite memory for bets – when made, for how much, regarding what, and so on. This data is a rich source that websites use for tailoring offers and marketing material to fit a gambler’s potential interests. But this personalisation exploits cognitive biases in gamblers and encourages them to increase risk-taking and by extension, gambling.</p>
<p>There is only a fine line between the legitimate marketing and personalisation of content and offers on the one hand and exploitation and manipulation on the other. For example, the tracking of a gambler’s betting pattern means the gambler can be targeted with offers following heavy losses, encouraging them to chase losses even further. </p>
<p>But this same data could also be used to support reductions in problem gambling, either led by gamblers themselves or with the support of a counsellor or software. Such transparency could enhance the image of the gambling industry and make responsible gambling a shared responsibility between gamblers and bookmakers. </p>
<h2>A chance for change</h2>
<p>In our <a href="https://research.bournemouth.ac.uk/project/erogamb/">EROGamb project</a>, funded by <a href="https://about.gambleaware.org/">GambleAware</a> and Bournemouth University, we <a href="https://research.bournemouth.ac.uk/2018/05/gambling-operators-to-provide-gambling-behavioural-data-a-call-for-a-policy-change/">advocate a policy change</a> where gambling sites provide gambling behavioural data to gamblers and their surrogates in real-time. </p>
<p>This data would provide an unprecedented opportunity to tackle problem gambling. For example, the data could lead to the app informing gamblers that they are exhibiting problematic gambling patterns. The real-time collection of information such as “the gambler has reached the monthly spending limit” could trigger a message visualising their past betting behaviour and a reminder of a commitment already made. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fixed-odds-betting-terminal-cap-must-be-just-the-start-of-gambling-regulation-96828">Fixed-odds betting terminal cap must be just the start of gambling regulation</a>
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<p><a href="http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/24447/">In our studies</a>, digital addicts, including online gambling addicts, have indicated that having access to such data would act as a wake-up call, raising awareness. Digital media users, in general, like to be in <a href="http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/21891/">control of their usage</a> through labels and awareness tools. </p>
<p>Similar facilities have started to exist in mainstream digital media. For example, on Google, it is now possible to <a href="https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3024190?hl=en">download your data</a> and on Facebook to download your <a href="https://facebook.com/help/1701730696756992">profile data history of interaction</a>, but not currently as real-time streaming of data as actions happen. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224516/original/file-20180623-26570-1fcs6gl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224516/original/file-20180623-26570-1fcs6gl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224516/original/file-20180623-26570-1fcs6gl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224516/original/file-20180623-26570-1fcs6gl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224516/original/file-20180623-26570-1fcs6gl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224516/original/file-20180623-26570-1fcs6gl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224516/original/file-20180623-26570-1fcs6gl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How to retrieve and use gambling-related data for being more in-control of gambling behaviour.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The EROGamb Project</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Challenges</h2>
<p>We understand the barriers to implementing this vision. Gambling operators may not have such data readily available and may even rely on third parties to offer certain games. Some also fear that gamblers might share the data with competitor gambling sites, giving away information about marketing practices. But the <a href="https://theconversation.com/gdpr-ten-easy-steps-all-organisations-should-follow-90651">General Data Protection Regulation</a>(GDPR) <a href="https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/individual-rights/right-to-data-portability/">right to data portability</a> holds that gamblers shall not be prevented from accessing and sharing their data. </p>
<p>Given the advantages, and also the increased demand for transparency, this would eventually become the recommended practice for demonstrating advanced corporate social responsibility and inspiring the trust of the public and clients in the gambling industry. We are preparing a <a href="https://research.bournemouth.ac.uk/2018/04/erogamb-workshop-a-charter-for-sharing-data-and-supporting-responsible-gambling/">charter for the gambling industry</a> towards a commitment for that.</p>
<p>The rise of online gambling, combined with the record amount of money being spent on gambling at this year’s World Cup makes this the perfect time to discuss what we can do to prevent and combat gambling addiction. Simply by using data to help people be better aware of their gambling habits, rather than hooking them back into their next bet, gambling sites could make a massive difference. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/spN_bTe5PiY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<hr>
<p><em>More evidence-based articles related to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/world-cup-2018-11490?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=WorldCup2018">World Cup</a>:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/world-cup-var-technology-is-transforming-the-beautiful-game-97907?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=WorldCup2018">VAR: technology is transforming the beautiful game</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/china-has-more-fans-at-this-world-cup-than-england-97435?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=WorldCup2018">China has more fans at this World Cup than England</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/world-cup-60-years-on-peles-1958-debut-still-the-greatest-tournament-ever-98194?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=WorldCup2018">Sixty years on Pelé’s 1958 debut still the greatest World Cup ever</a></em></p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98507/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Raian Ali receives funding from GambleAware through the EROGamb Project: "Empowering Responsible Online Gambling with Predictive, Real-time, Persuasive and Interactive Intervention" <a href="https://research.bournemouth.ac.uk/project/erogamb/">https://research.bournemouth.ac.uk/project/erogamb/</a> </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Arden-Close receives funding from GambleAware through the EROGamb Project "Empowering Responsible Online Gambling with Predictive, Real-time, Persuasive and Interactive Intervention."</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>John McAlaney receives funding from GambleAware through the EROGamb Project "Empowering Responsible Online Gambling with Predictive, Real-time, Persuasive and Interactive Intervention.". He is on the Board of Trustees of the Gordon Moody Association. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Keith Phalp receives funding from GambleAware through the EROGamb Project "Empowering Responsible Online Gambling with Predictive, Real-time, Persuasive and Interactive Intervention.</span></em></p>
Online gambling collects a huge amount of data. But instead of personalising offers to keep you hooked, real-time data can be used to prevent problematic gambling behaviour.
Raian Ali, Associate Professor in Computing and Informatics, Bournemouth University
Emily Arden-Close, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Bournemouth University
John McAlaney, Principal Academic in Psychology, Bournemouth University
Keith Phalp, Executive Dean for the Faculty of Science and Technology and Professor of Software Engineering, Bournemouth University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/96618
2018-05-14T22:18:41Z
2018-05-14T22:18:41Z
Market for illegal sports betting in US is not really a $150 billion business
<p>The Supreme Court on May 14 <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2018/05/14/what-the-supreme-courts-sports-gambling-decision-means/">struck down</a> a 25-year federal ban on sports betting outside of Nevada. </p>
<p>The big question on many minds – particular state officials and companies like <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/14/mgm-ceo-well-have-sports-betting-in-place-very-quickly-throughout-u-s.html">MGM Resorts</a> and <a href="https://www.legalsportsreport.com/18677/draftkings-hires-head-sportsbook/">DraftKings</a> looking to cash in – is how much money is at stake. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/14/us/politics/supreme-court-sports-betting-new-jersey.html">Many</a> of the <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chapman/ct-perspec-chapman-sports-betting-new-jersey-supreme-court-nfl-1231-20171229-story.html">articles</a> <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/muhammadcohen/2018/03/22/bet-on-u-s-supreme-court-sports-wagering-verdict-to-change-the-game-in-asia/#463be628a825">on the decision</a> cite the same <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-taking-up-new-jersey-sports-betting-case/">eye-popping figure</a>: Americans wager an estimated US$150 billion in illegal sports bets every year.</p>
<p>As a <a href="http://businessmacroeconomics.com/">macro economist</a>, I am used to dealing with big numbers. Still, $150 billion struck me as much too high. To put it in perspective, that’s <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/187069/north-american-box-office-gross-revenue-since-1980/">14 times more than Americans spend</a> going to the movies, <a href="https://www.bls.gov/cex/2016/aggregate/age.pdf">twice as much</a> as they put into grooming and feeding their pets and about the same as they pay for fruits, vegetables and dairy products. </p>
<p>The figure comes from the <a href="https://www.americangaming.org/about">American Gaming Association</a>, which represents the U.S. casino industry and works to reduce restrictions on gambling. It says it <a href="https://www.americangaming.org/newsroom/press-releasess/americans-wager-more-46-billion-illegally-super-bowl-52">based this number</a> on a <a href="https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/ngisc/reports/fullrpt.html">1999 government estimate</a> of about $80 billion in illegal sports betting. The group, which describes this as “the most conservative estimate,” then adjusted it to 2017 dollars using GDP growth. </p>
<p>I’m not the first to find fault with these figures. A <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2014/11/adam_silver_says_there_s_400_billion_per_year_of_illegal_sports_betting.html">2014 article in Slate</a> questioned an even higher estimate, $380 billion, drawn from the same report. An examination of the underlying study showed that such estimates were not based on serious research.</p>
<p>While the figure has no real basis, it does have real impact. Numerous states need more tax revenue. If the potential dollars are big enough, then many states will rush to allow sports betting – as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2018/05/14/what-the-supreme-courts-sports-gambling-decision-means/">almost 20 are already doing</a>, including New Jersey, which was behind the lawsuit that resulted in the high court ruling.</p>
<h2>Real-world examples</h2>
<p>As I know from my work in economics, there are better ways to make estimates than pulling numbers out of thin air. </p>
<p>The first thing you do in such cases is look for a real-world example. In this case, data from the U.K., which has allowed sports gambling for decades, with thousands of betting parlors offering odds on everything from <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/40043129">Premier League matches</a> to when <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/7-weirdest-things-you-can-bet-on-2013-7">royal babies are born</a>.</p>
<p>The U.K.’s Gambling Commission tracks betting statistics and <a href="http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/news-action-and-statistics/Statistics-and-research/Statistics/Industry-statistics.aspx">issues an annual report</a>. The one released in January shows that Brits placed about 10 billion pounds in bets in the latest fiscal year.</p>
<p>To get a comparable estimate for the U.S., that figure needs to be adjusted by population and currency. The U.K. has only about <a href="https://www.cia.gov/Library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/uk.html">66 million people</a>, compared with <a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html">327 million</a> in the U.S. And the pound was worth $1.36 on May 14. </p>
<p>After making both adjustments, this suggests that if people in the U.S. are allowed to make bets at the same rate as in the U.K., the size of the industry would be about $67 billion a year. While enormous, that’s a far cry from $150 billion.</p>
<p>Will legal sports gambling be big business? Yes, but not as big as its proponents want you to believe.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96618/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jay L. Zagorsky does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Many states are pondering making gambling on sports legal after the US Supreme Court overturned a federal ban. But is the industry really worth as much as some say it is?
