tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/gambling-harm-19608/articles
Gambling harm – The Conversation
2023-09-25T12:30:23Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/212748
2023-09-25T12:30:23Z
2023-09-25T12:30:23Z
How AI and AR could increase the risk of problem gambling for online sports betting
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548329/original/file-20230914-4201-fye76e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=25%2C10%2C950%2C655&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/man-using-online-sports-betting-services-1118068061">Kaspars Grinvalds/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Sometimes <a href="https://features.propublica.org/the-bad-bet/video-gambling-addiction-illinois/">referred to</a> as the “<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2005.00962.x?casa_token=PmOh6ayRJSIAAAAA:1nk6oodUvcH1n6R44hO0y_9jAnAcT63AALXLrhjxBrBmjZl68msFlJPS40LbDMJqUeJRlM5bMBX86w">crack cocaine of gambling</a>”, electronic gaming machines (EGMs) such as slot machines allow bets to be placed as quickly as <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1173441/Online_Slots_Stake_Limit_Impact_Assessment.pdf">once every 2.5 seconds</a>, delivering a <a href="https://researchmgt.monash.edu/ws/portalfiles/portal/41513137/40136523_oa.pdf">rapid and immersive</a> gambling experience. Similar features are now being used to transform online sports betting, significantly increasing the risk of problem gambling.</p>
<p>Sports betting is one the UK’s <a href="https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/statistics-and-research/publication/statistics-on-participation-and-problem-gambling-for-the-year-to-march-2023">most popular</a> forms of gambling. Traditionally, people have placed sports bets in the same way they play the national lottery: betting on the final result of a match or race during the week and often waiting until the weekend to discover the outcome of the event. </p>
<p>But <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16066359.2023.2241350">our recent research</a> indicates that the online environment has massively transformed sports betting. It has now become instantly accessible, offering a multitude of features and betting options that pose a significantly greater risk of addiction than in the past. </p>
<p>And with technology rapidly advancing, the future of sports betting could be even more worrying as gambling companies look to artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) to enhance their offerings.</p>
<p>More harmful sports betting has been linked to <a href="https://akjournals.com/view/journals/2006/10/3/article-p371.xml">new features</a> that are similar to those found in EGMs. Countless “in-play” and “micro” sports bets can now be placed on the shortest intervals within a sporting event, such as a bet on the next free kick in football. Although not quite as fast as EGMs, the increased speed at which in-play sports bets can now be placed is linked to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10899-018-9810-y">problem gambling</a>. </p>
<p>Another similarity between EGMs and online sports betting involves “<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10899-017-9688-0">losses disguised as wins</a>”. This is when a player receives a payout that is less than their original wager but is still celebrated with visual and auditory feedback, making it <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10899-022-10184-w">feel like a win</a>. </p>
<p>The “cash-out” feature also allows players to settle bets early, often for less than the original stake, to minimise potential losses. This is particularly profitable for bookmakers when large sums are involved and could also disguise overall losses as wins. Using the cash-out feature is also associated with <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11469-018-9876-x">problem gambling</a>.</p>
<h2>Sports betting in the near future</h2>
<p>It’s possible to see how sports betting products that incorporate AI and AR could evolve before they are commercially available by analysing patents. This is a useful strategy for researchers like us because potential areas of harm can be identified before new products hit the market. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16066359.2023.2241350">Our recent research</a> identified three patents that aim to add <a href="http://pire.fiu.edu/publications/Augmented.pdf">augmented reality</a> (AR) to the sports betting experience. AR typically uses goggles or mobile phones to overlap computer-generated imagery onto a player’s view of the real world. Big tech firms such as Apple (Apple Vision) and Samsung (Galaxy Glass) are currently racing to assimilate augmented reality into many aspects of our daily lives, with the potential for very positive results such as when used to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13304-018-0567-8">provide information to surgeons during operations</a>, for example, or to maintenance staff <a href="https://www.inc.com/james-paine/10-real-use-cases-for-augmented-reality.html">fixing complex equipment</a>.</p>
<p>But integrating AR with sports betting could have disastrous consequences. In a sports betting context, this would probably involve aiming the goggles or phone at a live sporting event both on TV or at the stadium and having <a href="https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/e4/5d/82/6fde65850e9db0/US20220092913A1.pdf">real-time betting opportunities</a> shown in your field of vision as the event unfolds. Research shows <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10899-021-10027-0">immersion</a> is pivotal in fuelling problematic gambling behaviour and disengaging from an AR sports betting session could be very challenging. </p>
<p>We also identified three patents that seek to introduce competitive in-play sports bets between players rather than against bookmakers. These patents involve people <a href="https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/96/b7/ac/3bc9d46fea2f89/US10198910.pdf">joining online tournaments</a>, and competing for rewards based on entry fees and wager pools. Leaderboards track bettor rankings, and players can communicate with each other in a similar fashion to poker. </p>
<p>However, introducing such competition in online sports betting might exacerbate “<a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0264000">tilting</a>” – when a person makes poor betting decisions in response to loss or pressure. This may be made worse when gamblers can chat and taunt each other. The companies involved in the above patents did not respond to requests for comment.</p>
<p>Bookmakers are <a href="https://boardroom.tv/artificial-intelligence-sports-betting-ai-technology/#:%7E:text=The%20core%20of%20sports%20betting,both%20bettors%20and%20sportsbooks%20alike.">already using AI</a> to improve predictions and odds-setting processes. The <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-government-sets-out-ai-safety-summit-ambitions">UK government</a> is aware of the risks associated with AI, but regulating this rapidly growing technology will continue to be challenging. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man standing up and using a virtual reality headset and handheld controls in a living room." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548334/original/file-20230914-25-uovgko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548334/original/file-20230914-25-uovgko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548334/original/file-20230914-25-uovgko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548334/original/file-20230914-25-uovgko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548334/original/file-20230914-25-uovgko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548334/original/file-20230914-25-uovgko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548334/original/file-20230914-25-uovgko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Augmented and virtual reality headsets and goggles offer an immersive experience.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/man-using-virtual-reality-headset-metaverse-2301455323">Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Regulation and policy</h2>
<p>Gambling regulation is notorious for its lack of foresight. The 2005 Gambling Act was only <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-stakes-gambling-reform-for-the-digital-age/high-stakes-gambling-reform-for-the-digital-age">revised this year</a> to recognise the growth of online gambling, which has existed for nearly 20 years. So while more forward-looking regulation and policy is needed to protect consumers from the harmful evolution of sports betting, the uncertainty and complexity surrounding new sports betting technologies only adds to the challenge of regulating this industry.</p>
<p>But there are current harms that researchers and policymakers do understand. Our research shows that <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/add.16028">reducing the speed and ease</a> of online sports betting makes most sense. </p>
<p>Regulatory measures should not impede the freedoms of those who do gamble safely, however. Australia provides a good example: regulations there allow in-play bets, but legally require them to be made <a href="https://theconversation.com/40-years-of-legal-sports-betting-in-australia-points-to-risks-for-us-gamblers-and-tips-for-regulators-194993#:%7E:text=In%20Australia%2C%20live%20sports%20betting%20can%20be%20done%2C%20but%20not%20online.%20They%20must%20be%20placed%20by%20telephone%20call%20or%20at%20a%20venue%2C%20such%20as%20a%20bar%2C%20casino%20or%20betting%20shop%2C%20which%20is%20a%20storefront%20where%20people%20can%20place%20bets.">via telephone call</a> rather than instantly via apps or websites. This provides friction for the good of public health, rather than complete restriction. </p>
<p>Thanks to new technology such as AI and AR, this industry is already evolving at a faster pace than regulation can keep up with. As a result, sports betting could be dominated by a growing web of harms that are currently unforeseen and difficult to comprehend.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212748/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philip Newall is a member of the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling – an advisory group of the Gambling Commission in Great Britain, and in 2020 was a special advisor to the House of Lords Select Committee Enquiry on the Social and Economic Impact of the Gambling Industry. In the last three years, Philip Newall has contributed to research projects funded by the Academic Forum for the Study of Gambling, Clean Up Gambling, Gambling Research Australia, NSW Responsible Gambling Fund, and the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation. Philip Newall has received travel and accommodation funding from Alberta Gambling Research Institute, and received open access fee funding from Gambling Research Exchange Ontario. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>In the last three years, Jamie Torrance has received: PhD funding from GambleAware, Open access publication funding from Gambling Research Exchange Ontario (GREO), Paid consultancy fees from Channel 4, Conference travel and accommodation funding from the Academic Forum for the Study of Gambling (AFSG), and an exploratory research grant from the ASFG and GREO.</span></em></p>
Artificial intelligence and augmented reality tools are upping the stakes when it comes to online sports betting.
Philip Newall, Lecturer in the School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol
Jamie Torrance, Lecturer and Researcher in Psychology, University of Chester
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/209857
2023-07-17T06:11:05Z
2023-07-17T06:11:05Z
Victoria cracks down on pokies but supporters fear interest groups could hold the winning hand
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537682/original/file-20230717-116180-3d566s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=239%2C194%2C4738%2C2979&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/search/slot-machine-casino?mreleased=true&image_type=photo">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The centrepiece of the <a href="https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/landmark-reforms-reduce-gambling-related-harm">Andrews’ government pokie reform announcement</a> is the introduction of a carded system for users of poker machines.</p>
<p>Such a <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/resources/policy-and-practice-papers/pre-commitment-systems-electronic-gambling-machines">pre-commitment system</a> will require pokie users to register for an account linked to a gaming card which will record a limit of how much they are prepared to lose daily, weekly and monthly.</p>
<p>Once that limit has been reached, the system will not allow further gambling.
Because all pokies in the state are linked, this limit will apply across machines and across venues.</p>
<p>Other proposed reforms include:</p>
<p>• slowing down the spin rate of new machines to a minimum of three seconds (currently 2.14 seconds)</p>
<p>• requiring all venues close between 4am and 10am</p>
<p>• reducing the “load up limit” (the amount that can be credited on a poker machine at any one time) to $100, down from the current $1,000</p>
<p>• the transfer of significant education, research funding, and counselling services away from the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation.</p>
<p>The government says it wants to undertake “thorough consultation with industry through an implementation working group” before the pre-commitment and reduced load up limits are introduced. This will be a red flag for many public health researchers and practitioners working in gambling harm prevention.</p>
<h2>The power of vested interest groups</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.ias.org.uk/report/8606/">Harmful commodity industries</a> – tobacco, alcohol, highly processed foods, and gambling - are well resourced. They have a long history of thwarting or watering down important reforms.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537686/original/file-20230717-230476-yzqhp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Finger pressing play button on pokie machine" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537686/original/file-20230717-230476-yzqhp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537686/original/file-20230717-230476-yzqhp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537686/original/file-20230717-230476-yzqhp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537686/original/file-20230717-230476-yzqhp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537686/original/file-20230717-230476-yzqhp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537686/original/file-20230717-230476-yzqhp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537686/original/file-20230717-230476-yzqhp8.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"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The gaming lobby, like the tobacco and alcohol lobbies, are well resourced to campaign against regulation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For this reason, the World Health Organization urges its members to protect people from the commercial interests of tobacco. This includes <a href="https://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-19-ftct/19-3-who-fctc-guiding-principles-and-general-obligations-">rejecting partnerships with industry</a>.</p>
<p>The more time they have, the more likely the gambling industry is to campaign with their considerable strength against these reforms. This worked with great effect in 2010-11 <a href="https://insidestory.org.au/the-lobby-group-that-got-much-more-bang-for-its-buck/">against the then Gillard government’s</a> proposals for a similar harm prevention system.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-a-strong-hand-to-tackle-gambling-harm-will-it-go-all-in-or-fold-208749">Australia has a strong hand to tackle gambling harm. Will it go all in or fold?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Misinformation, disinformation and endlessly disputing the scientific evidence are all <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0087389">tobacco industry</a> tactics. They delayed reform for many years.</p>
<p>Consulting with a harmful commodity industry on the design of a new system is like consulting with the fox over the design of the new hen house. It’s not going to produce a solution.</p>
<p>It is also puzzling that the government needs to consult on how to introduce precommitment. A voluntary system called <a href="https://www.yourplay.com.au/">YourPlay</a> has been in place for some years, and provides all necessary functions. However, because it’s voluntary, it has very low uptake, and is potentially stigmatising.</p>
<p>For these reasons, <a href="https://www.justice.vic.gov.au/safer-communities/gambling/evaluation-of-yourplay-final-report">it doesn’t achieve what it could</a>. But this system could readily be converted into a universal system.</p>
<p>Doing so would provide pokie users with a set of tools to manage their gambling. This will be particularly useful for those concerned about descending into the spiral of harmful gambling. It is a definite preventive intervention.</p>
<h2>Measures being introduced locally and overseas</h2>
<p>In Tasmania, the Liberal government surprised all by announcing last year that a <a href="https://www.premier.tas.gov.au/site_resources_2015/additional_releases/nation-leading-card-based-gaming-with-pre-commitment-a-first-in-tasmania">pokies pre-commitment system</a> would be introduced by 2024.</p>
<p>The system would apply on all machines in the state from December 2024. It would impose maximum limits of $100 per day, $500 per month and $5,000 per year. Notably, the announcement surprised the gambling industry, which had campaigned fiercely for the Liberal Party in the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-09/tasmanian-hospitality-association-to-have-funding-boost/9530864">2018 Tasmanian election</a>. The system will be provided on a fee-for-service model to venue operators.</p>
<p>In NSW, the former Dominic Perrottet coalition went to the 2022 poll with a detailed proposal to introduce a <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/perrottet-on-a-winner-as-advocates-and-mps-praise-pokies-reform-20230206-p5cicb.html">cashless precommitment system</a> for the state’s pokie venues. This was opposed by the gambling industry – notably the [Australian Hotels Association, and the peak body for clubs, ClubsNSW.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537690/original/file-20230717-234969-ycstss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Former NSW premier Dominic Perrottet" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537690/original/file-20230717-234969-ycstss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537690/original/file-20230717-234969-ycstss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537690/original/file-20230717-234969-ycstss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537690/original/file-20230717-234969-ycstss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537690/original/file-20230717-234969-ycstss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537690/original/file-20230717-234969-ycstss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537690/original/file-20230717-234969-ycstss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Former premier Dominic Perrottet went to the NSW election proposing significant gambling reforms.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/search/perrottet?image_type=photo">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The then ALP opposition backed the industry position, promising a trial of cashless pre-commitment, along with some minor reforms. These ban signage for VIP lounges (code for pokie rooms) and reduce the load-up limit on new machines to $500.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/nsw-s-cashless-pokies-trial-to-be-expanded-20230713-p5do0q.html">expert panel to guide the cashless trial</a> in NSW was announced on 13 July 2023. The trial itself is yet to begin.</p>
<p>A system providing <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283512757_Gambling_and_gambling_policy_in_Norway-an_exceptional_case">precommitment for all forms of gambling</a> in Norway was introduced in 2009. This has been regarded as a notable success, and a similar system has been <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7434127/">implemented in Sweden</a>.</p>
<p>Closer to home, the report of the House of Representatives committee inquiring into online gambling in Australia was published recently. It urged the Australian government, among its <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Social_Policy_and_Legal_Affairs/Onlinegamblingimpacts/Report/List_of_recommendations">31 recommendations</a>, to explore mandatory pre-commitment for online gambling. It also proposed a National Regulator to provide uniform national regulatory standards for gambling.</p>
<p>There’s no doubt momentum for significant reform of gambling is building in Australia. The drivers for this are to be found in the increasing awareness of the nature and extent of gambling harm. This includes the costs of money laundering and associated criminal activity which imposes great harm on the community.</p>
<p>In NSW, the <a href="https://www.crimecommission.nsw.gov.au/inquiry-into-money-laundering-in-pubs-and-clubs">2022 Crime Commission report</a> into money laundering in pokies clubs and pubs sounded a major alarm. But, more generally, a new focus on using a public health lens to view gambling harm is a major development. The industry’s favoured approach, “responsible gambling”, <a href="https://www.greo.ca/Modules/EvidenceCentre/files/Livingstone%20and%20Rintoul%20(2020)_Moving%20on%20from%20responsible%20gambling_final.pdf">blames vulnerable individuals for the problem</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/4-gambling-reform-ideas-from-overseas-to-save-australia-from-gambling-loss-and-harm-165387">4 gambling reform ideas from overseas to save Australia from gambling loss and harm</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>A <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/365/bmj.l1807">public health view</a> means the focus is on harmful products, and the way they are marketed, made accessible, and cause harm.</p>
<h2>Getting the reforms through</h2>
<p>If these reforms are implemented in full, they will dramatically reduce harm. What worries the gambling industry is that it will also reduce their profits, probably quite significantly. This is because their best customers are <a href="https://www.greo.ca/Modules/EvidenceCentre/files/GREO%20(2019)%20Evidence%20brief%20Proportion%20of%20revenue%20from%20problem%20gambling.pdf">people experiencing significant harm</a> from the use of their products.</p>
<p>Pokies are responsible for between <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36729109/">51% and 57% of the gambling problems</a> in Australia.</p>
<p>For this reason, tackling pokie harm is an obvious step. Unfortunately, the gambling industry will not accept these changes quietly. Past experience suggests a concerted effort from industry to derail the reforms though procrastination and delay.</p>
<p>The Andrews government already has the wherewithal to implement these reforms quickly. If it’s genuinely committed to reducing harm, it should do so, without further delay.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209857/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>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, 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. He made a submission to and appeared before the HoR Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs inquiry into online gambling and its impacts on those experiencing gambling harm.</span></em></p>
The Victorian government has announced major reforms intended to reduce harm caused by poker machines.
