RESPONSIBLE GAMING
deeply, contain figures which have been cherrypicked from the upper end of estimates or are backed by evidence which has had its reliability and suitability called into question. Scientific studies of the evidence have been few, infrequent and varying in scope and quality. It is apparent that to draw any solid evidence of trends across time from the studies that have been conducted to date would be extremely difficult and legislating based on such studies would bring much uncertainty. Out of the little scientific evidence that does exist, the most consistent and properly conducted studies show that the number of “problem gamblers” remains relatively constant as a proportion of population, despite an increase in availability of gambling. Further, studies tend to show that the percentage of the population that are considered problem gamblers tends to be under or around one percent of the population. A 2015 Spanish report with a sample size of over 6,000 stated “the results of the study show a prevalence rate in the Spanish population of 0.9% for persons classified as compulsive gamblers and 1% for persons classified as problem gamblers, values which are reduced to 0.3% and 0.6 %, respectively, when working with the results related to gambling in the last year.” 1 Although care should be taken not to read too much into comparing problem gambling from different countries and cultures, the figures from Spain are consistent with data from the more reliable United Kingdom studies. This is generally reflective across most countries where good sample sizes have been used, although there are exceptions and difficulties in comparing different survey methods. When considering harms, it is also worth noting that gambling may not be the main cause of an individual’s problems. There could be a plethora of other factors in a person’s life which leads to harm, with gambling being a minor one. Harm may come to a gambler who has a large amount of debt, but gambling may not have been the primary cause of that debt, or the debt may have led them to try and gamble their way out of it. That being said, the report by the United Kingdom Parliamentary Group does contain some interesting opinions from psychological and health professionals which raise concerns over the way the online market in the United Kingdom is heading and the serious effect gambling has on an albeit small portion of the population.
There is no doubt that gambling addiction is a serious problem for some people, but the truth appears to be that there has not been a sufficient amount of research conducted to draw conclusions on: first, whether certain types of gambling product cause an increase in gambling related harm and second, whether proposed “responsible gaming” legislation will have any effect on reducing gambling related harm. The UK case study mentioned obviously only relates to one of the world’s many jurisdictions with their regional and ethnic cultures. The gambling harm caused in Las Vegas is likely to be different from a rural region of, for example, Eastern Russia – and not just due to the availability of gambling but also the ingrained cultural differences of the people that live there. The stark differences in gambling addiction between those from the more European communities in New Zealand and those from predominantly Maori communities is well documented. Again, the complexities of why this is the case may have more to do with other factors such as poverty, opportunities, societal structures, or numerous other factors, but it illustrates that even in a small island nation like New Zealand, a single, simple idea of what causes gambling harm is impossible to achieve. This is not to say that no measures should be taken to alleviate gambling harm. Each jurisdiction will be best placed to understand what will work for those under its sovereignty, but the brief overview above illustrates that, even in jurisdictions with a mature gambling industry such as the United Kingdom, the ‘correct’ answer to harm caused by gambling is difficult to come by. Just as the gambling harm caused in each country, community or individual will be different, the approach adopted will be different. The United Kingdom Gambling Commission employs a tactic of high engagement with the industry, even inviting gambling operators to produce proposals on responsible gaming regulation, whilst the regulators in other jurisdictions may take a more top-down approach, laying down the requirements and expecting the industry to accept them with little consultation. Analyzing player behavior, industry trends, and the effectiveness of existing measures
Deposit, Stake and Win Limits
1 Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling: Study on the prevalence, behavior and characteristics of users of games of chance in Spain, 2015 and Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling: Study and analysis of risk factors for gambling disorder in a Spanish clinical population, 2017 https://www.ordenacionjuego.es/en/estudio-prevalencia
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IMGL MAGAZINE | APRIL 2023
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