Jay L. Zagorsky, Economist and Research Scientist, The Ohio State University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/84065
2017-09-15T02:50:26Z
2017-09-15T02:50:26Z
Snap that prize up: croc research on gambling habits gets an Ig Nobel
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186112/original/file-20170914-8975-1iltwl8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The one-metre long relatives of this snappy croc at the Koorana Crocodile Farm, near Rockhampton, helped test the betting risks of potential gamblers.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gorey/3446805828/">Flickr/Michael Gorey</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Our research examining the effects of holding a live crocodile on slot-machine gambling has won one of this year’s infamous <a href="http://www.improbable.com/">Ig Nobel prizes</a>.</p>
<p>The award was one of several presented at a ceremony at Harvard University in the US on Thursday night, which honours research topics that “<a href="http://www.improbable.com/about/">first make people laugh, then make people think</a>”. They’re often regarded as a parody of the Nobel Prizes.</p>
<p>The judges said to all those who didn’t win an award, “better luck next year” and repeated the same to the recipients.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/three-charts-on-australias-addiction-to-poker-machines-78353">Three charts on: Australia's addiction to poker machines</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Our original research paper, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10899-009-9174-4">Never Smile at a Crocodile: Betting on Electronic Gaming Machines is Intensified by Reptile-Induced Arousal</a> published in the Journal of Gambling Studies in 2010, did get <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2010/01/29/2802811.htm">some coverage</a> at the time.</p>
<p>Now that our work has been awarded the 2017 Ig Nobel prize for Economics, does it mean the influence of emotions on people’s gambling may get more attention in the literature? </p>
<p>Frankly, probably not. People will laugh a little, and carry on with their lives.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186114/original/file-20170914-9038-2baqnd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186114/original/file-20170914-9038-2baqnd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186114/original/file-20170914-9038-2baqnd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=675&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186114/original/file-20170914-9038-2baqnd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=675&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186114/original/file-20170914-9038-2baqnd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=675&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186114/original/file-20170914-9038-2baqnd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186114/original/file-20170914-9038-2baqnd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186114/original/file-20170914-9038-2baqnd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Researcher Nancy Greer and Prof Matthew Rockloff were suitably dressed for the Ig Nobel occasion.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CQUniversity</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The croc research</h2>
<p>But the research addressed a surprisingly serious topic of how gambling is affected by the excitement generated by pokies or slot machines. </p>
<p>One of the important entertainment elements of gambling is its ability to generate excitement. This excitement is particularly important for people with pre-existing gambling problems, who often suffer from low moods.</p>
<p>The research was devised to subtly manipulate excitement just prior to gambling.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186120/original/file-20170915-8998-15pji09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186120/original/file-20170915-8998-15pji09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186120/original/file-20170915-8998-15pji09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186120/original/file-20170915-8998-15pji09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186120/original/file-20170915-8998-15pji09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186120/original/file-20170915-8998-15pji09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186120/original/file-20170915-8998-15pji09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186120/original/file-20170915-8998-15pji09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The researchers used smaller crocs like this one as part of the study.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Digital Video Bank</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our supposition was that some of the excitement from holding the crocodile would be misattributed to the gambling experience, allowing us to study how that feeling of excitement might influence gambling decisions.</p>
<p>So we attended 100 crocodile tours at the <a href="https://www.koorana.com.au/">Koorana Crocodile Farm</a> in Coowonga, Central Queensland, Australia. For about half of the tours, we approached people at random to play a simulated pokie game before entering the farm and having any contact with crocodiles. </p>
<p>For the other half of participants, they were approached immediately after holding a live one-metre crocodile. Photos holding the crocodile are a feature of the end of the tour, and most tourists take a turn holding this ancient - and potentially deadly - animal.</p>
<p>We measured all aspects of people’s real-money gambling on our simulated pokie game. We also took standard measures of people’s physiological state and mood, and surveyed them for any pre-existing gambling problems.</p>
<h2>The findings</h2>
<p>Most of our subjects, the tourists at the croc farm, had fun holding the croc. The juvenile crocodile had its mouth taped shut, but still had sharp teeth protruding from its mouth. </p>
<p>It also had sharp claws, and tourists were advised to handle it carefully. In our debriefing of the participants, nobody indicated an awareness that the crocodile had any influence on their gambling decisions.</p>
<p>But our results showed that people with pre-existing problems bet larger amounts after they held a one-metre crocodile, as long as they did not rate themselves as having a negative mood. </p>
<p>In contrast, gamblers with pre-existing problems who were in a negative mood bet substantially less. This demonstrated that emotions are an important determinant of gambling choices.</p>
<p>The research used a paradigm consistent with experimental realism, in which the goal was to simulate the psychological processes involved in real-world gambling rather than to simulate the mundane realism of the casino environment.</p>
<p>Experimental research often sacrifices some features of realism to improve control. Later correlational research supports our result by showing that people generally bet more in large, and presumably more exciting, casino environments than in smaller local venues.</p>
<h2>Ig Nobel recognition of the research</h2>
<p>Great science and great humour are often based on a surprise or unexpected results. It is important for people to understand that not all research has to be stuffy to be valuable. </p>
<p>Public recognition for our research through the Ig Nobels may allow people to “laugh”, but also to “think”. People need to be more aware of how their emotional states can influence their gambling decisions so that they can make better gambling choices.</p>
<p>The crocodile study was actually completed ten years ago, and we have made great progress since in understanding gambling choices. Our <a href="https://theconversation.com/responsible-gambling-why-occasional-use-is-generally-safe-25493">more recent research</a> looks at gambling harms and benefits, with the purpose of trying to identify what amount of gambling is “too much”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-huh-to-who-the-universal-utterances-that-keep-us-talking-47775">From 'Huh?' to 'Who?': the universal utterances that keep us talking</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Many people participate in gambling with measurable recreational benefits. The key to engaging successfully with gambling products, including slots, is to maximise the benefit and minimise the harms.</p>
<p>One of our new research platforms to examine this and other questions is a customised Luck Lolly Slots slot machine game available from <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lucky-lolly-slots/id1055174667">iOS</a> and <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=au.com.headjam.cqu.lucky_lolly_slots&hl=en">Android</a> app stores. It’s been developed by CQUniversity for a research project investigating pokie-style mobile apps and is available for free (with no in-app purchases and no ads). </p>
<p>As for the Ig Nobel prize, it includes a cash award of <a href="http://www.improbable.com/2016/04/27/april-30-as-final-day-for-retiring-the-zimbabwe-100-trillion-dollar-bills/">10 trillion Zimbabwe dollars</a>. This will soon be spent by the research team on necessary supplies: two cups of coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts (medium, no milk).</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84065/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Rockloff has received research grants from Gambling Research Australia, the Queensland Treasury Department, the Federal Department of Social Services, the Victorian Treasury Department, the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, the Tasmanian Department of Treasury and Finance, the First Nations Foundation, the New Zealand Ministry of Health, and the Alberta Gambling Research Institute.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nancy Greer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Research that studied the pokie risks gamblers were prepared to take after they held a live crocodile has been awarded one of this year’s Ig Nobel prizes.