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/208749
2023-06-30T04:58:56Z
2023-06-30T04:58:56Z
Australia has a strong hand to tackle gambling harm. Will it go all in or fold?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534967/original/file-20230630-25-kpnylj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C979%2C5973%2C3000&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A ban on all gambling advertising within three years has attracted the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/28/ads-for-online-gambling-should-be-banned-in-australia-within-three-years-inquiry-recommends">most attention</a> of the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Social_Policy_and_Legal_Affairs/Onlinegamblingimpacts/Report/List_of_recommendations">31 recommendations</a> made by the Australian parliamentary inquiry into online gambling, which reported this week.</p>
<p>But equally significant are the recommendations to adopt public health principles to prevent gambling harm, to appoint a national online regulator, and for Australian to lead the development of international agreements that “aim to reduce gambling harm and protect public policy and research from gambling industry interference”.</p>
<p>If implemented, the recommendations will advance gambling regulation by several orders of magnitude. </p>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10389-020-01437-2">Preventing harm</a> is a better goal than the current practice of ignoring harms until they become overwhelming. Building a fence at the top of the cliff, rather than providing a fleet of ambulances at the bottom, seems sensible. </p>
<p>Many countries are grappling with regulating unlicensed <a href="https://researchportal.helsinki.fi/en/publications/blocking-measures-against-offshore-online-gambling-a-scoping-revi">online gambling operators</a> registered in places like Curaçao and the Isle of Man. The only way to effectively address this is via <a href="https://www.coe.int/en/web/pompidou/-/the-recording-of-the-webinar-on-behavioural-addictions-facilitated-by-information-and-communication-technologies-risks-and-perspectives-is-now-availab">international agreements</a>. </p>
<p>And as with many other harmful commodity industries, gambling operators <a href="https://www.lisbonaddictions.eu/lisbon-addictions-2022/presentations/5-ways-gambling-industry-pursues-influence-policymakers">advance their interests</a> through political influence. They have enthusiastically utilised the tactics honed by the tobacco industry – <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03137.x">lobbying</a>, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-14/how-the-gambling-industry-cashed-in-on-political-donations/100509026">political donations</a> and influencing <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7434195/">research outcomes</a> through funding. </p>
<p>All these aspects need addressing. For example, the inquiry recommends imposing a levy on the gambling industry to fund research. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/place-your-bets-will-banning-illegal-offshore-sites-really-help-kick-our-gambling-habit-126838">Place your bets: will banning illegal offshore sites really help kick our gambling habit?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Phasing out advertising</h2>
<p>The proposals to prohibit all inducements to gamble come in four phases.</p>
<p>The first would ban all social media and online advertising. Radio advertising during school drop-off times would also be prohibited.</p>
<p>In the second phase, broadcast advertising for an hour either side of sporting broadcasts would be banned (as Opposition Leader <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/13/peter-dutton-cranks-up-pressure-on-labor-to-further-restrict-gambling-ads">Peter Dutton has argued for</a>). </p>
<p>The third stage would prohibit all broadcast advertising for gambling between 6am and 10pm.</p>
<p>Finally, three years on, all gambling advertising would be gone from our screens.</p>
<p>Not many people will miss it. A 2022 survey by the <a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/polling-research-give-junk-food-gambling-ads-the-punt/">Australia Institute</a> found 70% support for such restrictions. The evidence suggests this would be beneficial to young people, since exposure to advertising increases the likelihood of gambling as adults, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/mar/27/children-more-likely-to-become-gamblers-due-to-high-volume-of-betting-ads">with significant harm</a> for some.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sport-is-being-used-to-normalise-gambling-we-should-treat-the-problem-just-like-smoking-205843">Sport is being used to normalise gambling. We should treat the problem just like smoking</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Important precedents</h2>
<p>The recommendations would set important precedents that can be readily applied to other forms of gambling. These include the principle of establishing a public health-oriented harm prevention policy, a national regulatory system, and enhancing consumer protections to potentially include a universal pre-commitment system. </p>
<p>If online gambling can be better regulated – and it can – why not casinos and pokies? Casino inquiries in <a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/la/papers/Pages/tabled-paper-details.aspx?pk=79129">New South Wales</a>, <a href="https://www.rccol.vic.gov.au/">Victoria</a>, <a href="https://www.justice.qld.gov.au/initiatives/external-review-qld-operations-star-entertainment-group">Queensland</a> and <a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/government/publications/perth-casino-royal-commission-final-report">Western Australia</a> have certainly demonstrated the need. So has the <a href="https://www.crimecommission.nsw.gov.au/inquiry-into-money-laundering-in-pubs-and-clubs">NSW Crime Commission</a>’s 2022 inquiry into money laundering in pubs and clubs. Notably, poker machines are estimated to be responsible for <a href="https://akjournals.com/view/journals/2006/12/1/article-p182.xml">51% to 57% of the total problems</a> arising from gambling. Race and sports wagering account for 20%.</p>
<h2>Industry will resist</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/pm/gambling-ads-ban-called-an-over-reach-/102538120">online gambling industry</a> will do all it can to thwart these initiatives, along with <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/wagering-tv-bodies-slam-proposed-gambling-ads-ban-afl-wary-of-impact-20230628-p5dk4j.html">broadcasters</a> and some <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/scourge-of-the-gambling-epidemic-teal-mp-attacks-afl-over-gambling-ads-20230302-p5coym.html">sports</a> businesses. </p>
<p>Certainly Australia’s unenviable record of being world leaders in <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-20/australians-worlds-biggest-gambling-losers/10495566">gambling losses</a> will be threatened if the recommendations are implemented. </p>
<p>The report <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Social_Policy_and_Legal_Affairs/Onlinegamblingimpacts/Report/Chapter_2_-_A_national_strategy_on_online_gambling_harm_reduction">acknowledges</a> wagering service providers have “successfully framed the issue of gambling harm around personal responsibility while diminishing industry and government responsibility”. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>There is too much potential for the gambling industry to be involved in the development of gambling regulation and policy in Australia. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Submissions from the gambling industry reflected this. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://responsiblewagering.com.au/">Responsible Wagering Australia</a>, which represents wagering companies such as Bet365, Betfair, Entain, Sportsbet, Pointsbet and Unibet, suggested the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Social_Policy_and_Legal_Affairs/Onlinegamblingimpacts/Submissions">industry was focused on limiting harm</a>, and mindful of the risks of “problem gambling”. </p>
<p>Indeed, the inquiry’s original terms of reference were about “online gambling and its impacts on problem gamblers”. </p>
<p>The committee changed this to the “impacts on those experiencing gambling harm”. Its report reflects this change, and the majority of submissions and evidence given in <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Social_Policy_and_Legal_Affairs/Onlinegamblingimpacts/Report/B_Public_hearings">13 public hearings</a> overwhelmingly in favour of improved regulation of online gambling product</p>
<p>In the report’s forward, chair Peta Murphy writes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I am proud to say this Committee has delivered a unanimous report that says, ‘enough is enough’. </p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sport-is-being-used-to-normalise-gambling-we-should-treat-the-problem-just-like-smoking-205843">Sport is being used to normalise gambling. We should treat the problem just like smoking</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Gambling harm imposes <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/the-social-cost-of-gambling-to-victoria-121/">enormous costs</a> on the community, and on those affected, including families. Examples of these effects are prominent in the committee’s report. Many are harrowing.</p>
<p>There is some way to go before Australia joins Italy, Spain, Belgium and The Netherlands in taking action against gambling interests. But delay means more harm to more people. </p>
<p>The Australian government now has an excellent road map to demonstrate its commitment to the health and wellbeing of Australians. Adopting the inquiry’s recommendations should be a high priority.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208749/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, 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. He made a submission to and appeared before the HoR Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs inquiry into online gambling and its impacts on those experiencing gambling harm.</span></em></p>
If implemented, the recommendations of Australia’s online gambling inquiry will advance regulation by several orders of magnitude.
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/199110
2023-05-11T12:11:38Z
2023-05-11T12:11:38Z
Grattan on Friday: Peter Dutton warns of threat to ‘working poor’ in budget reply lacking a big picture
<p>Peter Dutton needed to sketch a big picture in his Thursday night budget reply – to look like an alternative prime minister. He failed to do so. </p>
<p>With the Liberals rating parlously among those aged under 40, Dutton should have been speaking especially to these voters. But his address was more of the same from a Coalition that’s unable to refresh and regroup. </p>
<p>The bar was always going to be too high for Dutton. This week’s budget, whatever criticisms can be made of it and however things work out in the months ahead, has been an elusive target for the Liberals. </p>
<p>Dutton pointed to the formidable issues Australia is grappling with – very high inflation, a housing and rental crisis, crippling power bills, millions of people having gone backwards. </p>
<p>But he lacked prescriptions, let alone ones that were any more convincing than the government’s are. </p>
<p>He risked the government’s accusation of “punching down”, dividing those on welfare (who have benefitted from the budget) and working people on low wages. The cost-of-living relief “is targeted at Australians on welfare but at the expense of the many including Labor’s working poor”. The budget “hurts working Australians”, he declared; “worse, it risks creating a generation of working poor Australians”. </p>
<p>Dutton ticked off on budget items the Coalition agrees with or doesn’t oppose. But he left up in the air the fate of the $40 a fortnight rise in JobSeeker, arguing it would be better to raise the amount the unemployed could earn, rather than increasing the base rate. Interviewed later, he would not confirm the Coalition would support the $40 increase, but it is hard to see it opposing it when push comes to shove. Nevertheless, he has left himself vulnerable to obvious attack. </p>
<p>Dutton homed in on concern, which is likely to grow, about the looming large net migration influx (much of it a post pandemic “catch up”). Labor’s “big Australia approach” would worsen Australia’s cost-of-living and inflation problems, he said. </p>
<p>“Over five years, net overseas migration will see our population increase by 1.5 million people,” he said. “It’s the biggest migration surge in our country’s history and it’s occurring amidst a housing and rental crisis.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-day-after-the-night-before-chalmers-and-taylor-on-the-budget-205431">The day after the night before - Chalmers and Taylor on the budget</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Yet Dutton did not say what his alternative would be – his statement a Coalition government would “sensibly manage migration” is a declaration of intent, not a policy. </p>
<p>He had plenty of familiar Coalition lines and sentiments. “Under a Coalition government I lead, your taxes will always be lower.” “Taxation is the killer of aspiration.” “Labor recklessly spends, carelessly cuts and inadequately saves.” </p>
<p>But his policy offerings were small beer: a ban on sports betting ads during the broadcasting of games; commitments on health; imposing a greater onus on big digital companies to stop scams and financial fraud; the restoration of the cashless debit card. A personal priority was a promise to double the size of the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation.</p>
<p>What was missing was any ambitious initiative on a central issue. While it’s still relatively early in the term, and Anthony Albanese showed the benefit of holding policy back, Dutton is in a different situation. </p>
<p>He is confronting a popular government, not one on the slide. And voters won’t be attracted to an opposition that can’t project what it stands for, or whose values are seeming out of sync with the times. </p>
<p>Notably, Dutton as yet is giving no commitment on one significant tax measure in the budget – the changes to the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax, due to yield $2.4 billion over the forward estimates. The government hopes for opposition support, rather than a haggle with the Greens, whose leader Adam Bandt on Thursday said his party would, if it had the opportunity, fight to make the companies “pay their fair share of tax”. </p>
<p>The Greens’ aggressive response to the budget has underscored the challenge ahead for Labor from an increasingly assertive electoral competitor.</p>
<p>This came in a week when the broader hostility between Greens and Labor exploded in the Senate. </p>
<p>The Greens sided with the Coalition to prevent the government bringing to a vote on Thursday legislation for its $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, the interest on which would finance social and affordable houses. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-the-budget-does-not-make-further-interest-rate-rises-more-likely-205391">No, the budget does not make further interest rate rises more likely</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Senate leader Penny Wong lashed out at Greens housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather (who last year won the Queensland seat of Griffith from Labor), accusing him of “prioritising media attention from stunts and obstruction over housing for women and kids fleeing domestic violence”.</p>
<p>“This man’s ego matters more than housing for women fleeing domestic violence and older women at risk of homelessness. What sort of party are you?” she said.</p>
<p>The Greens and Coalition also teamed up to ensure a longer Senate inquiry on family law legislation. </p>
<p>In response to the budget, predictably the Greens have delivered biting assessments, declaring it hasn’t gone far enough to help the needy. </p>
<p>Ahead of next year’s budget, this pressure from the left will just intensify. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/budget-2023-at-a-glance-major-measures-cuts-and-spends-205211">Budget 2023 at a glance: major measures, cuts and spends</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The government’s economic inclusion advisory group, which was a major player in forcing the budget’s across-the-board (modest) rise in JobSeeker will produce another pre-budget report. That will inevitably urge further rises in welfare payments. </p>
<p>Assuming the government fell short of meeting the full recommendations, this would be manna for the Greens. And there’ll be a fresh round in the argument over the Stage 3 tax cuts. If these are not recalibrated, the Greens will have more ammunition. </p>
<p>Framing the 2024 budget, the government could be pulled between delivering more on welfare, keeping its promises on the tax cuts and, with an eye to the election due by May 2025, doing something substantial for middle Australia. </p>
<p>The last election, which added three more seats to the Greens’ lower house representation, bringing them to four, and boosted their Senate numbers from nine to 12 (now 11 with Lidia Thorpe’s defection), was a sharp reminder to Labor that the threat to it from the left is on the march. </p>
<p>It’s perhaps telling that budget week has seen the government rather complacent in the face of a weak opposition, but agitated by the minor party.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199110/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan 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>
The bar was always too hard for Dutton. This week’s budget, whatever criticisms can be made of it, has been an elusive target for the Liberals
Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
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/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/199657
2023-02-10T14:31:53Z
2023-02-10T14:31:53Z
A boon for sports fandom or a looming mental health crisis? 5 essential reads on the effects of legal sports betting
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509263/original/file-20230209-22-4dax04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=132%2C97%2C4532%2C2930&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In a remarkable shift, pro sports leagues like the NFL have eagerly embraced gambling.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/one-hundred-dollar-football-royalty-free-image/471257888?phrase=sports betting&adppopup=true">michaelquirk/iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A lifelong sports fan, I grew up hearing tales of sports figures felled by gambling scandals – baseball stars <a href="https://www.silive.com/news/2021/06/si-field-of-dreams-black-sox-outfielder-shoeless-joe-jackson-played-here-after-baseball-ban.html">“Shoeless” Joe Jackson</a> and <a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pete-rose-gets-booted-from-baseball">Pete Rose</a>, <a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/chalk/story/_/id/11633538/betting-chronicling-worst-fix-ever-1978-79-bc-point-shaving-scandal">the 1978-79 Boston College basketball team</a> and NBA referee <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/25980368/how-former-ref-tim-donaghy-conspired-fix-nba-games">Tim Donaghy</a>. </p>
<p>Sports leagues wanted nothing to do with gambling, which they feared would taint the integrity of the game. They had <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/02/nyregion/how-politics-nipped-a-sports-betting-bill.html">lobbied heavily</a> for the passage of <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/102/s474/summary">the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992</a>, also known as the Bradley Act, which banned sports betting in the U.S.</p>
<p>Then, in May 2018, the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/14/us/politics/supreme-court-sports-betting-new-jersey.html">overturned the Bradley Act</a>.</p>
<p>This time, the leagues and networks were fully on board. Gambling ads for companies like DraftKings, BetMGM and FanDuel started appearing in arenas and beaming across airwaves. Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams <a href="https://raiderswire.usatoday.com/2022/09/15/davante-adams-becomes-brand-ambassador-for-official-gaming-parter-of-the-raiders-mgm-resorts/">signed a sponsorship deal</a> with MGM. And point spreads started being prominently featured on sports media outlets. </p>
<div style="width:50%;float:right;margin:10px;"><a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/2533/TheConversation_SportsBetting.pdf?1676069169"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509547/original/file-20230210-26-aade4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=300&fit=crop&dpr=1" alt="Cover of ebook on sports gambling"></a><br>
<a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/2533/TheConversation_SportsBetting.pdf?1676069169"><strong>Download these articles in a magazine-style ebook</strong></a>
</div>
<p>Curious, I started placing some bets myself. I instantly grasped the allure: Here I was, watching games that I would have otherwise never watched – that didn’t involve my favorite teams, the Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots – and I was engaged and excited from start to finish. The leagues, too, must have been keenly aware of this opportunity to engage fans when they decided to change their tune on gambling. </p>
<p>With the five-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision approaching, I wanted to learn more about what scholars at the forefront of gambling research had been discovering. How many people were betting on sports? For those <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/14/589087523/supreme-court-rules-states-are-free-to-legalize-sports-betting">who criticized</a> the Supreme Court decision five years ago, was their hand-wringing misplaced? Were rates of problem gambling actually on the rise? If so, who was most at risk?</p>
<p>Gambling research can be challenging; <a href="https://www.americangaming.org/research/state-gaming-map/">laws and regulations vary by state</a>, and gambling researchers <a href="https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/naadgs-analysis-of-problem-gambling-funding-july-2022/521f7652c06a6d4d/full.pdf">receive almost no federal funding</a>. </p>
<p>But a small and dedicated group of scholars in the U.S. and abroad have been gauging the impact of this new era in American sports. With few regulations in place, gambling companies are going all-in to attract as many customers as possible – with younger, sports-obsessed and smartphone-savvy Americans particularly vulnerable.</p>
<p><iframe id="D0Ren" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/D0Ren/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>1. A new fan experience</h2>
<p>Prior to becoming the chair of Penn State’s sports journalism program, <a href="https://www.bellisario.psu.edu/people/individual/john-affleck">John Affleck</a> had worked as a sports reporter and editor for The Associated Press. Both in the newsroom and in his early years at Penn State, there was nary a peep about gambling. </p>
<p>Now he notices his students regularly talking about the point spread and over/under for upcoming games.</p>
<p>He writes about <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-legalized-sports-betting-has-transformed-the-fan-experience-194994">how quickly gambling has become integrated in sports media</a>, with announcers and analysts peppering in references to gambling during live coverage and postgame analysis.</p>
<p>He describes the thousands of betting tip channels on YouTube, the segments on TV devoted to gambling and the betting lines that appear in game previews.</p>
<p>“In the nearly five years since the Supreme Court allowed states to legalize sports betting, a whole industry has sprouted up that, for tens of millions of fans around the country, is now just part of the show.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-legalized-sports-betting-has-transformed-the-fan-experience-194994">How legalized sports betting has transformed the fan experience</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>2. Is New Jersey a canary in the coal mine?</h2>
<p>After the Supreme Court’s May 2018 ruling, New Jersey was one of a handful of states primed to pounce: Legislation had been prepped in advance, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/11/nyregion/sports-betting-legalized-nj.html">and the governor signed a bill legalizing sports betting</a> less than a month after the federal ban was overturned.</p>
<p>But the state also included something in their legislation that other states didn’t: It gave the Center for Gambling Studies at Rutgers University access to data on every bet placed in the state, and tasked it with conducting regular studies on gambling in New Jersey. </p>
<p>Lia Nower, who directs the center, <a href="https://theconversation.com/data-from-new-jersey-is-a-warning-sign-for-young-sports-bettors-197865">highlights some worrisome findings</a> from her team’s forthcoming gambling prevalence study – particularly for young bettors.</p>
<p>She and her team found that those who bet on sports were more likely than other gamblers to have problems with drugs or alcohol and experience anxiety and depression. Most alarming, about 14% of sports bettors reported thoughts of suicide, with 10% saying they had attempted suicide. And the fastest-growing group of sports bettors in New Jersey were young adults between the ages of 20 and 25 – over 70% of whom had placed in-game bets. </p>
<p>“Since about 70% of the sports bets we analyzed were losing bets,” Nower writes, “most of these young players could find themselves losing more money than they can afford.”</p>
<p>Nower also explains how other countries with a longer history of legal sports betting have enacted a raft of regulations intended to protect gamblers and curb the worst excesses of the gambling companies – a topic another scholar, Alex Russell, <a href="https://theconversation.com/40-years-of-legal-sports-betting-in-australia-points-to-risks-for-us-gamblers-and-tips-for-regulators-194993">explores in his history of sports gambling in Australia</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/data-from-new-jersey-is-a-warning-sign-for-young-sports-bettors-197865">Data from New Jersey is a warning sign for young sports bettors</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>3. Technology facilitates impulsive betting</h2>
<p>If there’s one key difference between the early 1990s, when the Bradley Act passed, and today, it’s the advent of smartphones.</p>
<p>In many states, there’s no need to drive to a casino to place a bet on a game; all you need to do is download a gambling app. <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1299495/forecast-number-of-online-sports-bettors-us/">According to one estimate</a>, there were about 19 million online sports bettors in 2022.</p>
<p><iframe id="6WGNn" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/6WGNn/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Clinical psychologist and gambling researcher Meredith K. Ginley explores how <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-legalized-sports-betting-has-transformed-the-fan-experience-194994">these apps facilitate impulsive in-game betting</a> that can cause losses to mount until the final whistle blows.</p>
<p>“Proximity to gambling venues is a known risk factor for problematic levels of gambling,” she writes. “Sports wagering apps essentially load a casino onto the phone in your pocket.”</p>
<p>Many apps offer tools that let users set deposit, loss and wagering limits to encourage responsible gambling. But, she adds, the apps are also “heavily ‘gamified’ to feel more like an interactive video game” with “push notifications, free play, leaderboards and more.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sports-betting-apps-notifications-and-leaderboards-encourage-more-and-more-wagers-a-psychologist-who-treats-gambling-addictions-explains-why-some-people-get-hooked-198358">Sports betting apps' notifications and leaderboards encourage more and more wagers – a psychologist who treats gambling addictions explains why some people get hooked</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>4. A new problem gambler profile emerges</h2>
<p>Sure enough, some sports bettors have developed gambling problems.</p>
<p>Tori Horn, a clinical psychologist at the University of Memphis <a href="https://thegamblingclinic.com/">who treats people with gambling disorder</a>, has seen a shift in the profile of her typical patient – from clients who were usually older and gambled in casinos to younger men, mostly in their 20s, who are seeking treatment for problems with sports betting. </p>
<p>Horn explains how many of her patients started betting via gambling apps after learning about promotions like FanDuel’s “No Sweat First Bet,” which offers free bets to new users. </p>
<p>In addiction therapy, therapists often encourage clients to avoid places, people and situations that are associated with the substance. </p>
<p>For these reasons, problem sports gamblers – particularly those who use apps – “present a unique challenge,” she writes, since it is “incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to ask a client to stop using their smartphone or stop watching sports.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-treat-people-with-gambling-disorder-and-im-starting-to-see-more-and-more-young-men-who-are-betting-on-sports-198285">I treat people with gambling disorder – and I’m starting to see more and more young men who are betting on sports</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>5. The ‘hidden addiction’</h2>
<p>But might concerns over sports betting be overblown?</p>
<p>James P. Whalen, who directs the Institute for Gambling Education and Research at the University of Memphis, cautions against reaching any sort of premature conclusions about legal sports betting as a societal scourge.</p>
<p>“A review of 30 years of research on the prevalence of problem gambling and gambling disorder reveals a pattern,” <a href="https://theconversation.com/millions-of-americans-are-problem-gamblers-so-why-do-so-few-people-ever-seek-treatment-197861">he writes</a>. “More gambling availability tends to lead to a spike in the number of people reporting gambling issues in the short term. However, populations tend to adapt over time; the rate of gambling problems decreases accordingly.”</p>
<p><iframe id="xy9wt" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/xy9wt/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Regardless, there are still millions of Americans who are caught in the throes of gambling addiction. And treating the disorder – so stigmatized that it’s often called the “<a href="https://cocaberks.org/problem-gambling-the-hidden-addiction/">hidden addiction</a>” – is complicated by the fact that relatively few people seek treatment compared with other mental health disorders.</p>
<p>“The other challenge is the rate at which people discontinue treatment,” Whelan adds. For most mental health disorders, 20% of people who start therapy will drop out before completing a standard course of treatment, he explains.</p>
<p>“By comparison,” he notes, “the dropout rate for gambling harms is nearly double: 39%.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/millions-of-americans-are-problem-gamblers-so-why-do-so-few-people-ever-seek-treatment-197861">Millions of Americans are problem gamblers – so why do so few people ever seek treatment?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199657/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
With few regulations in place, gambling companies are going all-in to attract as many customers as possible – with younger, sports-obsessed and smartphone-savvy Americans particularly vulnerable.
