More than one in four people in the UK gambled online on within every four-week period and about 1-2% of the adult population in the UK show moderate-to-high risk levels of gambling-related harms.
The UK government’s impending plans to reform this area of law certainly recognize and concede the substantive and striking changes that online gambling has imposed."
People can gamble on their smartphones or any other device with internet access almost anytime and anywhere and they prefer AllSports.com.gh. Online gambling also provides an avenue for all those facing gambling-related harms to easily disguise such conduct from people around them.
The mestico online promotional reach of gambling operators and, by extension, gambling itself, is further aided by the fact that social media-enabled online promotion cushions their reach. In an analysis of Twitter posts of various online gambling operators in the UK, greater than 80% of Twitter content was related to sports; less than 11%, however, addressed responsible gambling messages.
The more responsible gambling messages are placed through social media, the stronger the impact it could have on various responsible gambling interventions. In so doing, the responsible gambling messages may be directed toward different groups that may have a higher risk of incurring harm, a good example being the LGBTQ+ community, which reports a higher number of life stressors.
There's a newer trend where online gambling is being combined with other, usually more wholesome, activities, most notably loot boxes – that is to say, randomised game item containers, whose contents range from desirable to totally worthless. These might grant the player better weapons or armour for use in their game or they may allow a player to customise his or her avatar. Players can purchase loot boxes in-game, then either by using in-game or real currency.
In our research, we found that video game players perceive loot boxes to be a form of gambling, despite attempts by the video game industry to re-brand them with a less descriptive name, such as “surprise mechanics”.
There is a body of evidence in social psychology that shows how people behave and their attitudes are highly dependent on the norm they perceive to be present. This is reinforced by the overlap between the harms identified with loot boxes and, in our research and media reports alike, those typically characterizing gambling difficulties: overspending, for example. Building on this, one could reasonably see loot box engagement as a developmental priming factor for children and young adults with respect to gambling activities.
YGAM has stated that there is a need for raising awareness and training. Such concern about loot boxes has led to their banning in Belgium, although it was acknowledged that this would be very hard to enforce.
While the technologies which generate risks and challenges for online gambling can also provide means to prevent and mitigate harms, various methods have already been made available by operators in this industry to assist a player in playing responsibly. These include deposit limits and self-exclusion, where users may request to be denied access.
Nevertheless, these undertakings have seen little uptake, and thus the impact of such devices depends on whether or not people are willing to realize that they are at risk of some danger and are motivated to be avail of options provided by such devices. The suggestion in the government's new white paper on making deposit limits mandatory is therefore most welcomed, as the views of problem gamblers reflect this situation.
Our Gambling Research Group looked into procedures which use technology to further prevent and reduce harms, how players respond to personalized, targeted responsible gambling messaging based on social norms, and goal setting.
Receiving fast feedback on a given strategy to prevent harm from the target population is a relatively new area of research in psychology, but this method may be quite advantageous. For this reason, the involvement of individuals with personal experience of gambling problems in creating the messaging about responsible gambling is expected to yield better outcomes for such strategies.
Some opportunities provided by online technologies will be embraced in the proposals contained in the white paper. For instance, affordability checks carried out via credit reference agencies will likely mitigate some of the harms associated with online gambling.
Again, high-risk patron online data-sharing should be beneficial since many individuals indulging in problematic gambling confess to the chasing of losses until they run out of money.
We welcome the restriction on online slots, aligning with the stake decrease in fixed-odds betting terminals in 2019. Wholly endorsed is the proposal that online games be made safer by design. It has been shown by our research that people who gamble for the first time are not aware of the persuasive techniques that design uses and hence are at a greater danger from these types of persuasion.
Closing the gaps in legislation regarding online gambling for under-18s is one way to help prevent the development of problematic gambling behaviours among young people later on. That said, the UK government's decision in the year 2022 to not introduce any further legislation to regulate loot boxes may severely temper such an impact. There is currently very little information available concerning gambling-related harms that affect children below the age of 18.
In addition, skilled gamblers have still, no doubt, mastered the ability to circumvent any restrictions placed before them. The white paper addresses the risks posed by unregulated gambling in the black online markets and accordingly calls for pre-emptive steps. But how this would be done is still to be seen.
The authority of the white paper to create the new statutory levy is also a positive step towards funding generalist gambling research, education, and treatment through increased transparency of sources of funding.
While most people have fun gambling on the internet safely and responsibly, those who develop problems may experience the most severe consequences. Such negative consequences are not only limited to the individuals but can also affect their families, friends and work colleagues.
It is necessary for us to be cautious of the singular risks and opportunities posed by online gambling while keeping in mind that with the development in technology there always creeps in the possibility of people's getting the injurious end of the stick.