Matthew Rockloff, Head, Population Research Laboratory, CQUniversity Australia
Nancy Greer, Researcher and PhD Candidate, CQUniversity Australia
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/76857
2017-05-01T05:06:38Z
2017-05-01T05:06:38Z
Action on problem gambling online is a good first step, but no silver bullet
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/167327/original/file-20170501-12963-1dd5gg2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Greater protections for online gamblers are clearly needed, given its growth and higher rates of problem gambling among its users.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Lukas Coch</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Reactions to new measures <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/federal-and-state-ministers-agree-on-online-gambling-reform/news-story/fd3ea0c6e084e81c1f24a70e38072b3d">designed to tackle problem gambling online</a> have so far been mixed. The federal human services minister, Alan Tudge, <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/federal-state-and-territory-ministers-tackle-problem-gambling/news-story/3465297b894e0959067862df9437386d?nk=b00925f1a16d0be259f3f1f1cd361795-1493595808">said he was</a> “hopeful that in combination [they] will have a profound impact”. But Australian Churches Gambling Taskforce chair Tim Costello <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/federal-state-and-territory-ministers-tackle-problem-gambling/news-story/3465297b894e0959067862df9437386d?nk=b00925f1a16d0be259f3f1f1cd361795-1493595808">dismissed them as “cosmetic”</a>. He called instead for a total ban on betting ads on TV during sports broadcasts.</p>
<p>Greater protections for online gamblers are clearly needed. Online gambling is <a href="https://theconversation.com/gambling-gallops-on-stats-reveal-but-what-can-be-done-to-curb-its-harms-64299">growing rapidly</a>, and up to three times higher rates of problem gambling <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4610999/">have been found</a> among internet compared to non-internet gamblers.</p>
<p>There is reason to suggest these new reforms will have some impact in helping tackle problem gambling. However, none of the proposed measures, either alone or in combination, will completely eliminate it online.</p>
<h2>What’s being introduced?</h2>
<p>Under the new <a href="https://www.mhs.gov.au/media-releases/2016-11-25-gambling-ministers-agree-consumer-protection-framework-online-wagering">National Consumer Protection Framework</a> for online gambling, the main changes will be:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Australian betting sites will no longer be allowed to offer credit or “free-bet” inducements (where customers are given betting credit to sign up);</p></li>
<li><p>the establishment of a national online self-exclusion register to allow gamblers to voluntarily ban themselves from any site for between three months and life; and</p></li>
<li><p>the introduction of pre-commitment options – where gamblers can set a maximum amount they can lose – and activity statements detailing gambling wins and losses.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Credit and free-bet inducements</h2>
<p>Several studies have identified credit betting as a risk factor for problem gambling. </p>
<p>The use of digital credit has been associated with lower <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023%2FA%3A1023053630588?LI=true">psychological value compared</a> to physical money. This means gamblers feel less of a “sting” when losing digital credit, which leads to increased gambling losses – particularly among problem gamblers. </p>
<p>Credit betting on in-person gambling forms (like on poker machines and at the TAB) has long been prohibited in order to protect problem gamblers. So, it is reasonable that similar measures be put in place for online betting.</p>
<p>There is also some research on the effect of inducements, such as free bets. <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14459795.2014.903989">Studies report</a> that online gambling promotions may lead internet gamblers to gamble more money than they had first intended. It was also found that promotions triggered urges to gamble in people seeking treatment for gambling problems. </p>
<p>Thus, there is evidence to suggest a ban on such inducements will be an important protection for problem gamblers.</p>
<h2>Self-exclusion registry</h2>
<p>There are few examples of national online self-exclusion schemes, mostly because online gambling is illegal in many countries and these schemes require the co-operation of multiple betting operators. </p>
<p>In the UK, a <a href="http://www.rga.eu.com/pages/en/noses.html">national online self-exclusion scheme</a> is currently in the piloting stages, with full implementation planned for the end of this year. <a href="https://www.svenskaspel.se/">Svenska Spel</a>, the Swedish state-owned gambling operator, also provides a self-exclusion scheme. </p>
<p>Evaluations of self-exclusion programs generally show <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4016676/">positive outcomes</a> in terms of reduced problem gambling, and various social and psychological benefits. This suggests this reform may also be of benefit to gamblers. </p>
<p>However, the main drawback is that while such a register will prevent self-excluded gamblers from opening accounts with Australian betting operators, it will not stop them accessing offshore and illegal betting sites.</p>
<h2>Pre-commitment and activity statements</h2>
<p>Although many betting sites currently provide a limit-setting option, the inclusion of a pre-commitment scheme in the reforms allows governments to prescribe the exact features that are likely to be most effective – for example, limits that are binding. </p>
<p>One <a href="http://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/15599/1/200584_6987%20Griffiths%20Publisher.pdf">study</a> involving Swedish Svenska Spel customers reported that more than half (56%) had used the spend limit feature. Most (70%) found them to be “quite” or “very” useful. </p>
<p>Similarly, people perceive gambling activity statements <a href="http://www.responsiblegambling.org/docs/research-reports/play-information-and-management-systems.pdf?sfvrsn=10">as useful</a>, provided the data is presented clearly. However, this finding is open to interpretation. And some researchers have expressed concern about the potential for gamblers to misinterpret information displayed by activity statements – thus causing them to chase their losses.</p>
<p>Given most research on these reforms is indirect and has been conducted overseas, there is a need for systematic and empirical research to evaluate their effectiveness once implemented. It is therefore highly encouraging that state and federal government ministers <a href="https://www.mhs.gov.au/media-releases/2017-04-28-ministers-agree-tackle-major-online-gambling-reform">have promised funding</a> of up to A$3 million to launch a national gambling research model, beginning July 1, that may help answer some of these questions. </p>
<p>These reforms should not be looked at in isolation, but in combination with other proposed measures for tackling problem gambling. This could include <a href="https://theconversation.com/wide-ranging-ban-on-gambling-ads-during-sport-broadcasts-is-needed-to-tackle-problem-gambling-74687">tighter controls on gambling ads</a>, which is also likely to have a significant impact.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/76857/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dylan Pickering receives funding from ClubsNSW. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher John Hunt receives funding from NSW Responsible Gambling Fund.</span></em></p>
There is reason to suggest new reforms, such a banning credit bets and establishing a self-exclusion register, will have some impact in helping to tackle problem gambling online.
Dylan Pickering, PhD Candidate, School of Psychology, University of Sydney
Christopher John Hunt, Clinical Psychologist, University of Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/73968
2017-03-23T23:07:28Z
2017-03-23T23:07:28Z
Sporting codes’ deals with gambling companies force them into a Faustian bargain
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160448/original/image-20170313-19256-1u1q7hy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sports betting has become a high-profile part of the rugby league's income and branding.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/karlmonaghan/515858509/in/photolist-MzMKq-MzMHf-6oC75t-MzUcT-cG14YA-MzUnn-MzUYX-MzLSW-MzLy1-MzU2e-MzMgN-MzM4j-MzLCU-MzV4M-MzUzD-MzLzb-MzUWF-MzULe-MzMfA-MzUh2-MzLtq-MzUkz-MzMAw-MzMsS-MzMFf-MzV2R-MzU18-MzMM9-dYEsRg-82qS4X-82tYTd-82tYA5-82tYis-82qNhH-82tUGS-82tUrY-82tTzE-6oGfsh-6oGezs-5hP8Kb-5aQnA3-MzV5x-MzMyh-MzMiL-MzUtr-MzLYY-MzLWN-Bt4bv-BsRNm-BsRDb/">Karl Monaghan</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2014-15, Australians gambled <a href="http://www.qgso.qld.gov.au/products/reports/aus-gambling-stats/">nearly A$7.2 billion</a> on sports betting (not including racing), in the process losing around $815 million. Sports betting is certainly a <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/agrc/publications/sports-betting-and-advertising/growth-sports-betting-australia">growth market in Australia</a>.</p>
<p>Most professional sporting codes have business partnerships with betting providers; the <a href="http://epubs.scu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1573&context=tourism_pubs">sponsorship revenue</a> is attractive to them. However, there are risks for the organisations. Wagers about on-field results and variables during play have the potential to be a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Faustian-bargain">Faustian bargain</a>. Known as <a href="http://www.rugbyleaguebetting.com.au/betting/">“exotic bets”</a>, these include markets like the first player to score a goal in football, or the first to score a try in rugby league.</p>
<p>The National Rugby League is arguably in a Faustian position right now. Wests Tigers player Tim Simona recently admitted to <a href="http://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/wests-tigers/nrl-deregisters-wests-tigers-tim-simona-for-betting-against-own-team/news-story/a43e5f3a07e6b9a60a1603af20f8c384">placing bets on rugby league</a> – including against his own team and, most shockingly, that his direct opponent would score a try. The NRL has now deregistered Simona.</p>
<p>Gambling is not just a source of income for sports; it adds <a href="http://sportsthenandnow.com/2015/06/26/sports-betting-can-be-easy-and-fun/">entertainment value</a> for many fans. Betting can even bring in <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-016-2849-8">new supporters</a>, enticed initially by a punt. However, should confidence in the betting market be compromised, such as by fraud or corruption, the <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/should-we-bet-on-the-future-of-professional-sport-20160330-gnu1yu.html">integrity of sport</a> as a legitimate contest is placed at grave risk. </p>
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<h2>Normalising gambling on sport</h2>
<p>Rugby league used to rely almost solely on poker machines for gambling revenue. But recently, sports betting has become a high-profile part of the game’s income and branding. </p>
<p>Of the 16 NRL clubs, seven are sponsored by online sports betting companies; two more are sponsored by casinos, one of which is an online sports betting platform. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.seaeagles.com.au/">Manly-Warringah</a> club’s home ground has been renamed <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-03/manly-sea-eagles-homeground-brookvale-oval-renamed-lottoland/8239204">Lottoland</a> as part of a sponsorship deal with that online betting company. And the NRL itself has a <a href="http://www.nrl.com/nrl-renews-wagering-agreement-with-sportsbet/tabid/10874/newsid/95874/default.aspx">$60 million deal</a> with Sportsbet – its official gaming partner – until 2020.</p>
<p>NRL fans – whether at the game or watching a broadcast – bear witness to an unprecedented volume of <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296315001174">sports betting promotion</a>: before the match, during game breaks, on player jerseys, ground signage, scoreboard displays, after the match and in highlight reels. NRL betting odds feature in newspapers and news bulletins, often with live crosses to a sports betting agency to discuss predictions and offer promotional bets.</p>
<p>Punters can place a bet – either prior to the game or in play – with a simple selection on a digital device. These apps are <a href="https://www.1843magazine.com/features/the-scientists-who-make-apps-addictive">designed to be enticing</a> – socially and psychologically. </p>
<p>So, gambling on the NRL is <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-016-3610-z?utm_source=TrendMD&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=BMC_TrendMD">normalised</a> – not just for adults who bet, but <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1753-6405.12564/full">for children</a> who observe.</p>
<h2>Compromising the sport’s integrity</h2>
<p>Gamblers’ confidence in betting on the NRL has occasionally been compromised from an integrity perspective. </p>
<p>In 2010, Canterbury player <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-10-06/tandy-found-guilty-of-fixing/3317476">Ryan Tandy</a> instigated a spot-fixing operation in which the opposing team would be gifted a penalty at the start of the game. The sting failed, but Tandy was found out – and banned from the NRL for life. </p>
<p>In 2016, a New South Wales <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/bank-and-betting-anomalies-led-police-to-launch-strike-force-into-nrl-match-fixing-20160907-grb4kj.html">police task force</a> was established to investigate bank and betting anomalies related to suspected match-fixing in the NRL. That inquiry is ongoing.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/tim-simona-sex-drugs-and-my-downfall/news-story/4dbf6be5c680be6e94d4959bd24964d9?utm_content=SocialFlow&utm_campaign=EditorialSF&utm_source=DailyTelegraph&utm_medium=Twitter#load-story-comments">Tim Simona’s admissions</a> have reinforced long-held concerns about the threat to game integrity by players’ engagement with, and even addiction to, gambling (and related behaviours, such as illicit drugs).</p>
<p>It is difficult to see Simona ever returning to the NRL. His addictions to gambling and cocaine certainly require the assistance of health professionals, so there is <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-11/tigers-coach-says-club-to-be-supportive-of-banned-simona/8345890">some sympathy</a> about his state of mind. </p>
<p>But Simona’s reputation has been compromised beyond that. It’s been revealed that he pocketed money on the sale of signed NRL jerseys <a href="http://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/wests-tigers/nrl-deregisters-wests-tigers-tim-simona-for-betting-against-own-team/news-story/a43e5f3a07e6b9a60a1603af20f8c384">auctioned for charity</a>, and that he implored his pregnant ex-girlfriend to have an abortion – <a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/get-my-boobs-done-or-ill-tell-nrl-how-simonas-ex-blew-the-whistle/news-story/6ae5d8a20145df9ee4f6409b2bfb70ab">saying he</a> “wouldn’t be there to support them”.</p>
<p>While Simona needs <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-11/tigers-coach-says-club-to-be-supportive-of-banned-simona/8345890">support</a> – especially around risk of self-harm during a crisis – his lack of empathy for others suggests poor <a href="http://www.psychometriclab.com/adminsdata/files/Emotional%20intelligence%20-%20Elsevier%20NBP%20encyclopedia%20(2017).pdf">emotional intelligence</a>.</p>
<h2>What now?</h2>
<p>Following the Simona scandal the NRL is trying to reduce its exposure to the integrity risks spot-fixing poses.</p>
<p>The number of <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-01/nrl-bans-exotic-betting-options-and-under-20s-gambling/8314774">in-play activities</a> that punters can bet on has been reduced. For example, the option of placing a wager on the first scoring play of the first half has gone, and so too – one deduces – the temptation for someone like Simona to attempt a sting.</p>
<p>There is, inevitably, the prospect of match-fixing. But that is much more unlikely than a spot fix: it needs many people in the same team to be on side, and perhaps even a friendly referee. That is a much tougher Faustian bargain to pull off.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73968/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The NRL is trying to reduce its exposure to the integrity risks posed by spot-fixing.
Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney
David Bond, Senior Lecturer, Accounting Discipline Group, University of Technology Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/72495
2017-02-09T23:25:01Z
2017-02-09T23:25:01Z
South Australia’s gambling tax highlights the regulatory mess of online betting
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/156006/original/image-20170208-9143-2mny0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">William Hill is among the online bookies to be registered in the Northern Territory, where the tax and regulatory environment is more favourable.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Lukas Coch</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The South Australian government <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/victoria-could-raise-150-million-off-new-wagering-tax-20170205-gu5wrq.html">will introduce</a> from July a “point-of-consumption tax” to claw back some of the gambling tax revenue it is seeing disappear over the border. </p>
<p>The new tax is a reasonable response to a growing problem, and probably won’t send bookmakers to the wall. But it does highlight the current regulatory mess surrounding how we tax internet wagering in Australia.</p>
<h2>Bookmakers flee north</h2>
<p>In 2008, the High Court <a href="http://www.hcourt.gov.au/assets/publications/judgment-summaries/2008/hca11-2008-03-27.pdf">decided</a> it was unlawful for a state government to protect local wagering operators from the emerging competition provided by online bookmaker Betfair.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://flr.law.anu.edu.au/sites/flr.anulaw.anu.edu.au/files/flr/Ball.pdf">case turned on Section 92</a> of the Constitution, which provides for free trade between the states. What the decision meant was internet bookies licensed in one Australian jurisdiction (the Northern Territory, for example) could offer their wares to anyone living anywhere in Australia. It led to dramatic increases in the promotion and advertising of internet betting, and also to very rapid growth in that commodity.</p>
<p>One of the consequences of this has been a <a href="http://www.qgso.qld.gov.au/products/reports/aus-gambling-stats/">decline in racing revenue</a> going to governments. In 1990-91, the SA government derived A$52.6 million in racing tax revenue. By 2012-13, this had declined to less than A$1 million (both numbers in real terms, at 2014-15 values). </p>
<p>Meanwhile, in the NT, growth in wagering revenue – for both racing and sports betting – has been exponential.</p>
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<p>People in the NT have not taken to racing and sports betting like there’s no tomorrow. But the NT has become home to most of Australia’s internet bookies, thanks to a low-tax regime and relatively loose regulation.</p>
<p>There are 18 internet bookies <a href="https://justice.nt.gov.au/attorney-general-and-justice/racing-commission/sports-bookmakers-and-betting-exchange-operators">registered in the NT</a>, including William Hill, CrownBet, bet365 and Ladbrokes. They get most of their revenue from other states – including SA.</p>
<p>They also don’t pay a lot of tax. In 2014-15, with total wagering expenditure of A$937.6 million, the NT government collected taxes amounting to <a href="http://www.qgso.qld.gov.au/products/reports/aus-gambling-stats/">a little over A$10 million</a>. That’s a bit less than 1.1% of the money gamblers lost. So, it’s easy to see why the bookies like the NT.</p>
<p>The SA government has decided to try to get a slice of that action, or to dissuade the bookies from marketing their wares into the state – or perhaps a bit of both. </p>
<p>State governments have to pick up the pieces when their residents suffer gambling harm and its effects. This includes domestic violence, job loss, suicide, mental and physical health problems, and so on. It’s pretty galling when another state takes all the benefits (at a discount rate) and doesn’t contribute to the costs involved.</p>
<h2>What is South Australia’s tax designed to do?</h2>
<p>The SA tax is intended to take <a href="http://www.premier.sa.gov.au/index.php/tom-koutsantonis-news-releases/743-state-budget-2016-17-state-government-to-introduce-place-of-consumption-tax-for-betting-companies-offering-services-in-sa">15% from net wagering revenue</a> (that is, gambler losses). </p>
<p>All wagering operators will pay the tax – not just the internet bookies. So, it may not amount to a discriminatory or protectionist measure. This is important: if it is discriminatory, the High Court would probably find it unconstitutional, as the Western Australian government’s actions in the Betfair case were deemed to be.</p>
<p>It is abundantly clear that the federal government has the power to regulate internet gambling, via the Constitution’s telecommunication provision. It has <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2005C00372">adopted legislation</a> that does just that, although in a minimal way. </p>
<p>The federal legislation provides for bookmakers licensed in any Australian jurisdiction to be able to offer wagering services throughout Australia. Their actual regulation, however, is left to the state jurisdictions. This is how we’ve ended up in the current mess.</p>
<p>The federal government <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/communities-and-vulnerable-people/programmes-services/gambling">recently convened</a> a ministerial meeting to propose new consumer protection regulations to the states. The government has sensibly realised that inadequate regulation at state level has to be tackled.</p>
<p>But this leaves at least two key issues unresolved. </p>
<p>The main concern of ordinary people when it comes to internet gambling is the continuing bombardment of bookies’ ads accompanying sports broadcasts. These are consumed by <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-15/children-consider-gambling-ads-a-normal-part-of-sport-study/7733696">millions of children</a> because there is an exemption for sport in the TV broadcast self-regulation code. This needs to be tackled, and the federal government is the only jurisdiction with the clear authority to do so. </p>
<p>Also, the tax regimes of the various states differ; the NT clearly leads the race to the bottom. The federal government can regulate and tax the bookies uniformly, if it wishes, and distribute the revenue according to a GST-style formula – or some variation thereof.</p>
<p>That might diminish the NT revenues a little. But it would at least regularise the industry, enable uniform regulation and stop the states trying to pinch each other’s revenue base.</p>
<p>Earlier this week, online bookmaker CrownBet <a href="http://www.afr.com/business/gambling/crown-to-sign-online-betting-deal-with-clubs-nsw-in-blow-to-tabcorp-20170206-gu6d2r">announced a deal with ClubsNSW</a> to provide internet wagering with the co-operation of clubs, which would recruit their members to the cause. In return, the deal would allow the clubs to get a slice of the action. If this works, club-based TABs will see their revenue decline. </p>
<p>In effect, this means a transfer of revenue from the New South Wales government to the NT government. No state wants to see its revenue base decline – particularly when the jurisdiction benefiting doesn’t even tax (or regulate) its bookies as well as it might.</p>
<p>Maybe it’s too much to ask for a sensible national gambling policy with uniform tax rates and reasonable consumer protection and harm-prevention measures in place. But allowing state governments to regulate internet-based services seems like a fairly 19th-century approach to regulation. We can probably do better than that.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72495/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charles Livingstone has received funding from Victorian and South Australian government agencies (the funds for which were derived from hypothecation of gambling tax revenue to research purposes), from the Australian and New Zealand School of Government, and from non-government organisations for research into multiple aspects of poker machine gambling, including regulatory reform, existing harm minimisation practices, and technical characteristics of gambling forms. He has received travel and co-operation grants from the Alberta Problem Gambling Research Centre, the Finnish Institute for Public Health, the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Committee, and the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand. He is a Chief Investigator on an Australian Research Council funded project researching mechanisms of influence on government by the tobacco, alcohol and gambling industries. He has undertaken consultancy research for local governments and non-government organisations in Australia and the UK seeking to restrict or reduce the concentration of poker machines and gambling impacts, and was a member of the Australian government's Ministerial Expert Advisory Group on Gambling in 2010-11. He is a member of the Australian Greens and of the Alliance for Gambling Reform.</span></em></p>
No state wants to see its revenue base decline – particularly when the jurisdiction benefiting doesn’t even tax (or regulate) its bookies as well as it might.