Nick Lehr, Arts + Culture Editor
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/197861
2023-02-08T13:41:04Z
2023-02-08T13:41:04Z
Millions of Americans are problem gamblers – so why do so few people ever seek treatment?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508445/original/file-20230206-29-977c0e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C5%2C1781%2C1258&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Only about 10% of people with a gambling problem ever seek treatment.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/silhouette-of-man-facing-the-light-royalty-free-image/1190407585">Sean Gladwell/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The opportunity to gamble has moved from a trip to Vegas, to a drive to a local casino, to the phone in your pocket. And if you’re a sports fan, nudges to place bets <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-legalized-sports-betting-has-transformed-the-fan-experience-194994">have become nearly impossible to ignore</a>, with sports gambling ads and promos routinely appearing on TV, social media, sports radio and in arenas.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.americangaming.org/research/state-gaming-map/">The stunning expansion of sports wagering</a> following <a href="https://doi.org/10.2308/apin-52199">decades of casino expansion</a> certainly gives any rational person reason to pause. </p>
<p>For most bettors, gambling is an occasional form of entertainment – Powerball tickets <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-winning-record-2-billion-powerball-jackpot-could-still-lead-to-bankruptcy-193921">when the jackpot swells to $1 billion</a>, <a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/super-bowl-squares-grid-2023-best-numbers/ltur0ayv6wvsdkyjjk2cnmdo">Super Bowl squares</a> with co-workers, a birthday trip to the casino.</p>
<p>But for other people, the possibility of developing a gambling disorder looms.</p>
<p>To what extent should Americans be worried? </p>
<h2>To gamble is to be human</h2>
<p>A nuanced answer begins with the fact that gambling has been popular for a long, long time. </p>
<p>Evidence of gambling has been found <a href="https://dgschwartz.com/books/roll-the-bones/">in ancient cultures around the world</a>. Archaeologists have unearthed dice marked with pips, or dots, in Mesopotamia that date back to 1300 B.C. Historians have located records of dice games in Greek and Indian cities before 400 B.C. </p>
<p>In North America, one Navajo myth tells <a href="https://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/nav/gambler.htm">the story of Noqoìlpi</a>, or “the gambler.” Informal gambling games and lotteries were common in the American Colonies, including <a href="https://www.ephemerasociety.org/colonial-america-lotteries/">lotteries to fund the Continental Army</a>. </p>
<p>In the U.S., sports and gambling have long been intertwined. In the decades after the Civil War, pool halls were set up near Western Union stations so gamblers <a href="https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3673&context=jclc">could easily place bets on horses</a>. And sports like baseball and boxing became hugely popular in the 19th century, in part <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-gambling-built-baseball-and-then-almost-destroyed-it-123254">because they attracted action from bettors</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Magazine cover featuring baseball coach in red uniform looking dejected." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508457/original/file-20230206-19-j5nxa8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508457/original/file-20230206-19-j5nxa8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=834&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508457/original/file-20230206-19-j5nxa8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=834&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508457/original/file-20230206-19-j5nxa8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=834&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508457/original/file-20230206-19-j5nxa8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1048&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508457/original/file-20230206-19-j5nxa8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1048&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508457/original/file-20230206-19-j5nxa8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1048&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Baseball great Pete Rose was punished with a lifetime ban from Major League Baseball for betting on games while he was manager of the Cincinnati Reds.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.si.com/.image/t_share/MTY4MTkwMDczNzQxMjU2NjA1/1989-0403-pete-rose-si-cover-001291038jpg.jpg">Sports Illustrated</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For as long as there’s been gambling, there has also been problem gambling.</p>
<p>Several writers in ancient India <a href="https://doi.org/10.4103%2F0019-5545.37674">highlighted the consequences of habitual gambling</a>. Over 150 years ago, Dostoyevsky famously wrote “Crime and Punishment” <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/11/dostoyevsky-crime-punishment-birmingham-sinner-saint/620175/">to pay off gambling debts</a>. And in the 20th century, sports betting imploded the careers of baseball legends <a href="https://www.silive.com/news/2021/06/si-field-of-dreams-black-sox-outfielder-shoeless-joe-jackson-played-here-after-baseball-ban.html">“Shoeless” Joe Jackson</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/24/sports/rose-in-deal-is-said-to-accept-lifetime-ban-for-betting-on-reds.html">Pete Rose</a>.</p>
<h2>When problems arise</h2>
<p>I describe this history because it shows that humans have always seemed to find a way to gamble, whether it’s legal or not. And, inevitably, some bettors will experience harm or a gambling disorder.</p>
<p>I direct <a href="https://www.memphis.edu/gamblingclinic">the Institute for Gambling Education and Research</a>, where we focus on the treatment of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519704/table/ch3.t39/">gambling disorder</a> and <a href="https://thegamblingclinic.com/">gambling problems</a>.</p>
<p>Psychologists have only recently begun to view problem gamblers as a form of addictive behavior, in which gambling urges, tolerance and withdrawal are akin to how substance use disorders unfold. Researchers have found that brain imaging data and symptom patterns of problem gamblers are similar to those of people who are addicted to drugs or alcohol. Gamblers can build a tolerance, meaning that they need to gamble more and bet in higher amounts in order to maintain the same levels of excitement. And attempts to cut back or stop can lead to emotional struggles. </p>
<p>There are also financial and social ramifications to gambling disorder.</p>
<p><a href="http://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-018-0251-9">Distress about money</a> is the most frequently cited reason people start questioning whether they have a problem. <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Problem_and_Pathological_Gambling/TqSbEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Problem+and+Pathological+Gambling+Whelan,+Andrew+W.+Meyers,+Timothy+A.+Steenbergh&pg=PR2&printsec=frontcover">But other symptoms include</a> damage done to relationships, deterioration in mood and the physical costs of this distress. Problem gamblers often lie about or hide their gambling, which can make it difficult for loved ones to recognize.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-014-9471-4">best prevalence research</a> shows that somewhere between 1% and 2% of the U.S. adult population, or 2 to 4 million adults, will experience a gambling disorder in their lifetime. Another 3% to 5%, or 5 to 9 million people, will, at some point in their lives, report a subclinical problem, which means that some gambling disorder symptoms are present but the psychiatric diagnosis is not warranted.</p>
<p>Despite some hand-wringing over the expansion of sports betting, I believe any increase in the rate of problems is likely to be temporary. <a href="https://opus.uleth.ca/bitstream/handle/10133/3068/2012-PREVALENCE-OPGRC%20(2).pdf">A review of 30 years of research</a> on the prevalence of problem gambling and gambling disorder reveals a pattern. More gambling availability tends to lead to a spike in the number of people reporting gambling issues in the short term. However, populations tend to adapt over time; the rate of gambling problems decreases accordingly. </p>
<p>It will be interesting to see whether the same pattern plays out for sports betting. </p>
<p><iframe id="RwMBy" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/RwMBy/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Barriers to treatment</h2>
<p>My team also operates an outpatient clinic where we treat people with gambling disorder. Our research and therapy sessions have pointed to some encouraging news, along with a few barriers. </p>
<p>The good news is that treatment, particularly when it includes <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2009.04.002">cognitive behavioral techniques</a>, significantly reduces gambling disorder symptoms and psychological distress. While long-term treatment is recommended, an effective <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000710">course of treatment</a> is about eight to 10 sessions. </p>
<p>Yet there are still roadblocks. People are often hesitant to try treatment; those who do frequently drop out. </p>
<p>People are often unaware they have gambling problems, even when they report having symptoms of problem gambling. We don’t exactly know why. The impact, though, is substantial. Only about 10% of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1556/jba.3.2014.3.7">individuals with a gambling problem ever seek treatment</a>. As a comparison, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201200454">rate of seeking help</a> among those with substance use disorders runs somewhere between 10% and 50%. It’s considerably lower than those experiencing depression and anxiety, 70% to 90% of whom will seek treatment. </p>
<p>We also know that gambling disorder is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-018-9775-x">one of the most stigmatized mental health concerns</a>. We find that people tend to blame someone who has developed gambling problems, and view them as dangerous or untrustworthy. By contrast, someone experiencing depression and anxiety is less likely to be blamed for their problems.</p>
<p>The other challenge is the rate at which people discontinue treatment before completing the standard course of therapy. For most mental health concerns, 20% who start a psychological treatment <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028226">fail to continue in that treatment</a>. By comparison, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000710">dropout rate for gambling harms</a> is nearly double: 39%. </p>
<p>We believe that dropout rate is not explained by people not wanting to put in the work to change. Instead, the relationship with the therapist and ambivalence about the progress being made tend to derail the course of treatment. Finances are also a real problem. Patients might not be able to afford their appointments, or <a href="https://www.ncpgambling.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/ACA-brief-web-layout-publication.pdf">their insurance doesn’t cover</a> a diagnosis of a gambling disorder.</p>
<h2>Gaps in knowledge and funding</h2>
<p>About a decade ago, a friend who is an alcohol researcher observed that the thinking and research about gambling was about four decades behind where it is for alcohol. The gaps in knowledge were evident. We still don’t have good models for how a gambling problem develops, or how to conceptualize an addiction without a substance. We don’t know the long-term effects of experiencing gambling problems and gambling disorder. And we don’t fully understand the extent to which improvements from treatment are maintained.</p>
<p>While researchers around the world are chipping away at these knowledge gaps, there continue to be huge challenges – not the least of which is that gambling regulations keep changing and new forms of gambling are always emerging. </p>
<p>More importantly, there is little funding available to learn more about gambling disorder – and almost no funding from the U.S. government. In 2022, the National Institutes of Health <a href="https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/management-reporting/fy-2022-financial-management-plan">invested over $570 million</a> to study alcohol use problems. </p>
<p>The amount the NIH budgeted to study gambling? </p>
<p>Zero.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197861/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James P. Whelan receives funding from Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services </span></em></p>
Treatment has a high success rate. Getting problem gamblers in the door – and getting them to complete a full course of therapy – is another matter.
James P. Whelan, Research Professor of Clinical Health, University of Memphis
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/198285
2023-02-07T13:35:20Z
2023-02-07T13:35:20Z
I treat people with gambling disorder – and I’m starting to see more and more young men who are betting on sports
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508172/original/file-20230204-5389-wfiqrk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1%2C16%2C1014%2C793&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many young sports bettors think they're knowledgeable enough to 'beat the system.'</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nick Lehr/The Conversation via DALL-E 2</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=OcbcVXYAAAAJ&hl=en">As a therapist who treats people with gambling problems</a>, I’ve noticed a shift over the past few years – not only in the profile of the typical clients I treat, but also in the way their gambling problems develop.</p>
<p>In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court made the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/14/politics/sports-betting-ncaa-supreme-court/index.html">landmark decision</a> to allow states to legalize sports wagering. Tennessee, where I am studying clinical psychology, took advantage of this ruling, and in late 2020, the state legalized <a href="https://www.tennessean.com/in-depth/money/2020/10/31/tennessee-sports-betting-online-fanduel-draftkings-betmgm-action-247/6056604002/">online and mobile sports betting</a>.</p>
<p>With most <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/sportsbook-5217715">sportsbooks</a> offering betting apps, my clients are finding it more difficult to quit gambling than ever before. Unlike other forms of gambling, such as playing roulette or slots at a casino, these apps are on their phones and in their pockets, accompanying them wherever they go.</p>
<p>This availability makes it that much harder to resist any urges that might arise – and presents unique challenges for helping clients reduce their gambling.</p>
<h2>A new type of client emerges</h2>
<p>When I first started treating people for gambling disorder in 2019, my clients were usually older and gambled in casinos, with slot machines and card games among their favorite forms of gambling. They also tended to be poorer and often talked about how they began gambling to make some side money, viewing it as a second job. Many of them had retired and would say things like, “Going to the casino gets me out of the house” or “The casino is like my ‘Cheers’” – a nod to the popular watering hole in the eponymous sitcom. </p>
<p>That all changed when sports betting was legalized in Tennessee in November 2020.</p>
<p>Since then, I’ve noticed that my average client has started to look different. I’m now providing therapy to younger men, mostly in their 20s, who are seeking treatment for problems with sports betting. These clients tend to earn more money and be wealthier than my previous clients – a pattern that sports betting <a href="https://theconversation.com/access-to-sports-betting-in-the-us-has-exploded-since-2018-and-were-just-starting-to-learn-about-the-effects-192055">researchers have observed</a>.</p>
<p>Several of them reported being avid sports fans or having a competitive streak. And they thought they could “beat the system” due to their extensive sports knowledge.</p>
<p>Many of them started betting on sports after hearing promotions for various betting companies. Even if you’re a casual sports fan with no interest in betting, you can’t miss these ads, which regularly air during televised sporting events. For example, some ads for FanDuel, one of the more popular sports betting apps, highlight a “No Sweat First Bet,” with <a href="https://www.actionnetwork.com/education/what-does-each-sportsbook-bonus-mean">new users eligible for a risk-free bet of up to $1,000</a>.</p>
<p>There’s also a social element to sports betting. One client talked about betting on sports as a way to bond with relatives who also gambled. Similarly, a few college students I have treated told me that they started betting because they wanted to fit in with their fraternity brothers.</p>
<h2>The apps don’t make it easy to set limits</h2>
<p>But once gambling issues begin, it can be hard for these clients to stop. Most of them started by placing smaller bets on a single outcome. Over time, they start to bet more to recoup their losses. Before they knew it, their bets had increased, with many not realizing how this change even happened.</p>
<p>Betting apps are available on any smartphone and are connected to clients’ bank accounts, making it quick and easy to deposit more funds. This often leads clients to lose track of how much money they have lost. As one client told me, “It’s easier to spend money on these apps because you never really see it. The transactions are all done electronically.”</p>
<p>These apps do not make it easy for those with gambling problems to sign up for cool-off periods or self-exclusion. <a href="https://casino.draftkings.com/responsible-gaming-on-draftkings?wpsrc=Organic%20Search&wpaffn=Google&wpkw=https%3A%2F%2Fcasino.draftkings.com%2Fresponsible-gaming-on-draftkings&wpcn=responsible-gaming-on-draftkings">Cool-off periods</a> allow the user to set a time frame – from a few hours to several months – where they will be unable to log into their betting account. <a href="https://www.responsiblegambling.org/for-the-public/problem-gambling-help/self-exclusion/">Self-exclusion</a> allows the user to ban themselves from the app for longer periods of time. Specific exclusion lengths differ by state. <a href="https://www.playtenn.com/tennessee-sportsbook-self-exclusion/#:%7E:text=You%20can%20choose%20to%20exclude,consider%20your%20length%20of%20exclusion.">In Tennessee</a>, there are one-year, five-year and lifetime ban options. </p>
<p>While many apps have these features, my clients often have to search online for this information, and even when they do find it, they can’t figure out how to put these guardrails in place. If they wish to set a cool-off period or ban themselves from all sports betting apps, they must do so from each app, one at a time, which can be tedious.</p>
<p><iframe id="D0Ren" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/D0Ren/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>It’s impossible to avoid sports and smartphones</h2>
<p>Sports betting presents unique challenges <a href="https://thegamblingclinic.com/">for treating gambling problems</a>. </p>
<p>In addiction treatment, therapists, like me, often encourage clients to fill their time with activities that aren’t connected to gambling or to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2004.04.006">avoid situations where they may be likely to gamble</a>. But when gambling is available at the touch of a button, it becomes harder to determine what situations may lead to gambling, which makes it harder to figure out what to avoid.</p>
<p>Before the apps, clients had to make plans for how and when to gamble. Now, all they have to do is pick up their phone and open an app. It is also incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to ask a client to stop using their smartphone or stop watching sports.</p>
<p>This is why I often tailor treatment to each client’s needs and circumstances. Some may wish to quit altogether, while others may simply want to cut back on their gambling. This has forced me to consider other possible alternatives, such as showing them how to set screen time limits for sportsbook apps or talking about strategies to watch less sports.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-014-9471-4">Most people</a> who bet on sports don’t develop gambling problems. But with so few regulations in place – advertising or otherwise – those who are the most at risk are especially vulnerable to developing problems.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198285/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tori Horn 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>
In the past, typical clients tended to be retirees living on fixed incomes who played slots and card games.
Tori Horn, PhD Student in Clinical Psychology, University of Memphis
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/194994
2023-02-02T13:23:01Z
2023-02-02T13:23:01Z
How legalized sports betting has transformed the fan experience
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507660/original/file-20230201-9483-d3kdz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5434%2C3368&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">DraftKings is one of a handful of sportsbooks that have been advertising during live sporting events.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/detail-view-of-a-draftkings-sportsbook-advertisement-during-news-photo/1433395123?phrase=draftkings sportsbook&adppopup=true">Brett Carlsen/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A couple of days before Christmas, I went to see the NHL’s Nashville Predators play on their home ice against the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche.</p>
<p>Amid all the silliness of a modern pro sports experience – the home team skating out of a giant saber-toothed tiger head, the mistletoe kiss cam, a small rock band playing seasonal hits between periods – there was a steady stream of advertising for <a href="https://www.draftkings.com">DraftKings</a>, a company known as a sportsbook that takes bets on athletic events and pays out winnings.</p>
<p>Its name flashed prominently on the Jumbotron above center ice as starting lineups were announced. Its logo appeared again when crews scurried out to clean the ice during timeouts. Not only was “DraftKings Sportsbook” on the yellow jackets worn by the people shoveling up the ice shavings, it was also on the carts they used to collect the ice. </p>
<p>This all came a few days after the Predators <a href="https://www.nhl.com/predators/news/betmgm-named-an-official-sports-betting-partner-of-nashville-predators/c-338972672">announced a multiyear partnership with another sportsbook, BetMGM</a>, that will include not only signage at their home venue, Bridgestone Arena, but also a BetMGM restaurant and bar.</p>
<p>If I had cared to that evening, I could have gone onto the sports betting app on my smartphone and placed a wager on the game. Tennessee is one of <a href="https://www.americangaming.org/research/state-gaming-map/">33 states plus the District of Columbia</a> where sports betting is legal. On Jan. 31, 2023, <a href="https://www.wwlp.com/news/local-news/hampden-county/legal-sports-betting-in-massachusetts-begins-tuesday/">Massachusetts became the latest state to legalize the practice</a>.</p>
<p>The point of depicting the whole scene is simply this: In the nearly five years since the Supreme Court allowed states <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/14/us/politics/supreme-court-sports-betting-new-jersey.html">to legalize sports betting</a>, a whole industry has sprouted up that, for tens of millions of fans around the country, is now just part of the show.</p>
<p>Betting’s seamless integration into American sports – impossible to ignore even among fans who aren’t wagering – represents a remarkable shift for an activity that was banned in much of the country only a few years ago.</p>
<h2>A new sports world</h2>
<p>Let’s look at the numbers for a start.</p>
<p>Since May 2018, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a law that limited sports betting to four states including Nevada, US$180.2 billion has been legally wagered on sports, according to the American Gaming Association’s research arm. That has generated $13.7 billion in revenue for the sportsbooks, according to figures provided to me by the AGA, the industry’s research and lobby group.</p>
<p>Before the NFL kicked off last September, the <a href="https://www.americangaming.org/new/record-46-6-million-americans-plan-to-wager-on-2022-nfl-season/">AGA reported</a> that 18% of American adults – more than 46 million people – planned to make a bet this season. Most of that was likely to be bet through legal channels, as opposed to so-called corner bookies, or illegal operatives.</p>
<p><iframe id="D0Ren" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/D0Ren/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>So, who’s betting on sports? In an interview, David Forman, the AGA’s vice president for research, told me that compared with traditional gamblers – those who might play slots, for instance – “sports bettors are a different demographic. They’re younger, they’re more male, they’re also higher income.”</p>
<p>They’re people like Christian Santosuosso, a 26-year-old creative marketing professional living in Brooklyn, New York. Santosuosso didn’t bet on games until it became legal. Now he and his buddies will pool their money on an NFL Sunday to spice up both the interest in a game and the conversation in the room.</p>
<p>“It’s entertainment,” he told me in a phone interview. He explained that even a tough gambling loss can be amusing or funny, a way to look back on the mistakes your team made that ended up affecting whether you won the bet. But he added that he has a limit on how much he’ll bet.</p>
<h2>Coverage and conversation</h2>
<p>Shortly after Supreme Court ruling in 2018, I wrote a piece for <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-states-legalize-sports-betting-will-sports-media-go-all-in-98686">The Conversation</a> asking if the media would start to produce content aimed at bettors. </p>
<p>The answer has been an unequivocal “yes” – and it seems to have helped change the way sports betting is talked about. </p>
<p>As I write this, if I look at the front page of ESPN.com, I see that the University of Georgia is a 13.5-point favorite over Texas Christian University in the college football national championship. It’s front and center, right next to the kickoff time and the TV network where it’s airing.</p>
<p>But that’s the least of it. </p>
<p>ESPN has broadcast a gaming show since 2019, “Daily Wager.” In September 2022, the sports conglomerate announced <a href="https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2022/09/espn-expands-sports-betting-content-portfolio/">an array of new content</a> centered on betting advice and picks. And SportsCenter anchor Scott Van Pelt is famous for his <a href="https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/espn-has-given-scott-van-pelts-bad-beats-segment-a-monthly-show.html">“Bad Beats” segment</a>, in which Van Pelt typically highlights how a team on the winning side of the point spread falls apart at the last second in a crazy way.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, a cottage industry of betting tip channels has emerged on YouTube – if you type “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/sportsbetting">#sportsbetting</a>” into YouTube’s search bar, you’ll find thousands of them.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dwiCuTX9ay0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Gambling-centered programming is now a regular feature of sports media.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another example of how things have changed: On Jan. 2, 2023, the University of Utah’s football team had the ball first and goal with 43 seconds left, down 21 points to Penn State in the Rose Bowl. The game was essentially over. However, the commentators noted that a touchdown would mean a lot to some people.</p>
<p>Who? Why? The announcers didn’t elaborate, but the implication was obvious: Those who had bet the over – wagering that together the two teams would score more than 54 points – had a lot riding on that touchdown. So, in a sense, did ESPN. In a blowout, fans of both teams are likely to tune out. But when there’s money riding on something like the over, eyes stay glued to the screen. </p>
<p>Utah ended up scoring on third down with 25 seconds remaining. <a href="https://www.espn.com/college-football/game/_/gameId/401442014">Final score</a>: Penn State 35, Utah 21. </p>
<h2>The danger and the ceiling</h2>
<p>I’ve been editing sports articles since the early 1990s and have run <a href="https://www.bellisario.psu.edu/people/individual/john-affleck">the sports journalism program at Penn State</a> since 2013. I have noticed how my students now routinely talk about the point spread – the expected margin of victory – and even the over-under, a wager on the total number of points scored.</p>
<p>That just did not happen so often when I first got to State College, nor in the newsroom before that.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Magazine cover with basketball hoop filled with dollar bills." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507171/original/file-20230130-24-njtnah.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507171/original/file-20230130-24-njtnah.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=802&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507171/original/file-20230130-24-njtnah.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=802&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507171/original/file-20230130-24-njtnah.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=802&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507171/original/file-20230130-24-njtnah.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1007&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507171/original/file-20230130-24-njtnah.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1007&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507171/original/file-20230130-24-njtnah.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1007&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">For decades, fears of game fixing – and the ways in which it would taint the image of sports leagues – made gambling a taboo among league executives.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://sicovers.com/featured/boston-college-point-shaving-scheme-february-16-1981-sports-illustrated-cover.html">Sports Illustrated</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sports leagues were once <a href="https://www.si.com/betting/2021/08/09/gambling-issue-daily-cover">vehemently opposed to gambling</a>. And while they’re still concerned <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/03/07/1085045547/nfl-receiver-calvin-ridley-suspended-for-2022-season-after-gambling-on-games">about keeping players from betting</a>, many leagues – particularly the NFL – have made a complete U-turn since legalization.</p>
<p>There are multiple reasons for this change of heart. While the concern used to be about <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-gambling-built-baseball-and-then-almost-destroyed-it-123254">losing the integrity of the game to a betting scandal</a>, now sports leagues can argue that legal betting allows for better monitoring of potential cheating. If heavy betting happens on one team, or if there’s sudden shift in betting patterns, it’s all visible to the sportsbooks and might indicate nefarious activity. </p>
<p>There’s also <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/09/14/as-more-states-legalize-the-practice-19-of-u-s-adults-say-they-have-bet-money-on-sports-in-the-past-year/">significant fan interest in legal wagering</a> – 56% of Americans adults, and nearly 7 in 10 men, recently told Pew that they’ve read at least a little about how widespread legal sports betting has become.</p>
<p>And, of course, there is <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/26/tech-gambling-alcohol-helped-nfl-earn-almost-2-billion-in-sponsorships.html">big money from a new sponsorship group</a> – the sportsbooks – that helped drive overall NFL sponsorship revenue to a record $1.8 billion in the 2021 season. </p>
<p>The danger, of course, is <a href="https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/gambling-disorder/what-is-gambling-disorder">gambling addiction</a>.</p>
<p>And while the AGA is quick to note that its member companies pledge to <a href="https://www.americangaming.org/resources/responsible-gaming-regulations-and-statutes-guide/">give information about problem gambling to their customers</a>, legalization has undoubtedly provided <a href="https://theconversation.com/access-to-sports-betting-in-the-us-has-exploded-since-2018-and-were-just-starting-to-learn-about-the-effects-192055">easier and more secure access to sports betting</a>. </p>
<p>Keith Whyte, executive director of the <a href="https://www.ncpgambling.org/">National Council on Problem Gambling</a>, said in a telephone interview that research by his group had found that roughly 25% of American adults bet on sports, somewhat more than the AGA’s estimate. That percentage has jumped from roughly 15% before the Supreme Court ruling, per the NCPG.</p>
<p>While that’s a big increase, it also suggests that perhaps there is a ceiling coming up – in other words, when all the states that will do so legalize sports betting, wagering still won’t be done by many more people than now, Whyte speculated.</p>
<p>“I think it’s changing the market in a lot of ways,” Whyte said, “but my guess is it’s mainly to increase the intensity – and associated risk of problem gambling – among fans that were already engaged fans.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194994/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>
The opportunity to place bets has changed the way games look, the way they’re talked about – and, of course, how many people have money riding on the outcome.
John Affleck, Knight Chair in Sports Journalism and Society, Penn State
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/185407
2022-06-22T01:07:52Z
2022-06-22T01:07:52Z
As Netball Australia eyes betting sponsorship, women and girls are at increased risk of gambling harm
<p>Netball Australia CEO Kelly Ryan <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-17/netball-aus-ceo-responds-to-damning-financial-report/101160432">said</a> last week she would consider accepting gambling sponsorship to help with Netball Australia’s debts.</p>
<p>Gambling sponsorships were “lucrative” for sports, she reasoned, adding netball had to “put itself a little bit more outside its comfort zone” in terms of financial partnerships. </p>
<p>While betting firms sponsor <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/21/wnba-pointsbet-strike-sports-betting-partnership.html">large female sporting codes</a> in the United States, this is the first time a high profile women’s sport in Australia has publicly discussed accepting gambling sponsorship. </p>
<p>A social media <a href="https://twitter.com/RenInOz/status/1537584425940054016">backlash</a> followed. Parents and fans expressed fears about the impact of exposure to commercial marketing for gambling via a code <a href="https://diamonds.netball.com.au/news/origin-australian-diamonds-find-their-sparkle-my-little-pony">largely marketed to young girls</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1537580864363606017"}"></div></p>
<p>While such partnerships may be financially lucrative for sporting codes, there are also hidden costs. </p>
<p>Gambling is an addictive product with a range of significant health and social costs for individuals, their families and communities. This includes children – with extensive research showing how gambling advertising in sport normalises gambling for <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1753-6405.13063">young people</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sports-betting-how-in-play-betting-features-could-be-leading-to-harmful-gambling-new-research-177872">Sports betting: how in-play betting features could be leading to harmful gambling – new research</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Caught in the middle</h2>
<p>As gambling brands attempt to market products to a relatively limited market, children are caught in the middle. </p>
<p>Thanks to a range of sophisticated and innovative marketing strategies – including the use of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1753-6405.13063">celebrity endorsements</a> – children can name multiple gambling brands, and perceive gambling as a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1753-6405.12564">normal activity</a> for sports fans. Some believe the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12954-017-0136-3">deals provided</a> by gambling companies, including free bets and money back offers, mean gambling has little risk attached to it.</p>
<p>Concern is mounting about the impact of gambling marketing in sport on young people. A joint commission report by <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(19)32540-1/fulltext">The Lancet, WHO and UNICEF</a> recently highlighted gambling as a commercial harm that threatens child health and well-being, calling it an “unaddressed public health challenge for children”.</p>
<h2>No one likes gambling ads</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/stop-promoting-gambling-betting-ads-a-burning-issue-in-afl-fan-survey-20220214-p59w5h.html">Surveys</a> show gambling advertising in sport is unpopular and worrying for sporting fans. </p>
<p>Even sporting leaders recognise its deeply problematic impact on young people. This week, a survey by The Age newspaper of <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/tassie-gambling-concussion-and-the-boss-survey-reveals-club-views-20220617-p5aujb.html">AFL club bosses</a> reported 11 out of 16 chief executives or chairs felt gambling advertising in sport was excessive. One said the AFL had “prostituted themselves” to the gambling companies.</p>
<h2>Now it’s girls’ and women’s turn</h2>
<p>So why are female sporting codes now following the well-trodden and heavily criticised path of male sporting codes – turning to an industry that poses an unnecessary risk to the health and well-being of fans? </p>
<p>To date, evidence about gambling marketing in sport has largely centred on the impact on boys and young men. But this does not mean girls and young women are immune to its impacts. </p>
<p>Gambling companies are increasingly targeting women to expand their customer base and profits. They have begun sponsoring <a href="https://mumbrella.com.au/mafs-sponsors-in-happy-union-with-nine-for-new-season-722802">television programs</a> such as Married at First Sight, that are popular with a female audience.</p>
<p>They even <a href="https://www.buddybet.com/au/buddybet/how-to-use-buddybet-at-your-baby-shower">offer information</a> about how to bet on your pregnancy – including predictions of birth date, weight and “gender reveals”. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469957/original/file-20220621-11-bk7tlm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A close up shot of a young woman gambling at a slot machine" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469957/original/file-20220621-11-bk7tlm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469957/original/file-20220621-11-bk7tlm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469957/original/file-20220621-11-bk7tlm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469957/original/file-20220621-11-bk7tlm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469957/original/file-20220621-11-bk7tlm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469957/original/file-20220621-11-bk7tlm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469957/original/file-20220621-11-bk7tlm.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"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gambling companies are taking steps to ‘feminise’ the idea of gambling.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/asian-woman-gambling-casino-playing-on-1045958089">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Following the tobacco and alcohol playbook</h2>
<p>The feminisation of gambling marketing and products should not be a surprise for policymakers, given the historical playbook of the <a href="https://truthinitiative.org/research-resources/tobacco-industry-marketing/slim-and-stylish-how-tobacco-companies-hooked-women">tobacco</a> and <a href="https://www.cancerwa.asn.au/resources/2020-12-09-PHAIWA-CCWA-The-Instagrammability-of-pink-drinks-How-alcohol-is-marketed-to-women-in-Australia-2019.pdf">alcohol</a> industries. </p>
<p>These industries spent millions of dollars aligning their products with the values and social practices of women – including sponsoring women’s sporting events – to appeal to new markets, and to legitimise the use of these products for women. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1753-6405.13024">research</a> shows gambling – including on sport – is becoming increasingly normalised and socially accepted for young women. </p>
<p>Women we interviewed felt gambling was commonly portrayed as a form of entertainment. Women also said they had signed up to betting accounts after seeing marketing for gambling companies, and that online companies had largely eliminated the stigma associated with going to a male-dominated betting venue.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bingo-seems-like-harmless-fun-but-higher-stakes-and-new-technology-are-making-it-more-dangerous-180678">Bingo seems like harmless fun – but higher stakes and new technology are making it more dangerous</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Time for governments to step up</h2>
<p>Public health action from governments on this issue has been almost non-existent. </p>
<p>Public education is still largely based on the idea of personal responsibility, which can reinforce the normalisation of gambling by portraying gambling as a common leisure activity that can be kept in control with informed choices. Campaigns generally focus on young men and betting, and often <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ_wpqQBxK0&list=PLlxOaF8FyB0orSV0HUboPrEpIk0rXp5po">portray women in stereotypical roles</a> such as <a href="https://vimeo.com/696778355">disgruntled girlfriends</a>. </p>
<p>An <a href="https://www.audit.vic.gov.au/report/reducing-harm-caused-gambling?section=33780--appendix-b-acronyms-and-abbreviations">audit</a> of public education programs about gambling harms found they couldn’t match the scale or intensity of sports betting companies’ marketing. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aJ_wpqQBxK0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Gambling education campaigns often focus on men’s experience and some use hopelessly outdated gender roles.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sporting codes have repeatedly demonstrated they are unable to make decisions about gambling partnerships in the best interests of young people. Regulations should be implemented to prevent young people from being exposed to gambling marketing. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-022-13201-0">recent research</a> with young people shows they agree with this view. They support comprehensive curbs on gambling marketing, including an untangling of the relationship between gambling and sport and protection from harm. </p>
<p>In the words of one 14-year-old female sports fan:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m a bit disappointed and sad that gambling is such a big part of sport now. I would say that, like, just do it because, watch it and do it because you love (sport) and don’t try to bring gambling into it. It doesn’t have to be about that, it doesn’t have to be about money.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/gambling-what-happens-in-the-brain-when-we-get-hooked-and-how-to-regain-control-176901">Gambling: what happens in the brain when we get hooked – and how to regain control</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185407/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 Discovery Grant Scheme, the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, and the New South Wales Office of Responsible Gambling. She has received travel expenses for gambling speaking engagements from the European Union, Beat the Odds Wales, the Office of Gaming and Racing ACT, and the Royal College of Psychiatry Wales. She is a member of the Responsible Gambling Advisory Board for LotteryWest, and is a member of the board of the International Confederation of ATOD Research Associations (ICARA). She does not receive any financial compensation for these roles.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hannah Pitt has received funding from the Australian Research Council Discovery Grant Scheme, the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, the New South Wales Office of Responsible Gambling, VicHealth, and Deakin University. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>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>
Gambling is increasingly pitched to women and if Netball Australia accepts sports betting sponsors, younger girls will be next.