Charles Livingstone, Senior Lecturer, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/52751
2016-04-29T05:47:48Z
2016-04-29T05:47:48Z
Government ignores elephant in the room in response to online gambling review
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120494/original/image-20160428-30976-74k56v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The government has vowed to close a loophole that allows some online bookmakers to circumvent the ban on online in-play betting.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Lukas Coch</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The federal government has released its <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/communities-and-vulnerable-people/programmes-services/gambling/government-response-to-the-2015-review-of-the-impact-of-illegal-offshore-wagering">response</a> to former NSW premier Barry O’Farrell’s <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/communities-and-vulnerable-people/programmes-services/gambling/review-of-illegal-offshore-wagering">review</a> of the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/iga2001193/">Interactive Gambling Act</a>. O’Farrell’s review supposedly focused on “illegal offshore gambling providers”, but also covered issues including consumer protection and credit betting.</p>
<p>Releasing the review, Human Services Minister Alan Tudge <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-28/government-closes-online-live-sports-betting-loophole/7367406">vowed</a> to close a loophole that allows some online bookmakers to circumvent the ban on online in-play betting. </p>
<p>Some bookmakers offer a service that opens the computer’s microphone, theoretically establishing a voice connection. No-one speaks, but bookmakers claim this meets the legal requirement for such bets to be placed via a telephone call, or by walking into a TAB.</p>
<h2>What’s in the review and the response?</h2>
<p>In-play betting increases the possible frequency of betting. </p>
<p><a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=C_omSZQyfYcC&pg=PT116&lpg=PT116&dq=gambling+event+frequency&source=bl&ots=XeekNEsNaS&sig=gxcV1sT8g42sbIjoKGEu41I5fk8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjf-cuV-7LMAhVluYMKHfBZCFEQ6AEIMzAE#v=onepage&q=gambling%20event%20frequency&f=false%E2%80%99">“Event frequency”</a> is crucial to the development of compulsive or addictive gambling behaviour. It provides increased reinforcement, or stimulus – which is key to addicting someone. </p>
<p>That you can place a bet every couple of seconds is critical to poker machines’ “success” in this regard. A handheld device with a capacity for continuous wagering would be more likely to promote addiction than one without.</p>
<p>Although O’Farrell’s review was supposedly focused on disrupting “illegal offshore” providers, it acknowledged that estimating the extent of this is difficult. The review suggested the annual amount Australians spend on such sites is between A$64 million and A$400 million.</p>
<p>Even at the top end, this represents about 1.9% of Australia’s annual gambling losses of $21 billion. It also pales into insignificance alongside the $11 billion lost on pokies annually.</p>
<p>The good news from its response is that the government has given consumer-protection measures priority. These include establishing a national self-exclusion register and providing punters with regular reports on their activity.</p>
<p>Most significantly, the government says it will prohibit credit betting – where bookmakers provide lines of credit to their online customers. This has potentially catastrophic consequences for gamblers. And, because bookmakers charge no interest, it is not captured by Australian consumer credit laws.</p>
<p>However, the government’s measures have not extended to prohibiting the use of credit cards, nor to any concrete proposals relating to the links between bookmakers and fringe credit providers such as payday lenders.</p>
<p>There is also only a passing reference to regulation of inducements such as “free” bets. These are to be subject to some form of inquiry to make sure they are consistent with “responsible gambling”. It’s arguable, however, that inducing people to bet is inconsistent with any reasonable notion of responsibility. More definitive action on this would not have been out of place.</p>
<p>The government also wants to strengthen the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s powers to stop unlicensed offshore gambling providers offering their wares to Australians. Quite how this is to be achieved is unclear. No jurisdiction in the world has succeeded in this so far.</p>
<p>Naming and shaming, blocking access at the ISP level on a voluntary basis, blocking banking transactions and communicating better with other jurisdictions are strategies invoked. Clearly, this is a work in progress.</p>
<h2>What about advertising?</h2>
<p>The elephant in the room, however, is the government’s failure to seriously address the extent of broadcast advertising that promotes online wagering. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/online-inplay-betting-will-stay-illegal-loopholes-to-be-closed-says-coalition-20160428-goh930.html">Tudge claimed</a> this was not in the review’s terms of reference. This is not quite the case; the review’s final term included a catch-all around harm minimisation.</p>
<p>In any event, two of the review’s 19 recommendations refer to advertising. The government’s response is to propose more industry self-regulation. This has allowed bookmakers to advertise as much as they want if it’s during a sporting broadcast. </p>
<p>Online wagering is likely to be very harmful to a new generation of gamblers who habitually use mobile devices. It has the capacity to be very high intensity. It threatens existing operators, such as Tabcorp and – importantly – the powerful pokie sector. </p>
<p>But, above all, the barrage of gambling ads that regularly confronts sports fans has provoked considerable public concern. Parents are <a href="https://theconversation.com/not-just-a-bit-of-fun-why-sports-gambling-and-kids-are-a-bad-mix-14517">faced with young children</a> who know more about the odds than they do about the players.</p>
<p>Advertising has fuelled growth in the fees that major sports command for their <a href="http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-2508-billion-broadcast-rights-deal-stacks-up-well-with-other-sports-leagues-worldwide/news-story/934466dae31b486ab3124008988734fc">broadcast rights</a>. This is because broadcasters, confident of the revenue they can extract from bookmakers, have escalated what they are prepared to pay for these rights. </p>
<p>It’s not just bookmakers profiting from the 800,000 online gambling accounts operating in Australia. Major sports like AFL, NRL and cricket, and the <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/tv-radio-hooked-on-advertising-from-sports-gambling/news-story/3a1f2e2029d4c763a7779281232acea4">broadcasters</a>, are also enjoying a hefty slice of the action. </p>
<h2>What now?</h2>
<p>So the government’s response is a bit like the proverbial curate’s egg – good in parts. This might be reasonably acceptable if it were all to be rolled out soon. Unfortunately, it’s not.</p>
<p>The response is critical of the multiple jurisdictions and even broader range of legislation governing gambling in Australia. This is a reasonable criticism. </p>
<p>However, the Commonwealth has clear jurisdiction over online gambling, consumer credit, and television and internet advertising. Yet the government’s proposals involve working with the states and territories to implement almost all its proposals – most notably, the consumer-protection reforms.</p>
<p>The government could clear up the regulatory confusion with a single piece of legislation, and without any credible threat of a constitutional challenge. Draft legislation has neither been prepared nor, it seems, contemplated. This is the case even in relation to the strengthening of the provisions around in-play betting.</p>
<p>The co-operative process with the states is supposed to occur over the next 12 months. But no timeline is suggested. Some of the states and territories have a lot of revenue from online gambling (especially the Northern Territory). In such discussions, vested interest has a way of triumphing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/52751/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charles Livingstone has received funding from Victorian and South Australian governments (the funds for which were derived from hypothecation of gambling tax revenue to research purposes), from the Australian and New Zealand School of Government, and from non-government organisations for research into multiple aspects of poker machine gambling, including regulatory reform, existing harm minimisation practices, and technical characteristics of gambling forms. He has received travel and co-operation grants from the Alberta Problem Gambling Research Centre, the Finnish Institute for Public Health, the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Committee, and the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand. He is a Chief Investigator on an Australian Research Council funded project researching mechanisms of influence on government by the tobacco, alcohol and gambling industries. He has undertaken consultancy research for local governments and non-government organisations in Australia and the UK seeking to restrict or reduce the concentration of poker machines and gambling impacts, and was a member of the Australian government's Ministerial Expert Advisory Group on Gambling in 2010-11. He is a member of the Australian Greens and of the Alliance for Gambling Reform. He submitted to the O'Farrell review and met with Mr O'Farrell during the course of his review.</span></em></p>
Online wagering is likely to be very harmful to a new generation of gamblers who habitually use mobile devices. It has the capacity to be very high intensity.
Charles Livingstone, Senior Lecturer, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/51991
2016-01-05T19:18:30Z
2016-01-05T19:18:30Z
Vested interest the safest bet as online gambling review’s release looms
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107104/original/image-20160103-11914-mzut14.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Barry O'Farrell was tasked with reviewing Australia's online gambling regulations.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dan Himbrechts</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Former NSW premier Barry O’Farrell <a href="http://www.minister.communications.gov.au/mitch_fifield/news/ofarrell_review_into_illegal_offshore_wagering#.VodVmsB953I">handed his review</a> of online gambling to the federal government late last year. The government says it will publicly release the report and its response together.</p>
<p>Under the <a href="http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/iga2001193/">Interactive Gambling Act</a>, only wagering may lawfully be offered online to Australian gamblers. Offering other forms of internet gambling, such as casino-style games or online poker, is illegal. However, gamblers who use such services do not commit an offence.</p>
<p>Gambling reformers hoped that the current review would concentrate on the harm already being done by licensed Australian wagering providers. A <a href="http://www.financialcounsellingaustralia.org.au/Corporate/Publications/Reports">report</a> released just prior to the review’s announcement highlighted some of the dubious practices of current licensed bookies. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>offering unsolicited credit;</p></li>
<li><p>providing inducements to gamble;</p></li>
<li><p>calling and chasing gamblers who may not have bet recently; and</p></li>
<li><p>apparently sharing data about customers with other bookies.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>When they were announced, however, the <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/communities-and-vulnerable-people/programmes-services/gambling/review-impact-of-illegal-offshore-wagering-terms-of-reference">terms of reference</a> for the review were a disappointment to those who had hoped for reform.</p>
<p>The review was explicitly identified as being into “illegal offshore wagering”. Three of its four terms of reference were focused on this. A fourth allowed the review to examine consumer protection measures more broadly.</p>
<h2>What was submitted</h2>
<p>The review received 79 submissions, according to the Department of Social Services. Those <a href="https://engage.dss.gov.au/review-impact-of-illegal-offshore-wagering/impact-of-illegal-offshore-wagering-public-submissions/">made public</a> included submissions from online bookies such as CrownBet, bet365, Sportsbet, and Tabcorp.</p>
<p>The bookies want to be able to offer in-play betting. At the moment they can’t do so lawfully. The law prohibits in-play bets over the internet, although you can place such bets at a TAB or over the phone.</p>
<p>Online bookmaker William Hill has a <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/william-hill-ladbrokes-in-afp-sights-over-live-bets/news-story/5a857663bb7323d32c057d6550ee2204">workaround of dubious legality</a> on its app, which opens the device’s microphone to emulate a phone call. No-one need speak, but it argues that this gets around the current prohibition. The Australian Federal Police <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/tom-waterhouse-wins-betting-battle-with-regulators-20151028-gkkkri.html">declined to investigate</a> this practice, indicating that its resources were not adequate for pursuing it.</p>
<p>The bookies are not asking, at this stage, for micro-bets. These are bets in-play on specific activities – such as who will kick the next goal, or whether the next over will include a six. The sports don’t want this: it makes the job of maintaining integrity too hard. Integrity agreements (side deals to sponsorships, mostly) provide for sports approving the types of bets that can be made. </p>
<p>The Coalition of Major Professional and Participation Sports <a href="https://engage.dss.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/COMPPS-2015-Submission-Illegal-Offshore-Wagering-Oct15-Final.pdf">asserts that</a> making in-play betting lawful for Australian licensed operators will stop people going offshore. This, it is argued, will improve the integrity of Australian sport because bookies will share data and detect irregularities. </p>
<p>This is pretty much the line that the bookies take, too. Bet365 <a href="https://engage.dss.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/bet365-Submission-to-the-Review-of-Illegal-Offshore-Wagering.pdf">basically argues</a> that it can be trusted, because it is licensed in Australia (and other places), not in some tiny tax haven. <a href="https://engage.dss.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Sportsbets-Submission-to-the-Review-of-the-Impact-of-Illegal-Offshore-Wagering.pdf">Sportsbet</a> argues the same, but also maintains that its self-exclusion and voluntary pre-commitment programs are first-class. </p>