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/180678
2022-04-29T02:08:24Z
2022-04-29T02:08:24Z
Bingo seems like harmless fun – but higher stakes and new technology are making it more dangerous
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459703/original/file-20220426-16-un1vss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C11%2C3955%2C2632&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://image.shutterstock.com/image-photo/multicolored-bingo-balls-cage-sitting-600w-1372778951.jpg">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Bingo, with its familiar rules, novelty number calls (“legs 11”, “two ducks swimming”) and social setting, has long had a reputation as harmless and friendly. </p>
<p>Also called “<a href="https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/community-gaming/charity-housie">housie</a>”, bingo is a game in which players mark numbers on a grid as a caller reads them out. The first person whose numbers are all called out cries “bingo” and wins. The game of chance is played in many different venues: from licensed bingo centres, to clubs like RSLs, in churches and nursing homes and, increasingly, online. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0033350622000452?via%3Dihub">new research</a> shows technological developments, large jackpots, and locating bingo in the same venue as pokies or other gambling products bring new risks to players. Bingo’s innocuous reputation is due for a rethink.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/were-told-to-gamble-responsibly-but-what-does-that-actually-mean-130949">We're told to 'gamble responsibly'. But what does that actually mean?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A different crowd</h2>
<p>Around <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/study-of-gambling-and-health-in-victoria-findings-from-the-victorian-prevalence-study-2014-72/">18,000 Victorian adults</a> play bingo at least once a year. </p>
<p>The game attracts a different demographic to other forms of gambling. Bingo players are often <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14747731.2016.1164981">women</a>, <a href="https://jgi.camh.net/index.php/jgi/article/view/3829">older</a>, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10899-018-9779-6">Indigenous</a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10899-006-9030-8">poorer</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://aifs.gov.au/agrc/sites/default/files/publication-documents/rr-gambling_activity_in_australia_0.pdf">Almost a third</a> of Australian bingo players have gambling problems, although it is unclear if these problems relate to bingo or to other games. </p>
<p>A US study found <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-020-08822-2">more than a quarter</a> of bingo players were classified as problem gamblers. But bingo has generally been overlooked by <a href="https://criticalgamblingstudies.com/index.php/cgs/article/view/89">researchers</a>, <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/lucky-for-some-bingo-in-victoria-975/">policy makers and regulators</a>. </p>
<p>We conducted the first <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/lucky-for-some-bingo-in-victoria-975/">major study of bingo</a> in Australia. We spoke with Aboriginal and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/14695405211022082">Pacific Islander</a> people in regional Victoria, older people on fixed incomes in Melbourne, and experts. We also attended bingo sessions across Victoria. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/gambling-what-happens-in-the-brain-when-we-get-hooked-and-how-to-regain-control-176901">Gambling: what happens in the brain when we get hooked – and how to regain control</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>‘I get lonely and bored’</h2>
<p>People told us they liked bingo’s <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10548400902976513">social connection</a>, its relative cheapness and predictability. </p>
<p>As one participant said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’ve got no one at home […] I get lonely and bored and I just go to bingo. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01639620050184645">chance of winning money</a>, escape from responsibilities and stress, and cognitive stimulation were also appealing. An older research participant told us: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>You’re in another world when you’re at bingo. You have to concentrate. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>A minority of study participants described harms from playing bingo, but they were significant for those experiencing them. One player noted: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think (bingo) has a more negative effect because, just as an Indigenous community […] we have less income, we’re from poor socio-economic backgrounds.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Increased dangers</h2>
<p>Risks associated with bingo have increased over time. </p>
<p>Historically, the game has been played with paper books and pens. Playing multiple games at a time requires great concentration, but experienced players can manage up to six “books” (grids) at a time. </p>
<p>Now, personal electronic tablets (PETs) are available in bingo centres and some RSLs. These tablets can be loaded with up to 200 games at once and automatically cross off numbers for players. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11469-015-9557-y">Canadian research</a> suggests tablets offer a similar gaming experience to electronic gambling machines, otherwise known as “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/26/australia-gambling-addiction/">pokies</a>”. Fast play and flashing lights captivate players. </p>
<p>Tablets let people purchase and play many more games than they could on paper. One expert told us they’d seen venues where 48 “books” could be purchased via tablet, at a total cost of $600.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459705/original/file-20220426-18-utki8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="bingo sheets" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459705/original/file-20220426-18-utki8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459705/original/file-20220426-18-utki8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459705/original/file-20220426-18-utki8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459705/original/file-20220426-18-utki8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459705/original/file-20220426-18-utki8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459705/original/file-20220426-18-utki8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459705/original/file-20220426-18-utki8m.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"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Old school bingo grids made it challenging to play multiple games at once. New technology makes it easier.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://image.shutterstock.com/image-photo/business-concept-top-view-pile-600w-1255858021.jpg">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sports-betting-how-in-play-betting-features-could-be-leading-to-harmful-gambling-new-research-177872">Sports betting: how in-play betting features could be leading to harmful gambling – new research</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Rules vary</h2>
<p>Regulation of bingo varies across Australia. In some places, including <a href="https://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/in-force/acts/gambling-regulation-act-2003/084">Victoria</a>, bingo at licensed centres must generate funds for charities.</p>
<p>Rule changes in Victoria have created more expensive bingo games and larger prizes. These changes include abolishing bans on rolling jackpots, removing caps on the cost of books, and allowing more people to play each session. </p>
<p>Licensed bingo centres now offer jackpots of up to $450,000, which may be rolling (accrued across games in one centre) or linked (merged across different centres). Large jackpots mean fewer people win and more people lose.</p>
<p>Several participants in our study spoke of people spending up to $1,200 to attend a “package” or multiple-game session. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-020-08822-2">more forms of gambling a person engages in</a>, the greater their chance of having problems. Bingo can’t legally be offered alongside pokies in licensed bingo centres in Victoria, but this is allowed in clubs and hotels. </p>
<p>Our research suggests that in pokie venues, bingo is a “loss leader” – to draw players in, then encourage them to move on to other forms of gambling. One person told us: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I got trouble, you know, from going to bingo because sometimes when I go to bingo […] and then I win money, and then I’m thinking of like, you know, not only the bingo. I go across to the gamble machine and I keep playing there. So instead of like, save the money to take back to the family.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In Victoria, Crown Casino stopped offering bingo under the spotlight of a <a href="https://www.rccol.vic.gov.au/">Royal Commission</a>, but previously provided free bingo with breaks where players <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/lucky-for-some-bingo-in-victoria-975/">moved</a> to pokie machines and gaming tables. </p>
<p>In February, Tabcorp and Lottoland were awarded Victorian licences to operate Keno live lottery gambling until 2042, <a href="https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/tabcorp-and-lottoland-awarded-victorias-keno-licences">including in bingo centres</a>. This expands the range of commercial gambling products sold in bingo venues.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459707/original/file-20220426-14-82ld8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="RSL club with lots of pokie machines" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459707/original/file-20220426-14-82ld8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459707/original/file-20220426-14-82ld8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459707/original/file-20220426-14-82ld8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459707/original/file-20220426-14-82ld8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459707/original/file-20220426-14-82ld8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459707/original/file-20220426-14-82ld8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459707/original/file-20220426-14-82ld8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bingo co-located with pokies in RSL clubs make for tempting combinations for gamblers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://image.shutterstock.com/image-photo/interior-photography-bar-pokies-room-600w-1717091413.jpg">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Lesser of gambling evils</h2>
<p>Bingo causes less grief than other forms of gambling. Some people describe playing bingo for hours for $20–30, making it a cheap outing. </p>
<p>Capping costs for games and jackpots, limiting the games that can be played on tablets and keeping bingo separate from other gambling opportunities would help retain the benefits it offers – and stop people from spending money they don’t have.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. Gamblers help can be found <a href="https://www.gamblinghelponline.org.au/">online</a> or by calling 1800 858 858.</em></p>
<hr>
<p><em>The authors would like to thank the organisations that partnered in this research: Gippsland and East Gippsland Aboriginal Cooperative (GEGAC), Sunraysia Mallee Ethnic Communities Council (SMECC) and COTA Victoria. John Cox, Annalyss Thompson and Jasmine Kirirua worked as researchers on the project. We are also grateful to the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation and particularly Lindsay Shaw.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180678/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah J MacLean is a member of the Australian Greens. She receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen Lee has received funding from the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation and the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathleen Maltzahn has received funding from the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation. She is a member of the Australian Greens Victoria. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mary Whiteside has received funding from the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation </span></em></p>
New technology, big jackpots and rubbery regulation means bingo’s friendly reputation is due for a rethink.
Sarah J MacLean, Associate professor, La Trobe University
Helen Lee, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, La Trobe University
Kathleen Maltzahn, La Trobe University
Mary Whiteside, Adjunct Associate Professor, Social Work and Social Policy, La Trobe University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/177872
2022-03-10T13:49:58Z
2022-03-10T13:49:58Z
Sports betting: how in-play betting features could be leading to harmful gambling – new research
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451045/original/file-20220309-1729-1h2owfk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C0%2C7285%2C4874&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/cropped-shot-man-lying-on-sofa-1694384434">Wpadington/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>With the rapid convergence of the gambling and technology spheres over recent years, sports betting has become more accessible, more customisable and more complex. Gone are the days where punters were limited to betting on the winner or loser of a match, and could only do so before the match started.</p>
<p>The rise of in-play sports betting now provides the public with countless betting opportunities based on the “micro-events” that occur throughout a sporting event. Such opportunities or “micro-bets” could include wagering who gets the next yellow card in a football match, or who wins the first set in a tennis match. </p>
<p>The websites and apps that offer in-play bets are equipped with a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11469-018-9896-6">vast array of features</a> that <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-021-10805-w">are marketed</a> as being advantageous, informative and convenient to bettors. These include statistics boards that display real-time match and player information, an embedded live stream of the sporting event, and the ability to swiftly deposit funds into your betting account.</p>
<p>Despite being marketed positively, <a href="https://akjournals.com/view/journals/2006/10/3/article-p371.xml">recent research</a> indicates that these in-play betting features are comparable to those of highly addictive fixed-odds betting terminals – electronic slots or gaming machines, often referred to as “pokies”.</p>
<p>The most harmful features of fixed-odds betting terminals include fast outcome frequency (the short time interval between bets) and the ability to multiply bets. Similarly, in-play betting offers a fast outcome frequency through the almost infinite amount of micro-bets that can be placed, while bets can be multiplied through “accumulators”. </p>
<p>So when coupled with the <a href="http://theaudioprof.com/pubs/2012_1.pdf">stress and emotional investment</a> that we know sports bettors experience, these product features could well lead to harmful gambling.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0264000#sec015">latest research</a> aimed to assess the effects of in-play betting features upon bettors’ levels of frustration, impulsivity, emotional outbursts and aggression while gambling. These behaviours are encompassed by the term “<a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/14/5013/htm">tilting</a>” in the gambling world. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/gambling-what-happens-in-the-brain-when-we-get-hooked-and-how-to-regain-control-176901">Gambling: what happens in the brain when we get hooked – and how to regain control</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What we did</h2>
<p>A sample of 225 sports bettors from the UK took part in our study. They were assessed using an online questionnaire that measured tilting episodes, awareness of tilting, gambling harm and in-play betting feature preferences. </p>
<p>We found that a small minority of sports bettors are aware of their tilting and the harm that is associated with it. But the results also indicated that there is a much larger group of sports bettors who are not aware of how much they actually “tilt” when gambling. Overall, higher instances of the behaviours we characterise as tilting were associated with higher rates of gambling harm.</p>
<p>Those who displayed the highest levels of frustration and emotional outbursts when gambling (tilting) used the instant cash deposit feature the most and deemed it the most important feature during their gambling sessions.</p>
<p>Previous research has shown that the ability to instantly deposit funds can be <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11469-018-0049-8">a catalyst</a> for harmful gambling behaviours. Theoretically, when sports bettors begin to become frustrated and emotional in response to losing money, this feature allows them to instantly replenish their lost money to place more reckless, desperate and impulse-driven bets.</p>
<p>Other features that were used often and favoured by participants who reported the most frustration and emotional outbursts were information-based features. These include the statistics board, embedded livestream, and other live updates that are hosted on in-play betting websites and apps.</p>
<p>Previous <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14459795.2017.1377747?casa_token=E89zr_zun3UAAAAA:TD1-t3m4UNig4VuD0P04SII_SApUykzjRpKJ0AW-u8CVK3scXCkF4Jnz9xwuaZVdpTrZE0409UU">research</a> has suggested that information-based product features may facilitate illusions of control by leading sports bettors to overestimate the advantage these features offer.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A hand holds a smartphone with a sports betting app open, in front of a laptop screen displaying a sporting match." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451055/original/file-20220309-27-xnnpaz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451055/original/file-20220309-27-xnnpaz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451055/original/file-20220309-27-xnnpaz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451055/original/file-20220309-27-xnnpaz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451055/original/file-20220309-27-xnnpaz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451055/original/file-20220309-27-xnnpaz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451055/original/file-20220309-27-xnnpaz.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">Many sports betting platforms offer punters the opportunity to place ‘micro-bets’ throughout a match.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-cropped-shot-male-hands-making-1341486362">Wpadington/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Generally speaking, most tasks and activities will be carried out in a more harmful manner when someone is aggravated or stressed. For example, road rage can lead to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0005796702000463?casa_token=aMIcnDWeGvUAAAAA:Uhd7cGlUE6TI99nr9Cl4AHoajZ3kYovkuepxCuiTjkpBBVsTPoekqz1IfEO9Gm8em7AsN-IuQw">poorer quality driving</a>. Shopping while upset may lead to higher rates of <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/07363760810845381/full/html?casa_token=BrTJE5qXFbMAAAAA:Wg-A5ZKHKJs5W52PYCeDAQ3A8GXUXDmuIPhi2e6FfT6ubriRsfVOOYeaB8rbuTmcXUrAvqDC22VJGfwbkBjRsjNDpga3_bKXSliN07MdNLYAv_LoLA">impulse buying</a>. </p>
<p>Likewise, our research indicates that gambling while emotionally frustrated is associated with more harmful gambling – and these in-play betting features appear to be exacerbating the problem.</p>
<h2>So what can we do?</h2>
<p>Sports bettors would likely benefit from being able to identify their own tilting behaviours to more safely disengage. But the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10899-020-09968-9#Sec21">cyclic nature</a> of in-play betting product features makes this particularly difficult. Industry slogans like “just stepping away” or “stop when the fun stops” are often deemed to be <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0255145">misguided and tokenistic</a>. </p>
<p>Rather than focusing on interventions that put the responsibility on the consumer, more academic and regulatory attention should be paid to the responsible design of sports betting product features. This issue often transcends the personal control of the bettor. In other words, if a product is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0033350620300822?casa_token=ELHTZEx3F2kAAAAA:P4a8A4jEwhYp0MswQv0g8D9qA73p9Oo_ElS4I_q_E3sxp1pDn3V671j0dGzu94LSNQiTs6UkOw">designed in a way</a> that makes it inherently harmful, it is practically impossible for consumers to engage with it “responsibly”.</p>
<p>To reduce gambling-related harm within sports betting, we need to see regulatory reform around product design from a public health perspective. The product features associated with sports betting are not immutable and can be easily modified by the industry. This might mean limiting how quickly bettors can replenish their lost funds, or limiting the amount of money they can deposit following consecutive losses. </p>
<p>With the review of the <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">2005 Gambling Act</a> approaching, it’s vital that tighter controls are placed upon the emergent product features associated with sports betting. If left unchecked, these features will continue to transform sports betting into a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11469-018-0049-8">more harmful</a> form of gambling.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-tackle-problem-gambling-85552">How to tackle problem gambling</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177872/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jamie Torrance receives PhD funding from GambleAware. They have no input in his research nor articles.</span></em></p>
Many sports betting platforms now offer the opportunity for punters to place multiple bets in quick succession during the course of a match.
Jamie Torrance, Doctoral researcher and Lecturer in Psychology, University of South Wales
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/170625
2021-10-26T06:42:18Z
2021-10-26T06:42:18Z
‘Illegal, dishonest, unethical and exploitative’ – but Crown Resorts keeps its Melbourne casino licence
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428421/original/file-20211026-15-2sc4rz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=44%2C528%2C4899%2C2273&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The report of Victoria’s Royal Commission into Melbourne’s casino has been <a href="https://content.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-10/The%20Report%20-%20RCCOL%20-%2015%20October%202021.pdf">made public</a>. It has found the behaviour of the casino’s operator, Crown Resorts to be “disgraceful”, with practices that have been “variously illegal, dishonest, unethical and exploitative”. </p>
<p>But royal commissioner Ray Finkelstein has also decided the <a href="https://theconversation.com/crown-resorts-is-not-too-big-to-fail-it-has-failed-already-165659">economic effects</a> of Crown losing its licence, the impact on innocent parties, and the company’s belated attempts at rehabilitation mean it should keep its casino licence – at least for now.</p>
<p>The Victorian government has <a href="https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/file_uploads/Government_response_to_Crown_Royal_Commission_report_QYfCym70.pdf">accepted this recommendation</a>. It will appoint a “special manager” – <a href="https://www.vicbar.com.au/profile/6231">Stephen O'Bryan QC</a>, a former commissioner with the state’s anti-corruption commission – to oversee the casino’s operations over the next two years.</p>
<p>After two years O'Bryan will prepare a report for the new gambling regulator the Victorian government will establish in response to the deficiencies identified with the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation. The new beefed-up regulator, to be known as the <a href="https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/new-regulator-strengthen-casino-oversight">Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission</a>, will then decide if Crown keeps its licence. </p>
<p>The government has also announced it will repeal provisions enabling Crown to be compensated for any regulatory changes affecting its business. It will also increase the maximum penalty for breaches of the Casino Control Act from A$1 million to A$100 million. </p>
<p>This is all good. But all these things should, of course, have been in place far earlier. </p>
<p>It is the failure of regulation, and the politics that sit behind it, that made the Crown Melbourne debacle possible, and perhaps inevitable. </p>
<p>As with other gambling businesses, Crown’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/gambling-lobby-gives-big-to-political-parties-and-names-names-73131">political influence</a> has been significant, and a key feature of its business model. </p>
<p>Politically and socially <a href="https://theconversation.com/gambling-industry-finds-plenty-of-political-guns-for-hire-to-defend-the-status-quo-70124">well connected directors and staff</a> were recruited, clearly with an eye to their ability to influence governments. Their aim, it seems, was to make Crown too big to be regulated. They seem to have succeeded.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/crown-resorts-is-not-too-big-to-fail-it-has-failed-already-165659">Crown Resorts is not too big to fail. It has failed already</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Recommendations kicked down the road</h2>
<p>Beyond the government’s headline announcements, some of Commissioner Finkelstein’s key recommendations have been kicked down the road – until next year, at least. These include those addressing money laundering, and changes to the operator’s structure. The latter relate to reductions in maximum shareholdings, and the independence of the board and senior management. </p>
<p>Also deferred is any response to the recommendations focused on gambling harm prevention and minimisation. Many in favour of gambling reform will be encouraged by Finkelstein’s focus on these. The government says it accepts all his recommendations, but exactly how it will act on them requires “further detailed analysis and consultation”.</p>
<p>Finkelstein focused on the harms of gambling, finding that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Crown Melbourne had for years held itself out as having a world’s best approach to problem gambling. Nothing can be further from the truth.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>His recommendations to improve Crown’s paltry “responsible gambling” program are far reaching and significant. They include implementing a comprehensive pre-commitment system, requiring gamblers to establish accounts and set limits of time and money. This would establish an effective self-exclusion system for the first time, in which those struggling with gambling would be able to ban themselves from gambling without the possibility of easily revoking that arrangement.</p>
<p>Australia’s Productivity Commission recommended a pre-commitment system in its 2010 <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/gambling-2010/report">report</a> on gambling. The Gillard government was set to implement that recommendation, but ClubsNSW spearheaded <a href="https://insidestory.org.au/the-lobby-group-that-got-much-more-bang-for-its-buck/">a successful campaign</a> to sink the plan. </p>
<p>The gambling lobby will no doubt be keenly interested in how the Victorian government responds to Finkelstein’s recommendation, which goes further than the Productivity Commission by recommending a default loss limit and regulated breaks in use. </p>
<h2>Reversing the ‘responsible gambling’ discourse</h2>
<p>Finkelstein’s report recommends the casino also have “a duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent and minimise harm from gambling”. This effectively reverses the “responsible gambling” discourse which puts the onus on gamblers – and arguably blames them for harming themselves. Such a change, if well implemented, has the potential to finally make harm prevention a high priority in gaming regulation.</p>
<p>The report also recommends that casino data be made available for proper research purposes. It points out the importance, and difficulty, of obtaining such data. Without it, evaluating the casino’s personal and social impacts is virtually impossible. This too would be a big step forward in harm prevention and reduction efforts. It could also help with anti money-laundering endeavours.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/responsible-gambling-a-bright-shining-lie-crown-resorts-and-others-can-no-longer-hide-behind-162089">Responsible gambling – a bright shining lie Crown Resorts and others can no longer hide behind</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A blueprint for wider regulation</h2>
<p>Assuming its board and executives have the nous to clean up the business to the necessary standard, Crown Resorts will get to keep its Melbourne casino. This will shock many, given what has transpired.</p>
<p>Political will is needed. The outcome may be that a powerful and harmful gambling business is cleaned up. Or the situation may revert to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14459790701601810">business as usual</a> – the default position for gambling regulation. This depends on what the Victorian government does with the recommendations on which it has postponed action. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/casino-operator-crown-plays-an-old-business-trick-using-workers-as-human-shields-165815">Casino operator Crown plays an old business trick: using workers as human shields</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Most of the money <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/gambling-victoria/expenditure-on-gambling-victoria-and-australia/">Victorians</a> (and <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media/latest-edition-australian-gambling-statistics-2019/">Australians</a>) gamble away is through poker machines in local clubs and pubs. The Finkelstein royal commission has provided an important blueprint to tackle that gambling harm, too. The Victorian government could lead the way by extending Finkelstein’s recommendations to all gambling businesses. No business, or sector, should be too big to be regulated.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170625/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>
Whether the Victorian royal commission leads to a more responsible gambling industry depends on the recommendations the state government has kicked down the road.
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/165659
2021-08-08T21:05:22Z
2021-08-08T21:05:22Z
Crown Resorts is not too big to fail. It has failed already
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414964/original/file-20210806-5434-1q71het.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C653%2C4592%2C2151&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nils Versemann/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Crown Resorts was very sorry it had done so many wrong things in running its Melbourne casino, the company’s
senior counsel, Michael Borsky, <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/games-and-wagering/crown-melbourne-ceo-stands-down-20210803-p58fcj">last week</a> told Victoria’s Finkelstein royal commission. </p>
<p>But his main point was to argue that Crown should keep running the casino, because cancelling or suspending its licence would not be in the public interest.</p>
<p>His submissions — responding to the arguments made by the counsel assisting the commission, Adrian Finanzio, for why Crown should be stripped of its licence — emphasised allowing the company to get on with reforming as the best course of action. At worst, Borsky argued, an independent supervisor or monitor with broad powers could be be appointed to direct the company’s activities.</p>
<p>Crown’s spin is that the public interest is mostly about maintaining the employment of the 11,600 people who work at the sprawling Melbourne casino and entertainment complex. It argues Victoria’s tourism industry would be endangered, should the licence be lost, and it is important to keep the revenue the casino provides to Victoria’s treasury flowing. </p>
<p>But based on the evidence, this seems a very optimistic take. </p>
<p>The commission has heard a litany of revelations about Crown’s malfeasance and improper conduct across a range of areas. </p>
<p>Last month royal commissioner Ray Finkelstein observed that everywhere he looked in the company there was evidence of <a href="https://theconversation.com/illegal-improper-unacceptable-revelations-about-crowns-casino-culture-just-get-worse-164084">inappropriate or unlawful behaviour</a>. Last week he compared Crown Resorts to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/03/crown-asks-royal-commission-for-trust-to-run-melbourne-casino">a car thief</a> who promises to stop stealing cars when apprehended. He suggested it was certainly not in the public interest for a decade of malfeasance to be rewarded.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/responsible-gambling-a-bright-shining-lie-crown-resorts-and-others-can-no-longer-hide-behind-162089">Responsible gambling – a bright shining lie Crown Resorts and others can no longer hide behind</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Finkelstein’s options</h2>
<p>Several paths are open to Finkelstein. He can recommend Crown Resorts lose its licence. He could recommend the company be granted some further opportunity to rehabilitate itself. Perhaps under supervision. A manager could be appointed until Crown achieves its reform agenda, or the business is sold. Some combination of all these might be possible.</p>
<p>But on the prospect of Crown reforming itself, Finanzio made the case that Crown could never again be trusted. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/illegal-improper-unacceptable-revelations-about-crowns-casino-culture-just-get-worse-164084">Illegal, improper, unacceptable: revelations about Crown's casino culture just get worse</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The inevitability of any of the dire consequences painted by Crown if it loses its casino licence is also a question Finkelstein has kept open. Someone else might operate the casino, he has suggested. Given the profitability of the casino, why wouldn’t someone else want it?</p>
<p>But Crown doesn’t have much else to argue for why it should be allowed keep its casino licence. </p>
<p>It began spruiking these arguments to the state government more than a month ago, in a <a href="https://www.rccol.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-07/RC415%20Letter%20from%20ABL%20to%20Minister%20for%20Consumer%20Affairs%20Gaming%20and%20Liquor%2C%202%20July%202021%2C%20tendered%206%20July%202021.pdf">July 2 letter</a> to the Victorian minister for gaming. That letter has been interpreted by Finkelstein <a href="https://www.afr.com/chanticleer/crown-jumps-the-gun-with-crazy-finkelstein-ambush-20210708-p587zb">and others</a> as an attempt to short-circuit the royal commission’s findings. </p>
<p>Indeed, the whole point of the casino is to contribute to Victoria, as successive governments have argued.</p>
<p>So what, exactly, is this contribution?</p>
<h2>What Crown Melbourne gives …</h2>
<p>In 2018-19 (Crown’s last “normal” year of operation) <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/government/taxation-revenue-australia/2018-19">ABS data</a> shows the Melbourne casino contributed $268 million in gambling taxes to Victoria’s tax revenue. This amounts to 0.8% of state tax revenue (which was $29.2 billion in that year). </p>
<p>Overall, gambling taxes contributed 8.4% of state tax revenue. Poker machine gambling in pubs and clubs contributed 3.8% ($1.12 billion). </p>
<p>Crown Melbourne employs about 11,600 people. That’s about 0.32% of Victoria’s 3.45 million employes as of <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statisics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia/mar-2021">March 2021</a>. It contributes about $30 million of the total $6.3 billion the state collects in payroll taxes. That’s about 0.45% of total payroll taxes, about 0.1% of total state tax revenue. </p>
<p>Thus, at the upper range, Crown contributes about 0.9% of state tax revenue.</p>
<h2>… and what it takes</h2>
<p>Of course 11,600 jobs are significant, as is $300 million a year in taxes.</p>
<p>But what is also significant is Crown’s disproportionate contribution to the <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/the-social-cost-of-gambling-to-victoria-121/#:%7E:text=The%20research%20categorised%20the%20types,distress%2C%20depression%2C%20suicide%20and%20violence&text=%24600%20million%20%E2%80%93%20lost%20productivity%20and%20other%20work%2Drelated%20costs">$7 billion</a> in annual costs attributable to gambling harm in Victoria. </p>
<p>The casino also significantly contributes to the <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/victorian-population-gambling-and-health-study-20182019-759/">36,000</a> Victorians who are, at any one time, directly affected by serious gambling problems, and to the estimated <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14459795.2017.1331252?journalCode=rigs20">216,000</a> children, partners, employers and others connected to those gamblers who also suffer significant harm.</p>
<p>If Crown were to be placed into independent management, no one need lose their job — with the possible exception of a few board members and executives — and revenue would continue flowing to the state.</p>
<h2>Business as usual is not an option</h2>
<p>Whatever happens, business as usual at the casino cannot continue. </p>
<p>If effective responsible gambling interventions are put in place and properly observed, revenue will inevitably decline. If Crown’s permit to operate 1,000 “unlimited” poker machines is withdrawn or reduced (as it should be), revenue will decline. If it goes cashless and <a href="https://www.asgam.com/index.php/2021/03/09/crown-resorts-to-eliminate-all-indoor-smoking-at-australian-casinos-%0Aby-end-of-2022/">eliminates indoor smoking</a>, revenue will decline. If criminal syndicates can no longer use the casino to launder money, revenue will decline. </p>
<p>These impacts are the least that can be expected from a reasonable review of casino operating practices in Victoria. A new operator may also impose their own operational requirements, and look to reduce the workforce.</p>
<p>Crown is not and has never been a magic pudding, producing something from nothing. What it has done is transfer large sums to shareholders from many ordinary people (and a few, often criminally connected, high rollers). </p>
<p>The consequences of this have been considerable, in harm to gamblers and their families, to the integrity of Australia’s attempts to stop criminals laundering money, and to stamping out <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/crown-s-conclusion-the-buck-stops-with-the-andrews-government-20210804-p58fph.html">political corruption</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-sydneys-barangaroo-tower-paved-the-way-for-closed-door-deals-161816">How Sydney's Barangaroo tower paved the way for closed-door deals</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Whatever the royal commission recommends, the profitability of the casino will be affected, with consequences for the jobs and tax revenue it provides. </p>
<p>But the gains — involving a reduction in gambling harm, a strengthening of the rule of law, and the reinforcement of effective regulatory systems — are worth a great deal more.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165659/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>
Crown Resorts’ contribution to Victoria is at the core of its attempts to keep its casino licence. But the costs of it keeping the casino may well be greater
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/165387
2021-08-04T23:35:16Z
2021-08-04T23:35:16Z
4 gambling reform ideas from overseas to save Australia from gambling loss and harm
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414093/original/file-20210802-18-leu1kp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C9%2C6006%2C3980&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s now well recognised gambling can cause <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(20)30289-9/fulltext">significant</a> <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341046047_Gambling_and_gambling-related_harm_Recent_World_Health_Organisation_initiatives">harm</a>. However, many countries have done much more to reduce gambling-related harm than we have in Australia. </p>
<p>Here’s four examples of how other countries have responded to the challenge of growing gambling-related harm, drawn from my <a href="https://www.churchilltrust.com.au/fellow/angela-rintoul-vic-2018/">research</a> on the topic.</p>
<h2>Setting loss limits for everyone</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8278013/">Norway</a> replaced harmful high-intensity slot machines — similar to poker machines seen in many clubs, pubs and casinos in Australia — with machines that require users to register their <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10899-009-9127-y">gambling</a>. </p>
<p>For example, every <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/add.13172">Norwegian</a> using one of these machines has to create a registered account, with maximum limits set on how much you can lose per day and per month, and the capacity to set a lower limit than the universal maximum.</p>
<p>These kind of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319480788_Pre-commitment_systems_for_electronic_gambling_machines_Preventing_harm_and_improving_consumer_protection">pre-commitment systems</a> help prevent harm, and help people keep track of their losses.</p>
<p>Finland also has <a href="https://www.churchilltrust.com.au/fellow/angela-rintoul-vic-2018/">universal loss limits</a> (meaning limits on how much can be bet per day or per month) to prevent “catastrophic” losses for online gambling. </p>
<p>There’s no reason Australia couldn’t follow suit, if it wanted to.</p>
<p>Victoria already offers a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319480788_Pre-commitment_systems_for_electronic_gambling_machines_Preventing_harm_and_improving_consumer_protection">voluntary pre-commitment scheme</a>, which allows people to opt-in if they want to set a loss limit. It’s been <a href="https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2020-02/apo-nid277096.pdf">shown</a> to be ineffective, partly because it is optional. A universal scheme that applied to all would work much better to reduce gambling-related harm.</p>
<h2>Reducing the stakes</h2>
<p>In 2019, the British government responded to reports of a surge in harms related to slot machines known as “<a href="https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745340395/vicious-games/">fixed odds betting terminals</a>” (FOBTs). This is a kind of electronic roulette game that sits in betting stores in the UK. </p>
<p>Despite the gambling industry, as one <a href="http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06946/SN06946.pdf">report</a> put it, “disputing a causal link between FOBTs and problem gambling”, harm-reduction <a href="https://tribunemag.co.uk/2019/01/fixed-odds-betting-terminals-fobts?fbclid=IwAR34lnRbyLtjrVAeNRgMiGMMZNCyobBMk-XANcLYLABVXvxr08oAMMldf6U">campaigners</a> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/nov/17/killing-machines-tracey-crouch-on-why-she-resigned-as-minister-over-fobts">publicised</a> <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-48804945">stories</a> of people bereaved by gambling-related suicide. </p>
<p>In response to subsequent public concern, the government <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/nov/14/government-u-turn-expected-on-fobt-maximum-stake">reduced stakes</a> on FOBTs from £100 to £2. </p>
<p>In other words, the maximum amount you could lose per spin shrank from £100 to £2. </p>
<p>By contrast, in Australia in 2010, the Productivity Commission <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/gambling-2010/report">recommended</a> a reduction in the maximum stake on poker machines in clubs and hotels from $10 to $1. </p>
<p>A decade later, this has yet to be tried, although most Australian states (other than NSW and the ACT) have reduced the maximum loss per spin to <a href="https://www.vcglr.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/Australian_New_Zealand_Gaming_Machine_National_Standard_2016.PDF">$5</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414279/original/file-20210803-25-n3e5vm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman contemplates credit card debt." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414279/original/file-20210803-25-n3e5vm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414279/original/file-20210803-25-n3e5vm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414279/original/file-20210803-25-n3e5vm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414279/original/file-20210803-25-n3e5vm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414279/original/file-20210803-25-n3e5vm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414279/original/file-20210803-25-n3e5vm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414279/original/file-20210803-25-n3e5vm.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"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Other countries have shown reforms that reduce gambling-related harm are possible.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Reducing reliance on gambling revenues</h2>
<p>The gambling industry often <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-research-shows-pokie-operators-are-not-nearly-as-charitable-as-they-claim-124085">argues</a> harms from gambling are offset by its <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14459795.2016.1263353?casa_token=lxxYVjtVpn4AAAAA%3ACgLYv9J37ag8AFybPO_QzaJHz3XzpePdtqo9Y3Bb9VPIfLp-kM9xGZ4vGrUKH2cNIlruqZhKzBY_1eI">donations to good causes</a>.</p>
<p>Many Nordic countries also divert gambling revenue to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/16066359.2019.1663834?scroll=top&needAccess=true&journalCode=iart20">good causes</a> such as not-for-profit organisations providing child protection services or <a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/norway-won-winter-olympics/">Olympic</a> teams.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/finlands_gambling_problem_a_robin_hood_system_in_reverse/10329304">Finland</a>, over 69% of gambling revenue goes to good causes (though even this is coming under <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1455072520968024">scrutiny</a>).</p>
<p>In Australia, donations to good causes are around <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16066359.2019.1663834">2% of revenues</a>. The community benefits from gambling are tiny. </p>
<p>Australian state and territory governments rely on gambling taxes for around 6% of their <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/government/taxation-revenue-australia/latest-release#data-download">state tax revenue</a>.</p>
<p>This may pose a challenge to reform; any significant reduction in harm will <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/setting-limits-9780198817321?cc=jp&lang=en&">reduce revenues</a>. </p>
<p>Finland is achieving <a href="https://iclg.com/practice-areas/gambling-laws-and-regulations/finland">reform</a> by introducing it <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1455072520968024">incrementally</a>, allowing the reduction in revenue to be managed over time.</p>
<h2>A national regulator</h2>
<p>Australia’s fragmented system, where gambling is regulated at state and territory levels, is another challenge.</p>
<p>National strategies to prioritise action and coordinate efforts can help align responses. A <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/communities-and-vulnerable-people-programs-services-gambling/national-consumer-protection-framework-for-online-wagering">national regulator</a> could assist in implementing and strengthening existing responses. </p>
<p>The standardised system of regulation in the countries I researched was a feature that could be adopted in Australia, which has a relatively small population.</p>
<h2>An opportunity for reform</h2>
<p>The recent <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/what-we-learned-about-crown-from-the-nsw-inquiry-20210222-p574sr.html">Bergin inquiry</a> into whether Crown was fit to hold a license in a new casino in Barangaroo and ongoing royal commissions in <a href="https://theconversation.com/illegal-improper-unacceptable-revelations-about-crowns-casino-culture-just-get-worse-164084">Victoria</a> and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-26/regulator-may-seek-to-cancel-crown-perth-casino-licence/100323118">Western Australia</a> continue to expose flaws in the provision of gambling with Australia’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/responsible-gambling-a-bright-shining-lie-crown-resorts-and-others-can-no-longer-hide-behind-162089">largest casino operator</a>. </p>
<p>These overseas examples show there are many effective ways to reduce gambling harm in casinos, clubs, pubs and suburban communities. </p>
<p>We are fortunate at least in Australia that online gambling has been limited to wagering and lotteries; in many countries slot machines and casino table games are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8278013/">available</a> online 24/7. </p>
<p>Australia has an opportunity now to reduce harm by considering approaches implemented elsewhere.</p>
<p><em>If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone
you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Gambling Helpline on 1800 858 858.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165387/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Angela does not accept funding from the gambling industry. She has been employed on grants funded by the Australian Research Council and the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation. She has contributed to studies funded by Australian Institute of Family Studies, Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety, and the Australian Commonwealth Department of Social Services. Angela has received travel funding from the Turkish Green Crescent Society, Monash University and the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.</span></em></p>
Many countries have done much more to reduce gambling-related harm than we have in Australia.
Angela Rintoul, Senior Research Fellow, Federation University Australia
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/163036
2021-06-30T15:45:02Z
2021-06-30T15:45:02Z
How football and COVID-19 are both triggers for a surge in online gambling
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409088/original/file-20210630-21-sar1gt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=39%2C0%2C4415%2C2537&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-services-on-internet-gambling-website-1244344783">Shutterstock/Xavier Lorenzo</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Euro 2020 is one of the biggest events in football, a festival of goal scoring and glory seeking – and for many, yet another opportunity to gamble.</p>
<p>Anyone following the action – whether it’s at a stadium, on TV or online – will never be far away from an advert inviting them to place a bet on what may or may not happen next. How about a quick punt on the next player to score or which match will go to penalties? </p>
<p>Many of these suggestions come with the seemingly attractive offer of a free bet, just a click away on your nearest connected device. Sport is now inextricably linked to gambling, and the industry’s major operators have a multi-screen presence designed to make placing bets as easy and convenient as possible. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/news/2019/aug/D1261_Horne_DEMOS_Management%20report_2019_web.pdf">report</a>, published in 2019, showed clear spikes in adverts around matches during the World Cup of 2018, as well as quick links to betting opportunities. </p>
<p>These trends are likely to have been repeated during Euro 2020 – but fuelled this time by new habits formed, as our <a href="https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s10899-021-10029-y?sharing_token=dGnW0ff4BRbEQVUEGqpfOPe4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY5h7qw5fGh-kh0y9YawVdUNAx_5ZbsM-7wx2LDObBLFN05zABfyll7J1p5SEWz0an35ywnYEcDNhBPhPzQIdcktlx_XubkQk4mxBX9vgkTQtD6fOH2EIMaaJW2Cwq2fOaw%3D">latest research shows</a>, during the pandemic.</p>
<p>The research, undertaken with participants of the <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/alspac/about/">Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children</a>, clearly shows how the first lockdown in England sparked a peak in online gambling among younger adults. And while the reduction in live sport and the closure of betting shops reduced overall gambling, online betting went up sixfold for regular gamblers. This included bingo, poker and casino games. </p>
<p>We found that younger men who gambled regularly were much more likely to go online to gamble during the lockdown than they had been in the past. Respondents who only gambled occasionally were still more than twice as likely than before to gamble online. </p>
<p>Our previous work from 2018 used language analysis computer programmes to estimate the age of Twitter users from publicly available data. We found that young people – including children, who are supposedly barred from gambling by law – avidly followed gambling accounts on Twitter. </p>
<p>They actively engaged with tweets from gambling operators by liking, replying and sharing. This kind of “snowball” advertising - where users (of any age) loop in their friends to gambling content – is almost impossible to control. Currently, there are no specific social media advertising regulations. </p>
<p>With international and domestic football matches – and other sports – in full swing again, we can only expect online gambling to soar. And predictably, it will be vulnerable people who suffer the most. </p>
<p>Our more recent study showed that those who struggled financially before the pandemic were more likely to gamble during lockdown. The research also indicated that drinking heavily (defined as more than six units in a session, roughly equivalent to three pints of beer) at least once a week, was strongly linked to regular gambling among both men and women. </p>
<p>The connection between binge drinking and regular gambling is of particular concern, as they are both addictive and can have serious health and social consequences. With the wider availability of gambling through different online channels, vulnerable groups can get caught in a destructive cycle. </p>
<p>The prevalence of home working is likely to exacerbate this, as the temptation to gamble online, amplified by clever advertising, is always there. </p>
<h2>Player power</h2>
<p>This kind of advertising will hopefully be addressed in some form later this year, after the UK government’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-launches-review-to-ensure-gambling-laws-are-fit-for-digital-age">review of the Gambling Act 2005</a>. One remit of the review is to consider the effects of gambling advertising, acknowledging the link between sport and betting. </p>
<p>Maybe it will work out a way to reflect the view of the public. According to a <a href="https://www.rsph.org.uk/about-us/news/public-backs-total-gambling-advertising-ban.html">recent survey</a> almost two-thirds (63%) of adults and over half (53%) of young people support a total ban on adverts for gambling products. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OvYkPG3kYVU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>It is unlikely, though, that we will see any major changes in time for the next major footballing event – the World Cup in November 2022. So perhaps we should look to some of football’s big names to make a stand instead. </p>
<p>When Cristiano Ronaldo moved a fizzy drink bottle at the start of a Euro 2020 press conference, he reportedly <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2021/06/16/coca-cola-cristiano-ronaldo-protest-slashes-billions-off-market-value-14780221/">wiped $US4 billion (£2.84 billion) off</a> Coca-Cola’s market value. Paul Pogba seemed to show a similar kind of disapproval when he <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/2021-06-16/paul-pogba-moves-heineken-bottle-away-day-after-cristiano-ronaldo-shuns-coca-cola">moved a bottle of beer</a>. </p>
<p>Players and clubs have enormous influence. Currently, <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12254657/premier-league-clubs-to-discuss-shirt-sponsors-featuring-gambling-companies">eight Premier League clubs</a> have betting company logos on their shirts. Maybe the time has come for the stars themselves to try to break the link between the beautiful game and the ugly consequences of gambling.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163036/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Agnes Nairn has received funding from GambleAware, an independent charity that has a framework agreement with the Gambling Commission (the GB gambling regulator) to deliver the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms within the context of arrangements based on voluntary donations from the gambling industry. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sharon Collard receives funding from GambleAware, an independent charity that has a framework agreement with the Gambling Commission (the GB gambling regulator) to deliver the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms within the context of arrangements based on voluntary donations from the gambling industry.</span></em></p>
Over the course of Euro 2020, fans across the world will be counting the cost of lost bets.