<p><a href="https://engage.dss.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/CrownBet-Pty-Limited-Submission-to-offshore-review-November-2015.pdf">CrownBet</a> has a big program of reform. It wants the government to enforce the act to prosecute offshore operators, and impose penalties (no-one has ever been prosecuted under the act). It wants to have such providers blocked via ISPs. </p>
<p>CrownBet also wants online in-play bets legalised for Australian operators but it wants a national policy framework and an active federal regulator. It also wants a national self-exclusion register and to include non-account cash-based betting in this.</p>
<p><a href="https://engage.dss.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Hon-Barry-OFarrell-re-Impact-of-illegal-offshore-wagering-review-1611151.pdf">Tabcorp</a> also wants the act enforced and it wants gamblers who use offshore providers penalised. However, Tabcorp wants to limit online live betting to retail venues. This would be of considerable benefit to its chain of venues. It argues that it doesn’t want to harm hotels and clubs, which also host TAB outlets. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107128/original/image-20160104-11917-z038cq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107128/original/image-20160104-11917-z038cq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107128/original/image-20160104-11917-z038cq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107128/original/image-20160104-11917-z038cq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107128/original/image-20160104-11917-z038cq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107128/original/image-20160104-11917-z038cq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107128/original/image-20160104-11917-z038cq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Online in-play betting is likely to be a big growth area for bookmakers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Lukas Coch</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What to expect</h2>
<p>Overall, vested interest is the predictable horse to back in this review. And this is hardly surprising. </p>
<p>Online in-play betting is likely to be a big growth area for the bookies, and consequently for the TV stations (who don’t want TV advertising any more regulated than it already is). FreeTV’s <a href="http://www.freetv.com.au/media/Code_of_Practice/Free_TV_Commercial_Television_Industry_Code_of_Practice_2015.pdf">ad code</a> was recently revised so that gambling ads can be shown after 7PM. It used to be 8:30PM. </p>
<p>Sports broadcasts continue to be exempt from this modest restriction. More money means more ads. That also seems to be the motive behind the professional sports’ argument – if the bookies are making more money, they can spend more of it on sponsorship.</p>
<p>The problem is that in-play bets will permit quite high-intensity (and uncapped) gambling via mobile apps, for example. Even without micro-bets (and these may not be far off), gamblers will have more capacity for sustained gambling. High-intensity and regular bets are a risk factor for developing addiction; in-play bets are a step closer to that, particularly if it’s available in your pocket 24/7.</p>
<p>What reforms would offset this danger? An IT-based national self-exclusion register is a good idea. Punters should be able to effectively exclude themselves from every operator in the country with one click. The technological platform of online gambling makes this much easier than for poker machines.</p>
<p>Such a system could be configured to allow gamblers to set maximum bets and daily, weekly or monthly limits for their gambling. If the bookies are serious, they need to demonstrate it by adopting such approaches.</p>
<p>It would be great if the federal government implemented <a href="http://www.liberal.org.au/helping-problem-gamblers">its own policy</a> and banned credit betting, as well as requiring gamblers to transfer funds via direct deposit rather than via credit cards. Getting rid of inducements to gamble is also an excellent idea.</p>
<p>The government’s policy also talks about regulating advertising if the gambling industry fails to respond adequately. The watered-down code might easily be construed as such a failure. </p>
<p>It’s hard to know if O’Farrell or Social Services Minister Christian Porter have the will to take on not only the bookies, but broadcast TV stations and major sports. Gambling addiction has many under its sway – state governments, major sporting codes, TV stations and gambling businesses, to name a few. They are all addicted to the seemingly endless stream of revenue. </p>
<p>Sports betting is <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-gambling-review-should-not-ignore-the-problems-in-our-own-backyard-47155">worth around A$750 million</a> in Australia. In-play bets could boost this even faster than the 16% growth rate of recent years. </p>
<p>This comes at a cost to the economy and society. But the costs of gambling don’t seem to weigh heavily on the bookies. Perhaps O’Farrell and Porter can bear that load, and balance the interests of bookies, sports and TV stations with those of the partners, children, and employers of any new wave of gambling addicts.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51991/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charles Livingstone has received funding from Victorian and South Australian governments (the funds for which were derived from hypothecation of gambling tax revenue to research purposes), from the Australian and New Zealand School of Government, and from non-government organisations for research into multiple aspects of poker machine gambling, including regulatory reform, existing harm minimisation practices, and technical characteristics of gambling forms. He has received travel and co-operation grants from the Alberta Problem Gambling Research Centre, the Finnish Institute for Public Health, the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Committee, and the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand. He is a Chief Investigator on an Australian Research Council funded project researching mechanisms of influence on government by the tobacco, alcohol and gambling industries. He has undertaken consultancy research for local governments and non-government organisations in Australia and the UK seeking to restrict or reduce the concentration of poker machines and gambling impacts, and was a member of the Australian government's Ministerial Expert Advisory Group on Gambling in 2010-11. He is a member of the Australian Greens and of the Alliance for Gambling Reform. He made a submission to the 'Illegal Offshore Wagering Review'.
</span></em></p>
Online in-play betting is likely to be a big growth area for the bookies, and consequently for TV stations. If legalised, what harm might this bring?
Charles Livingstone, Senior Lecturer, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/46652
2015-09-11T10:11:59Z
2015-09-11T10:11:59Z
In today’s NFL, forget Super Bowl dreams – it’s all about fantasy
<p>As the NFL’s regular season kicks off with a full slate of games this weekend, I did something that reflects the state of American sports fandom. </p>
<p>I picked a daily fantasy football team.</p>
<p><a href="http://fsta.org/">According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association</a>, there are a lot of others like me. The trade group says that, as of August, 56.8 million people in the United States and Canada had played fantasy sports in 2015. That’s already more than twice the number of players there were in 2009 and a significant jump from the 41 million who played last year.</p>
<p>The average player spends US$465 a year on all sports, according to the FSTA, while football is the overwhelming favorite (73%). (I don’t spend that much, by the way; thus far, I’m just a little shy of $10 in my first season playing daily fantasy.) </p>
<p>So when I think about what’s new in pro football, it’s not that Commissioner <a href="https://theconversation.com/with-nfls-claim-to-absolute-authority-struck-down-what-happens-next-47074">Roger Goodell lost to Tom Brady</a> in the Deflategate case. It’s not that my favorite team, the Buffalo Bills, changed coaches, picking up Rex Ryan from the rival New York Jets. Or that Ryan is gambling on unproven Tyrod Taylor at quarterback. </p>
<p>What stands out is the explosive growth in fantasy football – particularly daily fantasy. </p>
<p>In 2006, the <a href="https://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2010/fil10035a.pdf">Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act</a> (UIEGA) banned online poker, but left out fantasy sports, even though people routinely risk money when they play. Wagering money on fantasy sports, however, was deemed a game of skill – requiring knowledge of players’ likely performances – and not a game of chance.</p>
<p>Three years later, one of the top daily fantasy sites, FanDuel (the one I used), was founded. A major rival, DraftKings, has been around since 2012.</p>
<p>For the uninitiated, daily fantasy differs from the traditional, season-long format in a number of ways. Competitors pay a fee for each game they play – as little as $2 of real money – and then get a faux “budget,” not terribly unlike a salary cap in real life. Players then select a team from a menu based on how they think real players will perform in just one game. If your team outperforms most of the others, you win money. The better your team does relative to the other competitors, the greater your winnings.</p>
<p>Daily fantasy has an advantage over a season-long format in that, if your team performs poorly, you can start all over again next week with no consequences except the bet you lost. </p>
<p>So this week, I’ll be rooting for, among others, running back Eddie Lacy of the Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions wide receiver Golden Tate and the Atlanta Falcons veteran kicker Matt Bryant.</p>
<p>If I play next week, I’ll select a new roster, taking into account player performances from this upcoming weekend (who flopped and who starred), along with favorable match-ups.</p>
<p>It’s a game that’s perfectly attuned to our <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/our-attention-span-is-now-less-than-that-of-a-goldfish-microsoft-study-finds-10247553.html">short attention spans</a>. And it’s taking off.</p>
<p>Thanks to <a href="http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-releases/2015/06/draftkings-named-the-official-daily-fantasy-sports-offering-across-espns-platforms/">a marketing deal with ESPN</a>, DraftKings is all over the network. Ahead of the season opener between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots, promotions for a DraftKings contest appeared three times over a 15-minute span of SportsCenter on Thursday morning. </p>
<p>This season, Yahoo – one of the most popular season-long fantasy football platforms – is offering <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/marcedelman/2015/09/04/fantasy-football-2015-yahoo-cbs-and-espn-adopt-different-business-strategies-to-target-growth/">a daily fantasy contest</a> for the first time. At a recent one-day conference on the future of digital sports media, fantasy sports had its own panel. </p>
<p>During the conference, Michael Beller, who writes about fantasy sports for Sports Illustrated, <a href="http://original.livestream.com/knightfoundation/video?clipId=flv_8c63f3d8-31b4-4115-baa4-838e1e7eb638">noted</a>, “That is really where it’s changed – just how many people are playing [fantasy]. Even 10 years ago it was diehard sports fans [who played], and now the one friend you grew up with who wasn’t into sports is playing fantasy football.”</p>
<p>Daily fantasy is boosting, even driving, that growth. The same panel was asked, at one point, to speculate on the ceiling for fantasy. </p>
<p>The general consensus? “Nowhere close.”</p>
<p>What’s particularly interesting about this tipping point moment in fantasy’s popularity is that it’s forcing changes in our collective perception of sports. </p>
<p>Sometimes these changes mean a new opportunity for a small set of companies; other times they’re a little worrisome on a grander scale. </p>
<p>Partly based on my own experience, I’ve witnessed a number of notable developments.</p>
<p>First, as soon as I saw the list of names available for this week’s games, I realized how little I actually knew about the roughly 1,700 players who will make opening weekend NFL rosters this season. </p>
<p>With money on the line, this dramatically increased my desire to see as many players in action as possible. And this meant suddenly flirting with the idea of ordering a big television package of NFL games, or at least making sure my cable service includes <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_RedZone">NFL RedZone</a>, an offering from the NFL Network that shows, in real time, all the plays inside the defending team’s 20-yard line, where scoring is much more likely.<br>
Second, fantasy sports (and daily fantasy in particular) demands a rethinking of whether sports betting should be more widely legalized in the United States, or, conversely, whether fantasy sports should be made illegal. </p>
<p>What doesn’t make sense is the current state of affairs. Using the FSTA’s numbers, 57 million North Americans are betting $465 a year on fantasy sports. That’s a $27 billion business built on wagers made regarding sports performances by individuals, all legal thanks to the UIEGA of 2006. </p>
<p>However, because of a previous federal law, betting on the <em>results</em> of those performances – the final score of games – is illegal in all but four states due to fears of game fixing.</p>
<p>Finally, fantasy sports change how you cheer for teams. While you still may well have hometown loyalty, you also may develop a new love for a club outside your time zone because several players on it regularly are on your fantasy team or you discover the team through a fantasy game. Or, you may simply pull for the individuals on your team – who change week to week (or day to day, if you play daily fantasy baseball). </p>
<p>It all leaves fans such as myself in an awkward position as we look ahead to the first weekend of the NFL season. Instead of just shouting, in my case, the old “Go! Go! Buf-fa-lo!” cheer, a more accurate way to capture how I feel about my team’s season opener would go like this: “Go Bills! Beat the Colts! Just so long as Tyrod Taylor doesn’t outperform Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill!”</p>
<p>Welcome to football, 2015.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/46652/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Affleck does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
While season-long fantasy football has been around for years, the rise of daily formats has radically changed how fans watch and root for teams.