Agnes Nairn, Professor of Marketing, University of Bristol
Sharon Collard, Professor of Personal Finance, University of Bristol
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/132876
2020-04-01T02:06:13Z
2020-04-01T02:06:13Z
Most community bids to block pokies fail – the law is stacked against them too
<p>Most Australians know you never end up winning on the pokies. What Australians might not know is that the odds of winning a case against a poker-machine proposal in their local neighbourhood are very poor too. My <a href="http://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/view/rmit:162956">recent study</a> shows the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) approved almost 90% of poker-machine licence applications that came before it.</p>
<p>Although the commission must consider the views of the local council when making decisions, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-03/city-of-casey-decision-on-new-pokies/12018258">council opposition rarely stops a proposal</a>. These cases are hard to fight and win. They are very expensive and demanding. Should a Victorian council brave the fight, the <a href="http://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/view/rmit:162956">odds of losing are as high as 80%</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>Not all councils have the resources or appetite for such a battle. This is a problem for councils and communities. Their frustration about the lack of local influence on regulatory decision-making adds to their concerns about gambling harm in their community.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/323444/original/file-20200326-133007-1ly88nm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/323444/original/file-20200326-133007-1ly88nm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323444/original/file-20200326-133007-1ly88nm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323444/original/file-20200326-133007-1ly88nm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323444/original/file-20200326-133007-1ly88nm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323444/original/file-20200326-133007-1ly88nm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323444/original/file-20200326-133007-1ly88nm.png?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">Even when councils oppose an application for a poker-machine venue, the applicant wins up to 80% of the time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Peter Hermes Furian/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>There’s a reason councils rarely win</h2>
<p>The question is why are these cases so hard to win? Especially when the Victorian regulatory system – under the <a href="http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/gra2003190/">Gambling Regulation Act 2003</a> and the <a href="http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/paea1987254/">Planning and Environment Act 1987</a> – specifically acknowledges the importance of local influence on the distribution of poker machines.</p>
<p>Regulatory and quasi-court procedures are notoriously complex and resource-demanding; this includes poker-machine regulation. However, less attention and scrutiny have been given to the assumptions and principles underpinning gambling policy and procedures. This is the source of councils’ difficulty in winning a case against poker machines.</p>
<p>The VCGLR approves poker machine licences if it <a href="http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/gra2003190/s3.3.7.html">considers</a> the “net economic and social impact of approval will not be detrimental to the well-being of the community”. This “<a href="https://www.vcglr.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/key_factors_in_deciding_egm_applications_-_2019_1.pdf">no net detriment test</a>” involves a guesstimate of potential costs and benefits in relation to a proposal’s overall community impact.</p>
<p>The premise is that harm can be absorbed into benefits to serve the community as a whole – the majority of people. It’s a utilitarian approach to gambling policy that implies social harm can be costed. This means the nation’s joy of gambling can outweigh vulnerable people’s misery.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-flashing-lights-and-catchy-tunes-make-gamblers-take-more-risks-105852">How flashing lights and catchy tunes make gamblers take more risks</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Essentially, the VCGLR’s task is (indirectly) to estimate “how many happy gamblers does it take to make up for suicide, bankruptcy, domestic violence?”. All these <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/the-social-cost-of-gambling-to-victoria-121/">social harms</a> have been <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/assessing-gambling-related-harm-in-victoria-a-public-health-perspective-69">associated with gambling</a>. </p>
<p>This is crudely put, but it’s the social contract we enter into when accepting a cost-benefit approach to gambling policy.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/areas-with-more-poker-machines-have-higher-rates-of-domestic-violence-66982">Areas with more poker machines have higher rates of domestic violence</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Apart from the ethical dilemma involved here, the cost-benefit approach to assessing poker-machine applications is highly problematic for local councils. </p>
<p>Social harm is notoriously difficult to cost. That makes it difficult to argue and easier to dismiss. The concerns that are most important to local communities cannot effectively be tabled on the regulatory agenda. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-research-shows-pokie-operators-are-not-nearly-as-charitable-as-they-claim-124085">New research shows pokie operators are not nearly as charitable as they claim</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The utilitarian approach is harmful</h2>
<p>Victoria’s regulatory system keeps the public debate focused on utility. The ethical basis of poker machines is neither addressed nor debated. </p>
<p>Getting better at costing gambling harm is not going to solve this problem for local councils. An assessment of utility implies the most vulnerable or disadvantaged members of a community must accept the harm burden of gambling so others can have more in the form the freedom to gamble and redistributed benefits - for example through state taxes derived from foker machine gambling. </p>
<p>Most of these poker machine taxes are drawn from these lower socio-economic areas. The inferior social and economic infrastructure of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/who-wins-from-big-gambling-in-australia-22930">disadvantaged areas</a> where <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023%2FA%3A1016847305942">pokies tend to be concentrated</a> adds to the injustice. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/who-wins-from-big-gambling-in-australia-22930">Who wins from 'Big Gambling' in Australia?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The broad distribution of poker machines and associated <a href="https://theconversation.com/pokies-sport-and-racing-harm-41-of-monthly-gamblers-survey-81486">high levels of harm</a> are evidence of the failure of this cost-benefit approach. Regulatory decision-making isn’t properly assessing the real cost and harm poker machines cause. </p>
<p>The current approach fails to give enough weight to local concerns and meaningful participation and representation. As a result, the system falls short of meeting public expectations of fair and just regulation.</p>
<p>If councils and communities are to get a fairer go, a different policy approach is needed. It needs to be able to better consider the impacts of poker machines on local communities and social justice more generally. It’s time to rethink the use of cost-benefit analysis as the basis for gambling policy - and social policy more broadly. </p>
<p>Gaming regulation across Australia currently protects a very fragile justification for poker machines as legitimate social and economic infrastructure. It serves the gambling industry and state interests better than the well-being of local communities. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/vital-signs-why-governments-get-addicted-to-smoking-gambling-and-other-vices-115254">Vital Signs: why governments get addicted to smoking, gambling and other vices</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132876/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mette Hotker 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>
How many happy gamblers, jobs and profits does it take to make up for the suicides, bankruptcies and domestic violence? Regulators must make cost-benefit guesstimates when considering applications.
Mette Hotker, Lecturer in Social Planning, RMIT University
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>
</strong>
</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/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>
<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>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>
<iframe id="datawrapper-chart-TRYFd" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/TRYFd/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important;" height="515" width="100%"></iframe>
<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>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
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>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<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/86256
2017-11-01T10:25:47Z
2017-11-01T10:25:47Z
More than just financial loss, the social impact of gambling cannot be underestimated
<p>The UK government is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/oct/31/uk-government-cracks-down-fixed-odds-betting-terminals-fobt">mulling a review of the regulations on fixed odds betting terminals</a> commonly found in pubs and betting shops, in order to reduce the risk of problem gambling developing. </p>
<p>Based on a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/655969/Consultation_on_proposals_for_changes_to_Gaming_Machines_and_Social_Responsibility_Measures.pdf">report</a> from the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, this would see the maximum stake gamblers can bet on the machines reduced from £300 a minute to between £2 and £50. </p>
<p>Given that the Gambling Commission, the industry regulator, found 43% of people who use the machines are either problem or at-risk gamblers, some such as opposition Labour MP Tom Watson, have described this as “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/oct/31/uk-government-cracks-down-fixed-odds-betting-terminals-fobt">a squandered opportunity</a>”. Critics believe the proposals don’t go far enough to protect people from fixed odds betting terminals, sometimes described as “the crack cocaine of gambling” due to their addictive nature.</p>
<p>Harmful gambling can have crippling financial and social effects on the gambler, their friends and family. In the first <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/10197/6796">national study of the social impact of harmful gambling in Ireland</a>, we examined how it affected recovering gamblers, their families and friends. We also heard stories from counsellors and those who provide services to help gamblers. Talking to people from all walks of life, from different age groups and different economic backgrounds, we found that a common theme was the devastating social effects gambling had on people’s lives.</p>
<p>In particular, we learned that gamblers were often exposed to gambling at an early age, for example by collecting betting proceeds for a family member, or watching adults place bets. This then led them to participate in gambling before the legal age of 18. </p>
<p>Gamblers reported gambling in secret, isolating themselves from family and friends to feed their addiction. As relationships deteriorated, the gambler’s behaviour would only be discovered when they were no longer able to maintain a double life, such as failing to intercept unpaid bills that had been part of trying to maintain a facade of normality. The availability of technologies, such as smartphones, means that it’s possible to conceal a secret gambling habit for years, before financial and emotional crises reach breaking point.</p>
<p>For young people, such technology exacerbates the potential harm of gambling. The participants in our studies frequently spoke of their concern for young people and their risk of addiction due to the availability of gambling apps and websites easily accessible from their smartphones. And while there is supposedly agreement <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/news/gambling-committee-chief-opposes-betting-machines-1.898604">not to offer fixed odds betting terminals in Ireland</a>, some gamblers reported that they had got themselves into trouble using them.</p>
<h2>Gambling as a public health issue</h2>
<p>The social harms that stem from addictive gambling are not only for the gambler. For example, the wives of gamblers in our study reported how they could sense there was a problem, but believed they were struggling with marital issues, rather than the fallout from gambling addiction. Parents and children of gamblers reported that they could no longer trust the gambler, that they could no longer leave money unattended, and that the gambler had become someone they did not recognise or understand.</p>
<p>In Ireland, the legislation around regulating gambling is outdated. The regulations that might mitigate harms for the individual and for society have not been introduced, and – with support from the <a href="http://research.ie/">Irish Research Council</a> and Ireland’s <a href="https://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/home.aspx">Department of Social Protection</a> and <a href="http://www.justice.ie/">Department of Justice and Equality</a> – our research sought to provide the evidence base to help draw up the necessary social policies. </p>
<p>The government indicated its intention to move forward with legislation in early 2017, and my <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/10197/6796">research</a> and its <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/10197/8612">follow-up study</a> should inform politicians how to address the social harms of gambling – the costs of which the <a href="https://www.publichealth.ie/files/file/Developing%20a%20population%20approach%20to%20gambling.pdf">Institute of Public Health in Ireland</a> has estimated to be greater than government revenue from gambling taxes. </p>
<h2>Listen to what gamblers say they need</h2>
<p>The participants interviewed said there is a need for open discussion about gambling and the risk it can pose to individuals and their families. Gambling addiction carries with it significant social stigma, shame and isolation – talking openly about its effects can change how we approach this issue.</p>
<p>Interviewees suggested a variety of measures government could take, including regulations that would protect the most vulnerable to gambling addiction, and particularly in regulating how technology now enables secretive gambling. They also identified the need for support that would help prevent and address the harmful effects of gambling addiction. </p>
<p>While there are addiction treatment centres around the country which include services to address harmful gambling, there is little help for those affected by a partner’s or family member’s gambling. The <a href="http://www.therisefoundation.ie/">RISE Foundation</a> is a notable exception, providing treatment for the families of those affected by a variety of addictions. But it is based in Dublin only, and family members may no longer have the financial resources to access treatment and support there.</p>
<p>There is an urgent need for a unified, transparent approach to tackling gambling’s harms in Ireland – a national strategy that encompasses public and private sector organisations, similar to those that target alcohol and drug addiction. The UK has the <a href="http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/home.aspx">Gambling Commission</a> and NHS <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/addiction/Pages/gamblingaddiction.aspx">support and advice</a>; Ireland has nothing comparable.</p>
<p>Despite the lack of progress from government on the issue there have been benefits to this research: uncovering the extent of gambling’s social harms has helped to get people talking about gambling. For example, in September 2017 the <a href="http://www.guengl.eu/">European United Left/Nordic Green Left</a> European Parliamentary Group sponsored a one day conference in Dublin to direct the spotlight on the subject and emphasise the need for updated legislation. </p>
<p>Within the Republic, <a href="http://www.problemgambling.ie/">Problem Gambling Ireland</a> recently opened its doors to lobby against the spread of harmful gambling and to provide referral services to those affected by gambling. These may seem like small steps, but it is small steps that lead the charge for change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86256/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Crystal Fulton receives funding from the Department of Justice & Equality and from the Irish Research Council, with support from the Department of Social Protection.
</span></em></p>
Ireland is the ‘wild west’ of gambling, with little regulation to protect people from the potential social harm. This needs to change.
Crystal Fulton, Associate Professor of Information & Communication Studies, University College Dublin
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/81486
2017-08-01T20:15:28Z
2017-08-01T20:15:28Z
Pokies, sport and racing harm 41% of monthly gamblers: survey
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180302/original/file-20170731-15340-1n7fp71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">About 39.1% of Australians typically gamble on a monthly basis: most of them buy lottery products.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Mick Tsikas</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For the first time, the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey has turned its attention to gambling, revealing that around 1.4 million Australians are directly harmed by the activity.</p>
<h2>What did HILDA find?</h2>
<p>Australian adults <a href="http://www.qgso.qld.gov.au/products/reports/aus-gambling-stats/">spend $A1,240</a> on gambling per year. This is well above <a href="https://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2017/02/daily-chart-4">global averages</a>, and nearly twice as much as the next country on the list.</p>
<p>HILDA shows most Australians are not very regular gamblers. About 39.1% of Australians typically gamble on a monthly basis. Most of them buy lottery products.</p>
<p>However, for those who do engage with more harmful gambling products, such as poker machines and wagering, the results are troubling. HILDA confirms that rates of harm among people gambling monthly on specific harmful products are much higher than for more benign lottery products.</p>
<p>Among the overall population, HILDA data suggest that about 1.1% of the adult population – about 200,000 people – score eight or more on the <a href="https://www.problemgambling.ca/EN/ResourcesForProfessionals/pages/problemgamblingseverityindexpgsi.aspx">Problem Gambling Severity Index</a> (a screening tool for gambling problems). These people are generally categorised in Australia as “problem gamblers”. </p>
<p>HILDA’s estimates are higher than most recent <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.13216/full">prevalence studies</a>, which use telephone interviews. HILDA uses face-to-face interviews involving quite sophisticated interviewing techniques. It’s thus likely to be more reliable than other <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-017-4413-6">prevalence studies</a>.</p>
<p>Regardless, <a href="https://www.responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/information-and-resources/research/recent-research/assessing-gambling-related-harm-in-victoria-a-public-health-perspective">new evidence</a> suggests that problem gambling is not limited to those who score eight or more on the Problem Gambling Severity Index. In total, more harm accrues to people in the “moderate” and “low” risk groups. That’s because there are many more people in those groups, and all experience some degree of harm.</p>
<p>The HILDA survey shows that another 8% of the Australian population experience some harm from gambling.</p>
<p>For each “problem gambler”, six other people <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14459795.2017.1331252">are affected</a>. For each “moderate risk” gambler, about three others are affected. And for each “low risk” gambler, an additional person is affected.</p>
<p>If these estimates are applied to the HILDA data, this suggests gambling adversely affects more than 3.3 million Australians, in addition to the 1.4 million directly affected.</p>
<p>The most harmful forms of gambling for monthly gamblers are poker, casino games and private betting. However, these activities are rare. Just 1% or so of the population typically gamble in these ways monthly. Thus the estimates of the harm incurred by these types of gambling are unreliable, although certainly high. </p>
<p>Gambling on lotteries is clearly a much less risky pastime. Those who typically gamble on lotteries monthly have a “problem gambler” rate only marginally higher than the overall population (1.2%), and 86.8% experience no gambling harms. Harm to this group may accrue from other forms of gambling rather than from lotteries. </p>
<p>Of those who typically use poker machines monthly, however, estimates are more robust. Among the 8% of adults who typically use pokies once a month or more, 6.2% are categorised as “problem gamblers”, and another 35.3% experience some level of harm. </p>
<p>About 3% of the adult population typically bet on sports monthly. This group has a “problem gambler” rate of 6.7%, along with another 34.2% who experience some level of harm. A similar pattern emerges with horse or dog wagering. Of this group, 5.2% are serious problem gamblers and 35.9% are harmed to some extent.</p>
<p>Thus, of monthly pokie users, 41.5% experience at least some harm. For those who bet on sports, it’s 40.9%. And for those who bet on racing, 41.1% experience harm.</p>
<h2>HILDA and pokies</h2>
<p>HILDA also asked people about their enjoyment of life. The results demonstrate that those experiencing gambling harm generally have a lower average score for this than those who don’t. Enjoyment of life for those scoring eight or more on the Problem Gambling Severity Index is, unsurprisingly, below those in other categories.</p>
<p>This is an important finding. Pokies in particular are concentrated in <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/16066359.2012.727507">areas of stress</a> – places where people are socioeconomically disadvantaged or experiencing stress of other kinds.</p>
<p>For example, outer-suburban areas often have a significant concentration of pokies and high losses. People in these suburbs are not necessarily socioeconomically disadvantaged. They may, however, experience stress from such phenomena as long travel times, the difficulties of managing two-income families, significant mortgages, and childcare issues. </p>
<p>It is probable that pokies are concentrated in stressed areas because they provide some relief for people living under difficult or stressful circumstances. HILDA provides some support for this view. </p>
<p>Causality for reduced enjoyment of life and gambling harm may be difficult to disentangle. But as HILDA progresses, we can expect to see a finer-grained view of gambling harm and its demographic distribution. This will provide a much-improved tool for regulators and policymakers to consider how to reduce harm.</p>
<p>The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation recently rejected an application for additional pokies in a <a href="https://www.vcglr.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/Noble_Park_Football_Social_Club_-_EGM_increase_-_Decision_and_reasons_for_decision.pdf">southeast Melbourne local government area</a>. It did this in substantial part because <a href="https://theconversation.com/areas-with-more-poker-machines-have-higher-rates-of-domestic-violence-66982">evidence demonstrated</a> a relationship between intimate partner violence and pokie concentration: the more spent on pokies, the greater the incidence of such violence.</p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/rvuhM/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" width="100%" height="500"></iframe>
<h2>Using data to inform decisions</h2>
<p>Because HILDA collects data across multiple domains, it will allow researchers to examine the correlates of gambling, and explore how these relate to gambling behaviour and harms.</p>
<p>The reverse of this is also true. Gambling has impacts on many aspects of life – including employment, income and wealth.</p>
<p>The HILDA report provides a summary of key findings. However, continuing to ask about gambling over time will allow a better understanding of how people engage and disengage with gambling activities. It will also support a better understanding of how, and in what circumstances, gambling harm accrues. </p>
<p>As better and more detailed data are collected, regulatory decision-making and policy development can be significantly enhanced.</p>
<p>We now have a better understanding of how much harm gambling causes. HILDA can improve our understanding of where this is concentrated, what forms are most likely to cause it, and how it can be prevented or minimised.</p>
<p>Such a mainstreaming of gambling data collection will help maximise the benefits that gambling may provide, while minimising the harms. That represents a significant development.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This piece is <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/hilda-2017-41279">part of a series</a> on the recent release of HILDA survey data.</em></p>
<p><em>Read more:</em></p>
<p><a href="http://theconversation.com/home-ownership-falling-debts-rising-its-looking-grim-for-the-under-40s-81619"><em>Home ownership falling, debts rising – it’s looking grim for the under 40s</em></a></p>
<p><a href="http://theconversation.com/australians-want-more-children-than-they-have-so-are-we-in-the-midst-of-a-demographic-crisis-81547"><em>Australians want more children than they have, so are we in the midst of a demographic crisis?</em></a></p>
<p><a href="http://theconversation.com/12-charts-on-what-our-work-and-family-life-looks-like-81897"><em>Men still prefer mothers to stay at home: 12 charts on attitudes to work and family</em></a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81486/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 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 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>
Gambling has impacts on many aspects of life – including employment, income and wealth. The release of HILDA’s latest survey provides more evidence to help inform decisions on gambling policy.