John Affleck, Knight Chair in Sports Journalism and Society, Penn State
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/47155
2015-09-10T20:10:45Z
2015-09-10T20:10:45Z
Online gambling review should not ignore the problems in our own backyard
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/94363/original/image-20150910-21214-sjv8qx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C112%2C3000%2C2016&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Those concerned with the growing harms of online gambling will be disappointed with the terms of reference of a new Australian review.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Bobby Yip</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As those who watch sport will attest, online gambling is seemingly ubiquitous. Certainly <a href="https://theconversation.com/born-to-bet-four-corners-on-the-tom-waterhouse-media-effect-14503">advertising</a> for it is. </p>
<p>In Australia, the regulation of gambling services is a matter for state governments. However, the federal government has responsibility for telecommunications, which includes the internet. So, there is some division of responsibility for online gambling. This has arguably left the area less well regulated than it might be. </p>
<p>This is one ostensible reason the federal government has <a href="http://scottmorrison.dss.gov.au/media-releases/coalition-government-tackles-illegal-offshore-wagering">announced a review</a> of the online gambling industry.</p>
<h2>Background</h2>
<p>The current federal legislation is the <a href="https://www.comlaw.gov.au/Series/C2004A00851">Interactive Gambling Act</a>. It allows Australian operators to offer online betting. It also seeks to prohibit the provision of casino-style gambling – roulette, slot machines – to Australian residents, but doesn’t prohibit Australians from using such services. </p>
<p>This means that Australian-registered services are not allowed to offer some gambling services, but are permitted to take online bets. </p>
<p>The most recent review of the act <a href="http://www.responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/23718/Final_Report_-_Review_of_the_Interactive_Gambling_Act_2001-2012.pdf">reported</a> in 2012. It concluded that it would be useful to consider a trial of some online gambling – suggesting online poker, which is thought to be a less harmful form of gambling than slots or other casino-style gambling.</p>
<p>The review also recommended a host of harm-minimisation measures be introduced into the online gambling arena. These included a pre-commitment system, an effective self-exclusion system and much-improved practices among bookies. The review recommended that better enforcement of offshore providers be implemented, although effective regulation of extra-jurisdictional gambling providers is likely to be futile.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, the review suggested that banking institutions should be rewarded for blocking transactions between Australians and nominated unlawful gambling providers. This may have some effect, although mainstream banking institutions provide only some of the plethora of ways of moving money around the world.</p>
<p>A recent <a href="http://www.financialcounsellingaustralia.org.au/getattachment/Corporate/Home/FINAL-PDF-Duds,-Mugs-and-the-A-List-The-Impact-of-Uncontrolled-Sports-Betting-low-res.pdf">Financial Counselling Australia</a> report highlighted a number of what can only be regarded as very dubious practices among prominent bookmakers operating under Australian regulation. These include extending unsolicited lines of credit, failure to pay winnings on request and repeated inducements to gamble. </p>
<p>These practices are not caught by current consumer protections under credit law or gambling regulation. Bookies also appear to regularly share data on their customers, which is likely to breach privacy legislation.</p>
<h2>What this review will focus on</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/scott-morrison-to-spearhead-new-online-gambling-review-20150831-gjbqoc">Media reports</a> early this month – when Social Services Minister Scott Morrison confirmed that a review would be held – appeared to focus on a range of the issues highlighted by the 2013 review, including consumer protection.</p>
<p>However, the <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/communities-and-vulnerable-people/programmes-services/gambling/review-impact-of-illegal-offshore-wagering-terms-of-reference">terms of reference</a> headlined this new review as being into the:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Impact of Illegal Offshore Wagering.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In fairness, one of the terms of reference of the review is concerned with increasing consumer protection. </p>
<p>It will be a quick review. The final report must be with Morrison by late December. Submissions will be sought from industry and the public. </p>
<p>Those concerned with the <a href="https://theconversation.com/with-sports-betting-on-the-rise-can-we-avoid-a-tsunami-of-gambling-harm-46192">growing harms</a> of online gambling – and particularly sports betting – will be disappointed with the terms of this review. There are a number of pressing concerns that, from a consumer protection perspective, might have ranked higher in both the terms of reference and Morrison’s messaging.</p>
<p>Online bookies are competing for market share in Australia, where the operators now include global giants such as the British bookies Ladbrokes and William Hill. Their practices have attracted considerable criticism as the scramble for revenue escalates. </p>
<p>Troubling practices include the continuing provision of credit, the pushing of boundaries on such issues as the prohibition of online in-play betting, and blanket advertising of their wares – including to children during sporting events – and the aggressive branding of sporting teams with gambling providers.</p>
<h2>What is Australia’s real gambling problem?</h2>
<p>Sports betting in Australia is likely to generate revenue – that is, player losses – of <a href="https://theconversation.com/with-sports-betting-on-the-rise-can-we-avoid-a-tsunami-of-gambling-harm-46192">around A$750 million in 2015-16</a>. It is the fastest-growing gambling sector and is likely to produce a new wave of gambling problems among the young men to whom these products are marketed. </p>
<p>Although modest in comparison to poker machines – which generated <a href="http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/poker-machine-spend-rebounds-may-2013-201305060058">around $11 billion</a> in losses in 2014-15 – it needs to be effectively regulated if Australia is to avoid adding to the already significant burden of gambling harm. The good news is that preventing this harm is actually quite straightforward.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, substantial and powerful segments of the Australian body politic are now closely affected by the fortunes of the bookies. These include <a href="http://www.crownresorts.com.au/about-us/our-businesses">Packer interests</a> via CrownBet, the AFL’s official <a href="http://www.afl.com.au/afl-hq/partners/corporate-partners">wagering partner</a>. State and territory treasuries are also abundantly interested in maintaining the flow of money. </p>
<p>It is worth asking if the offshore online gambling sector is Australia’s most pressing gambling problem. Undoubtedly, some Australians get into a lot of trouble gambling online. Most of them will fall prey to bookies already licensed in Australia and offering services lawfully. Some will end up in trouble because of offshore sites offering unobtainable services such as online slots or roulette. </p>
<p>Overall, the market going to such offshore providers is estimated at around $1 billion, although there is no way of verifying this under current circumstances. </p>
<p>But, at least 75% of those with a gambling problem have it because of <a href="http://www.problemgambling.gov.au/facts/">poker machines</a> in clubs or pubs. We see little concern from the government about this group.</p>
<p>And, even in the online gambling environment, there appears to be little concern about first cleaning up our own backyard. The 2013 review made some very sensible recommendations about harm minimisation, including restricting or prohibiting credit betting. This is clearly a source of considerable harm to many. And prohibiting credit betting is in fact current federal government policy.</p>
<p>The Financial Counselling Australia report provided ample evidence of the excesses of the Australian online gambling industry. A recent <a href="http://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2015/09/09/make-people-gamble-confessions-retention-officer/">whistleblower article</a> from within the industry confirmed these concerns. These need to be a major focus of any review of the Interactive Gambling Act and other relevant federal legislation, including the regulation of advertising and banking services.</p>
<p>But if the renewed urgency behind this review is to highlight the “dangers” of offshore online gambling providers, then the bookies will be arguing as hard as they can that the solution is to allow them to offer the same services from Australia. After all, the internet is notoriously difficult to regulate and service providers licensed in Australia would be expected to observe Australian regulation.</p>
<p>It is important to ensure gambling is properly regulated. But it is probably better to address the main game first, or at least simultaneously. That involves making sure that current providers are adhering to the best possible harm-minimisation practice.</p>
<p>The 2013 review set up a clear set of goals for that. We don’t need another review to know what needs to be done, or to do it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/47155/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charles Livingstone has received funding from Victorian and South Australian governments (the funds for which were derived from hypothecation of government revenue to research purposes), from the Australian and New Zealand School of Government, and from non-government organisations for research into multiple aspects of poker machine gambling, including regulatory reform, existing harm minimisation practices, and technical characteristics of gambling forms. He has received travel and co-operation grants from the Alberta Problem Gambling Research Centre, the Finnish Institute for Public Health, the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Committee, and the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand. He is a Chief Investigator on an Australian Research Council funded project researching mechanisms of influence on government by the tobacco, alcohol and gambling industries. He has undertaken consultancy research for local governments and non-government organisations in Australia and the UK seeking to restrict or reduce the concentration of poker machines and gambling impacts, and was a member of the Australian government's Ministerial Expert Advisory Group on Gambling in 2010-11. He is a member of the Australian Greens.