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/77781
2017-05-16T01:07:36Z
2017-05-16T01:07:36Z
Banning early evening gaming ads on TV is like being ‘a little bit pregnant’
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169417/original/file-20170516-7001-shlrmj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">While gaming advertising will be banned before 8.30pm, the ban doesn't extend to perimeter advertising or on-air mentions of betting odds.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/438222940?src=FHwp_8Ad-sdzoX-154CHkg-1-0&size=medium_jpg">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Early this month, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull made his family friendly announcement that advertising for gaming, including sports betting, would be banned from television and radio <a href="http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/media/turnbull-announces-plan-to-restrict-tv-gambling-ads-to-protect-kids/news-story/d7f9134e6d44f2db1c227674c0f10fe3">before 8.30pm</a> each night, plainly a message about reducing exposure to children. </p>
<p>The “siren to siren” ban, which will cover all sports broadcasts on TV and radio except racing, will start five minutes before matches start and end five minutes after full time.</p>
<p>We don’t know when this will start, but you can probably get low odds somewhere on implementation taking as long as possible.</p>
<p>Just as you can’t be “a little bit pregnant”, you can’t have a partial ban.</p>
<p>Turnbull’s announcement said nothing about on-ground and perimeter advertising, TV commentators and their guests mentioning betting odds or the many sneaky ways direct advertising bans were subverted by the masters of the art, Big Tobacco.</p>
<h2>No kid watches sport after 8.30pm, right?</h2>
<p>Just take a nanosecond to think about what has been promised. Yes, the policy will take direct advertising of gambling out of pre-8.30pm sport. But last time I looked, the State of Origin, all day/night cricket, major world events like the World Cup and the Olympic Games, and Grand Prix events all run well after 8.30pm.</p>
<p>While most seven-year-olds may be tucked in bed before 8.30pm, many older kids stay up much later. So picture the living rooms across Australia as armies of parents say to their 12-year-olds, “Look I know it’s the decider State of Origin match and the game kicked-off only 15 minutes ago, but the TV is going off now because the betting ads are starting up in a minute.”</p>
<p>That’s just certain to work very, very well. Perhaps exactly as well as the gaming industry’s public support for the package would predict.</p>
<p>Former Labor front bencher Stephen Conroy, now with <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/labor-powerbroker-stephen-conroy-joins-new-gambling-lobby-20161207-gt6391.html">Responsible Wagering Australia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SkyNewsAust/status/860699847178960897">told Sky News</a> that Sports Bet “absolutely welcomed” the new package. </p>
<p>This should set cynicism meters off the dial. If this move had even the remotest chance of having any impact on the betting industry’s bottom lines, it would fight it tooth and claw, in the way we saw with tobacco plain packaging.</p>
<h2>Gamble responsibly</h2>
<p>The relentless TV betting ad postscripts that remind us to “always gamble responsibly” are as sincere as Big Tobacco urging smokers to smoke lightly. </p>
<p>The 2010 <a href="http://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/gambling-2009/report">Productivity Commission report</a> on gambling in Australia estimated that problem gamblers contributed about 40% of gaming revenue via poker machines. The report identified about 115,000 Australians as “problem gamblers” with a further 280,000 people at “moderate risk” of being a problem gambler.</p>
<p>There is no definitive national estimate of how common problem gambling is among people who bet on sports. But a <a href="http://www.gamblingandracing.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/846901/2014-Survey-on-Gambling,-Health-and-Wellbeing-in-the-ACT-.pdf">2014 study</a> in the ACT indicated rates of problem gambling among internet gamblers were three times greater than for gamblers in general and on a par with rates for people gambling on poker machines or on racing.</p>
<p>The bottom line is that problem gamblers are the backbone of the gaming industry’s fortunes. The industry would be devastated if these fortunes somehow dried up.</p>
<h2>Incremental tobacco advertising bans</h2>
<p>The history of restricting tobacco advertising is likely to point to what’s ahead in reforms on how gambling promotion.</p>
<p>The last time a direct tobacco advertisement was seen or heard on Australian TV or radio was in August 1976. The Whitlam government introduced the policy, which was continued by the Fraser government. Direct cigarette advertising on radio and television was phased out over the three years between September 1, 1973 and September 1, 1976.</p>
<p>The decision was framed as a way of reducing the exposure of children to tobacco advertising. Obviously, the proposition was that kids were a prime target for tobacco companies and their advertising was a powerful way of conditioning interest in smoking in young people.</p>
<p>So, direct tobacco ads on TV and radio could help kids take up smoking. But the very same appeals in ads in print, on billboards, in shops and as sporting and cultural sponsorship apparently could not. This was the bizarre logic in governments at the time banning tobacco advertising in only selected media, but not across the board.</p>
<p>As ordinary commonsense and research highlighted the inanity of this policy, governments incrementally increased the number of media where cigarette ad bans applied. It took from September 1973 until April, 30 1996 (when tobacco sponsorship of cricket finally ended) for all forms of tobacco advertising and promotion to <a href="http://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-11-advertising/11-0-background">end in Australia</a>. That’s 22 years and 8 months from start to finish. </p>
<p>If we count branded packaging as a form of advertising (as the tobacco industry unequivocally agrees it is) then we need to add another 16 years and 7 months. That’s until plain packaging was implemented in December 2012. </p>
<p>Children seeing sports betting ads can’t participate in online gaming because they don’t have credit or debit cards. But they are a vital audience for the future of the industry. It is in the industry’s interests to beguile them about gaming as early and for as long as possible until the day they can open their first betting account.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77781/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
When is the upcoming ban on early evening TV sports betting ads not a real ban? When it’s a partial ban that ignores how real people watch sport.
Simon Chapman, Emeritus Professor in Public Health, University of Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/70574
2016-12-19T01:43:08Z
2016-12-19T01:43:08Z
Coles wants $1 maximum bets for pokies – so why won’t the pokie-makers play ball?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150626/original/image-20161218-28140-1u6vda9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Pokies are great money-spinners for hotels, clubs and casinos in Australia, and increasingly internationally.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Tracey Nearmy</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Wesfarmers, operator of Coles and other retail brands, <a href="http://www.afr.com/business/gambling/wesfarmers-stonewalled-on-push-for-1-pokies-20161218-gtdgge">reportedly wants to pursue</a> harm-prevention modifications to its poker machines. It has asked five pokie manufacturers, including Aristocrat Leisure, for help in trying out games with a maximum bet of A$1.</p>
<p>All have refused, apparently citing costs.</p>
<p>Like Woolworths, Coles – which operates the pokies through its hotels – is a major player in this space. It operates more than 3,000 machines in Queensland and South Australia. But, seemingly unlike Woolworths, Coles is concerned about these machines’ potential for harm.</p>
<h2>A true money-spinner</h2>
<p>Woolworths, through its subsidiary ALH Limited, <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/retail/poker-machine-reform-raises-stakes-for-woolworths-supermarket-chain-20160721-gqb4qz.html">operates</a> more than 12,000 pokies across Australia. Net revenue from these is around $1.1 billion per year; the business is a 75:25 partnership with the Mathieson family’s businesses.</p>
<p>Coles’ revenue from its machines is much lower – around $185 million. </p>
<p>Pokies are great money-spinners for hotels, clubs and casinos in Australia, and increasingly internationally. But the technology behind them is not particularly novel. Contemporary pokies are quite straightforward computers, albeit housed in a novel case and with a customised display.</p>
<p>What makes them different is their software, which uses well-established psychological principles to <a href="https://theconversation.com/bright-lights-big-losses-how-poker-machines-create-addicts-and-rob-them-blind-49143">make them “attractive”</a> to punters. </p>
<p>But the features that make pokies “attractive” also make them addictive. The Productivity Commission <a href="http://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/gambling-2009/report#contents">has estimated</a> that 42% of pokie revenue comes from people with a serious pokie addiction – and another 20% comes from those with a developing habit.</p>
<h2>Manufacturers have acted in the past</h2>
<p>Given pokies’ computerised basis, the manufacturers’ refusal to work with Coles is remarkable. </p>
<p>Like all companies in the business, Aristocrat Leisure prides itself on its <a href="https://www.aristocrat.com/innovation/">innovative capacity</a>. Through its then-European subsidiary Aristocrat Lotteries, Aristocrat developed and provided the Multix game terminal <a href="http://www.responsiblegambling.org/docs/discovery-2012/the-norwegian-story---with-a-happy-ending-.pdf?sfvrsn=12">to Norsk Tipping</a>, the Norwegian gambling operator, from 2008 onwards. Aristocrat <a href="http://www.gamingintelligence.com/manda/28191-playtech-completes-acquisition-of-aristocrat-lotteries">sold the business</a> in 2014.</p>
<p>The interesting aspect of the Multix terminal is that it was intended to provide a much safer and less harmful slot-machine-like product. These replaced the existing slots, which the Norwegian government nationalised and withdrew from operation in July 2007. </p>
<p>The machine provides a platform for multiple games, imposes a statutory limit on how much people can spend, and operates on an account-only basis. Users can track spending and reduce their daily limits if they want to be careful. Thus, it incorporates a host of consumer safety and harm minimisation/prevention measures.</p>
<p>Closer to home, the Victorian government <a href="http://www.betsafe.com.au/resources/gambling_articles/developments_in_responsible_gambling/">introduced</a> a reduced maximum bet limit and reduced load-up limits in 2009. Aristocrat, along with other manufacturers, had to find a solution for these new requirements. That wasn’t very difficult. </p>
<p>The game software required some alteration, and cabinet artwork had to be reconfigured in some cases. It cost somewhere in the tens of millions, but there were no publicly aired complaints and it was implemented smoothly. For a business that makes around $2.6 billion a year, that was small change.</p>
<p>The Tasmanian pokie industry has recently undergone a <a href="https://www.treasury.tas.gov.au/domino/dtf/dtf.nsf/LookupFiles/TGCprogress5July2013.pdf/$file/TGCprogress5July2013.pdf">similar transformation</a>, again without too much fuss.</p>
<p>Perhaps the reduction from $10 bets to $5 bets didn’t threaten the industry too much. And reducing the load-up limit from $9,949 to $1,000 in Victoria was a no-brainer.</p>
<h2>Why won’t the manufacturers play ball?</h2>
<p>There may be many reasons for the manufacturers’ refusal to agree to Coles’ request, but it is clear the vanguard for the Australian pokie industry lies in New South Wales – particularly with lobby group ClubsNSW. Club businesses <a href="http://www.qgso.qld.gov.au/products/reports/aus-gambling-stats/">operate</a> 70% of NSW’s 95,000 pokies. These made their operators $5.8 billion in 2014-15, of which the clubs made around $4 billion.</p>
<p>Pokie games are upgraded regularly, and the machines themselves tend to be turned over every five years or so. Even putting aside maintenance and upgrades, selling around 20,000 machines every year to clubs and pubs in NSW would earn the manufacturers around $500 million. So, losing a share of that business would be something to avoid.</p>
<p>A successful trial of $1 bets could demonstrate that pokie harm could be reduced. If that occurred, the revenue model for NSW club businesses <a href="https://www.crikey.com.au/2011/09/27/clubs-australia-campaignand-pokies-revenue/">that rely heavily</a> on pokie revenue would be rattled. </p>
<p>When the Productivity Commission recommended $1 maximum bets and pre-commitment as likely good responses to pokie addiction and harm, the gambling industry, led by ClubsNSW, <a href="http://insidestory.org.au/the-lobby-group-that-got-much-more-bang-for-its-buck">railed against them</a> as unproven and experimental.</p>
<p>That wasn’t true, <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10899-005-5560-8">even then</a>, as the industry well knows – it <a href="http://www.psych.usyd.edu.au/gambling/GIO_report.pdf">funded the original research</a>. But why not seize the opportunity to acquire some more useful evidence through a trial?</p>
<p>The harm pokies cause is widespread and tends to affect those already under significant stress. Moving to $1 bets is a good first step toward reducing this harm, and Coles acknowledges it can’t continue in this business unless it finds a way to reduce avoidable harm. </p>
<p>There are many other ways to limit harm, however, as the manufacturers know full well. They’ve been innovating to make their products as “attractive” as possible for the last 100 years or so.</p>
<p>If they wanted to, they could also lead the way in making machines safe, and fun. Perhaps the super profits might be wound back. The operators would be able to claim they really do care about their customers’ wellbeing. </p>
<p>Clearly, that’s a claim Coles is keen to make. The manufacturers? Maybe not so much.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70574/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>
The harm pokies cause is widespread and tends to affect those already under significant stress. $1 bets are a good first step toward reducing this harm.
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/64299
2016-08-24T02:34:07Z
2016-08-24T02:34:07Z
Gambling gallops on, stats reveal – but what can be done to curb its harms?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135237/original/image-20160824-30231-mryeca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sports betting in Australia has been growing rapidly in recent years – all that advertising seems to be paying off.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Julian Smith</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Data <a href="http://www.qgso.qld.gov.au/products/reports/aus-gambling-stats/">released late last week</a> reveal Australia’s gambling habit is growing as fast as ever. The Australian Gambling Statistics for 2014-15 show adult Australians, on average, lost A$1,242 a year on gambling. </p>
<p>The amount varies dramatically by state: in New South Wales the average loss was $1,518; in Tasmania, $762.</p>
<p>Most gambling expenditure goes on the pokies. Out of a total of $22.7 billion in 2014-15, $11.6 billion (51%) was lost on poker machines in pubs and clubs. </p>
<p>This also varies by state. In NSW, $5.7 billion was spent on such pokies. In Victoria, it was $2.6 billion. In Western Australia, nothing. </p>
<p>Casino gambling (which includes poker machines in casinos) grew by more than 16% in real terms (that is, adjusted for inflation) to $5.2 billion. The biggest chunk of that ($1.9 billion) was in Victoria. NSW placed second, with $1.4 billion in casino losses.</p>
<p>Surprisingly, growth rates in many gambling products have been strong. Sports betting has been growing rapidly in recent years – up to 17% per year to June 2014. </p>
<p>This growth was initially fuelled by a <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/news/horse-racing/court-ruling-a-spur-for-betfair/2008/03/27/1206207302919.html">High Court</a> decision in 2008 that allowed interstate bookies to operate in states where they didn’t hold a licence. It got a second kick from <a href="https://theconversation.com/tom-waterhouse-takes-the-money-what-now-for-gambling-in-australia-16893">a series of takeovers</a> by big overseas bookies. However, the latest figures show recent growth has eclipsed even the very strong growth rates of earlier years, with real growth of 28.2% to June 2015.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/sport-tom-waterhouse-and-the-gamblification-of-everyday-life-13170">All that advertising</a> seems to be paying off. Australians lost $814.6 million on sports betting last year.</p>
<p>The pokies are still the biggest game in town, however, and by a fair margin. Of the $1,518 lost per head in NSW, $978 (64.8%) went into pokies in pubs or clubs. This is unsurprising, given NSW has around 95,000 poker machines; 70% in clubs. The rest of Australia (bar WA) has to make do with the remaining 100,000.</p>
<h2>Is this growth a problem?</h2>
<p>Pokies are far and away the biggest cause of gambling harm. Around 75% or more of those directly experiencing harm from gambling <a href="http://www.problemgambling.gov.au/facts/">do so because of poker machines</a>. And most people don’t use them. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/information-and-resources/research/recent-research/study-of-gambling-and-health-in-victoria">recent study</a> found only about 16% of adult Victorians use pokies. What that means is the per-capita expenditure of actual users is not an average of $559 per year, but about $3,493. Among that group, a smaller proportion use pokies regularly, and that group sustains losses many times greater than the average. </p>
<p>Gambling harm is becoming more concentrated. A body of evidence now indicates it is <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/16066359.2012.727507">concentrated in highly stressed communities</a>, where disadvantage and poverty are turbo-charged by gambling losses.</p>
<p>The growth in sports betting is, to put it mildly, phenomenal. Most worryingly, a body of research is beginning to demonstrate that <a href="http://www.responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/information-and-resources/research/recent-research/child-and-parent-recall-of-gambling-sponsorship-in-australian-sport">children are highly exposed</a> to gambling ads. This is because voluntary broadcast <a href="http://www.freetv.com.au/media/Code_of_Practice/Free_TV_Commercial_Television_Industry_Code_of_Practice_2015.pdf">advertising rules</a> allow gambling ads during G-rated programming – if it is a sports broadcast. </p>
<p>This loophole defies explanation, other than to acknowledge that gambling ads are now a lucrative source of revenue for broadcasters. Sporting codes get a share via broadcast rights payments, pumped up by the advertising budget of bookies with deep pockets and a desire to grow their market.</p>
<h2>What can be done?</h2>
<p>The new parliament offers an opportunity to rein in some of these excesses.</p>
<p>The lowest-hanging fruit is the unrestricted advertising that exposes kids to a regular dose of gambling normalisation. The federal government has complete control of this; it could end it whenever it wants. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/government-ignores-elephant-in-the-room-in-response-to-online-gambling-review-52751">consumer protection measures</a> promised before the election are a good start, but advertising is the elephant in the room that needs to be tackled.</p>
<p>And the pokies? Substantial political donations and careful support of selected major party politicians <a href="https://theconversation.com/paying-the-piper-and-calling-the-tune-following-clubsnsws-political-donations-60639">have worked wonders</a> for the pokie lobby since 2010, when the Gillard-Wilkie agreement threatened their rivers of gold. But the concerns of crossbench MPs like Nick Xenophon and Andrew Wilkie are unabated.</p>
<p>Again, the federal government has clear power to act. Xenophon and Wilkie have <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-19/xenophon,-wilkie-to-take-pokies-fight-to-marginal-seats/7642218">made it clear</a> they expect gambling reform to be front and centre in the new parliament. </p>
<p>These latest figures throw fuel on the fire of their concern. Gambling harm is a major source of harm to the health and well-being of the community. It’s right up there with major depression, <a href="http://www.responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/information-and-resources/research/recent-research/assessing-gambling-related-harm-in-victoria-a-public-health-perspective">for example</a>. State taxes are one thing; wholesale attacks on the health and well-being of the community are another thing entirely.</p>
<p>Whatever the new parliament holds, gambling reform seems certain to be part of the mix.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/64299/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>
Gambling losses in Australia are now close to $23 billion. What’s driving this? And do we need to reform gambling regulation?
Charles Livingstone, Senior Lecturer, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.