</span></em></p>
At least 75% of those with a gambling problem have it because of poker machines in clubs or pubs. Yet we see little concern from the government about this group.
Charles Livingstone, Senior Lecturer, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/39224
2015-03-26T06:33:27Z
2015-03-26T06:33:27Z
Hard Evidence: is poker a game of chance or skill?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75985/original/image-20150325-14532-fv0zpy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Chance or skill?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Any player worth a pair of deuces will tell you that poker is a game of skill. In the words of Lancey Howard, the unbeatable master in classic film <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI6pSkIs_tc">The Cincinnati Kid</a>, it’s all about “making the wrong move at the right time” – a snippet of wisdom he delivers after beating the Kid’s full house with a straight flush, a combination of hands with odds that have since been calculated to be in excess of 20-million-to-one.</p>
<p>Chris Moneymaker, winner of the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event and surely the greatest example of <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9664000/9664697.stm">nominative determinism</a> in the game, once remarked: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The beautiful thing about poker is that everybody thinks they can play. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>And he’s right. </p>
<p>Online poker rooms, which in 2013 alone generated an estimated £2.8 billion in gross winnings globally, attract millions of beginners whose assessment of their own abilities bears little relation to reality.</p>
<p>Naturally, there has never been any doubt that luck plays a part. The aforementioned greenhorns wouldn’t hang around for long if it didn’t. Equally, it would be bizarre to deny that at least some measure of skill must be involved – otherwise why would some competitors win more consistently than their rivals?</p>
<h2>Chance vs skill</h2>
<p>But the key question is whether one element dominates the other. The reasoning is simple enough: if chance dominates skill then poker is a game of chance, and if skill dominates chance then poker is a game of skill. This is what I set out to determine in research <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0115479">recently published in PLOS One</a>, with colleagues Rogier Potter van Loon at the Erasmus University Rotterdam and Martijn van den Assem at VU University Amsterdam.</p>
<p>Drawing on a database of 456m player-hand observations from a year’s worth of online games, we first investigated how consistent player performance was. This revealed substantial evidence of the role of skill in successful play.</p>
<p>For instance, players who ranked in the best-performing 10% in the first six months of the year were more than twice as likely as others to do similarly well in the next six months. And, players who finished in the best-performing 1% in the first half of the year were 12 times more likely than others to repeat the feat in the second half. Meanwhile, players who fared badly from the start continued to lose and hardly ever metamorphosed into top performers.</p>
<p>The point here is that performance is predictable. In a game of chance there would be no correlation in the winnings of players across successive periods, whereas there would be in a game of skill. So we know for sure that poker can’t be a game of pure chance.</p>
<h2>The tipping point</h2>
<p>But that still leaves the crucial question of whether skill dominates chance. To examine this we ran simulations comparing the performance of skilled and unskilled players. We found the tipping point: skilled players can expect to do better than their relatively unskilled counterparts at least three quarters of the time after 1,471 hands have been played.</p>
<p>In other words, poker becomes a game of skill after around 1,500 hands. To put this into perspective, most online players are likely to play 1,500 hands in 19 to 25 hours – and less than that if they play multiple tables at the same time.</p>
<p>Of course, devoted players everywhere might feel inclined to celebrate this revelation. They can bask in the satisfaction of knowing the game they love demands and rewards genuine proficiency and that in the end talent and guile will usually triumph over blind luck.</p>
<h2>Legal implications</h2>
<p>But the issue is about more than validation and bragging rights. You might well wonder why researchers are spending their time formulating equations rooted in the myriad complexities of Texas Hold ‘Em. The reason? Whether poker is viewed as a game of chance or a game of skill has potentially major legal implications.</p>
<p>Doubts surrounding poker’s claim to being a game of skill have shaped legislation for years. Players in the UK currently pay no tax on their winnings, which is good news for everyone from the most modest online tyro to the likes of writer and TV presenter Victoria Coren Mitchell, whose career earnings on the professional circuit <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-27101216">exceed £1.5m</a>.</p>
<p>In some countries what are perceived to be games of chance are subject to much tougher jurisdiction: in most US states, for example, online poker has been essentially illegal since the passing of the 2006 <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/31/subtitle-IV/chapter-53/subchapter-IV">Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act</a>.</p>
<p>All of this could change if policymakers take heed of these findings that show the opposite. Even without them, the American legal system has already argued the case several times over, with judgements upheld, overturned and upheld again. Perhaps fittingly, there’s an awful lot of money at stake and we can expect the debate to rumble on, as new evidence comes to light.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/39224/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dennie van Dolder receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council via the Network for Integrated Behavioural Sciences (award n. ES/K002201/1). The present research also benefited from support through the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (VICI NWO Grant 453-06-001).</span></em></p>
New research reveals the relationship between luck and skill in winning at poker.
Dennie van Dolder, Research Fellow in Economics, University of Nottingham
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/33526
2014-10-28T19:07:27Z
2014-10-28T19:07:27Z
For this year’s Melbourne Cup, consider a charity rather than taking on Tom Waterhouse
<p>In the lead-up to next week’s Melbourne Cup, bookmaker Tom Waterhouse is heavily marketing a <a href="http://promos.tomwaterhouse.com/25-million/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign=Horse%20Racing_Melb_Cup_Top%20Level&sctp=ppc&scvn=google&scsrc=google_search&sckw=+tom%20+waterhouse">“$25 million bet that stops a nation”.</a> All you have to do is give him A$10 and if you place the first 10 horses in correct finishing order in the Cup you have a chance, stress “have a chance”, to win A$25 million. If other punters happen to place the same bet, then you’ll have to share the $25 million with them.</p>
<p>Tom’s number crunchers will have done their sums, of course, so he’ll know that the probability of any person correctly placing the first 10 horses is extremely low. In fact, it’s likely to be much lower than we might expect. As Princeton University psychologist <a href="http://psiexp.ss.uci.edu/research/teaching/Tversky_Kahneman_1974.pdf">Daniel Kahneman</a> found, in <a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economic-sciences/laureates/2002/">Nobel Prize-winning work</a> with Amos Tversky, humans overestimate the probability of rare events occurring. Bookies love that flaw in our mental processing ability.</p>
<p>The odds of winning <a href="https://tatts.com/tattersalls/games/oz-lotto/game-rules-and-odds">OZ Lotto</a> are disclosed as one in 45 million, while the odds of winning Powerball are disclosed as one in 76 million. A bit of standard probability analysis shows that your odds of winning with Tom may be estimated to be significantly lower.</p>
<p>Assuming no scratchings, 24 horses could start the race. Note also that the fine print of Tom’s offer provides that bets will be null and void if there are fewer than 20 runners. But let’s assume you have a considerable head start as a punter – a head start that you almost certainly won’t have in reality. You know that only 20 horses are going to start the race and you know that fact before placing your bet.</p>
<p>This helpful assumption – helpful at least from Tom’s side of the bet - is of course extremely unrealistic and unlikely. The final field will not be declared until the weekend before the running of the Cup and there are likely to be more than 20 runners.</p>
<p>To make the calculation tractable we need to make the standard assumption first applied to horse racing by the statistician <a href="http://amstat.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01621459.1973.10482425#.VEnGV2MavIs">David Harville</a> – namely that of conditional independence. If we also assume for simplicity that the horses have equal chances in the race, then the probability of correctly selecting the winner is one in 20, the probability of then selecting the second-placed horse is one in 19 (given the same horse can’t finish first and second) and so on down to the probability of correctly selecting the tenth-placed horse being one in 11.</p>
<p>So a bit of mathematics (20 x 19 x 18 x 17 x 16 x 15 x 14 x 13 x 12 x 11) provides that the probability of correctly selecting the first 10 horses in correct order is one in 670,442,572,800. Let’s round that down to 670 billion. So a “fair” bet would see the punter receive 670 billion times $10 or $6.7 trillion if he or she won.</p>
<p>Of course, Tom’s number crunchers will say that the horses don’t have equal chances of winning. This does change the probabilities a bit.</p>
<p>Suppose we take the most likely finishing order of the top 10 horses, which is that the favourite finishes first, the second favourite finishes second, and so on. Using the odds for the top ten favourites in last year’s Cup, or the current fixed-price odds for this year’s Cup, and assuming that only 20 horses start, estimates of the odds of correctly placing the first ten horses are still of the order of one in hundreds of millions. That suggests a fair “bet” would see the punter receive billions not millions if he or she won.</p>
<p>Enjoy Melbourne Cup day. But perhaps consider making a donation to <a href="http://www.beyondblue.org.au/">beyondblue</a> rather than to Tom.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/33526/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
In the lead-up to next week’s Melbourne Cup, bookmaker Tom Waterhouse is heavily marketing a “$25 million bet that stops a nation”. All you have to do is give him A$10 and if you place the first 10 horses…
Steve Easton, Foundation Professor of Finance, University of Newcastle
Adrian Melia, Lecturer in Accounting and Finance, University of Newcastle
Richard Gerlach, Professor, University of Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.