Research Shows Commission’s Campaign For More Responsible Betting In UK Gambling Industry Doesn’t Work

The effectiveness of the responsible gambling campaign, “When the fun stops, stop,” has been questioned by Warwick University researchers. They are claiming that messaging doesn’t result in more responsible betting.

However…

… the gambling industry-funded responsible betting body behind the campaign, Senet Group, strongly disagrees with this.

The Experiment Demonstrates Campaign Doesn’t Give Expected Results

506 people participated in the experiment conducted by the Warwick University psychology department. They were invited to place virtual bets after viewing online betting ads while their decision was closely monitored.

None of the participants were informed that the experiment was designed to compare behavior inspired by ads with the, “When the fun stops, stop” messaging, versus those without.

The study concluded…

… there was no statistically significant difference between how likely participants were to bet when the messaging was shown and when no warning was shown.

This means the slogan didn’t discourage participants to continue with their gambling activities, which is its sole purpose.

In fact…

… according to the study results, those who had seen the responsible gambling message bet more often than those who had not.

Furthermore, the researchers pointed out the fact that the word, ‘fun,’ is printed in a much larger font than any other word in the message.

While this study alone isn’t enough to indicate conclusively that the message is counterproductive, the researchers are concluding that it doesn’t achieve its goal of promoting more responsible gambling behavior.

One of the report’s authors, Dr. Lukasz Walasek, stated:

“The purpose of the “When the fun stops, stop” warning labels is to encourage more responsible gambling behavior. Yet there is hardly any evidence suggesting that such labels are effective.”

Campaign Creator Saying Otherwise

Gillian Wilmot, who chairs the industry’s Senet Group which is the creator of the campaign “When the fun stops, stop,’ disagrees with the results.

She said messaging had “generated substantial awareness of the link between negative emotional states and problem gambling, giving young men an accessible phrase to challenge each other’s behavior in a way that has now ed popular culture.”

Wilmot also adds that discouraging all betting was never the purpose of the campaign. Instead, it aims to get gamblers to pause and reflect on their betting actions.

However, she stated the group was considering upgrading the warning message, including shrinking the size of the word fun.

“Last year, we initiated a review of the campaign, informed by a substantial behavioral study, and the new creation will reflect a change to the relative size of the word fun in response to .”

After the industry introduced a voluntary ban on advertising during sports events as a response to concern about the impact on children and vulnerable people, the slogan is likely to appear much less often on television in future.

Source:

“The Slogan “When the fun stops” in UK Gambling Industry “doesn’t work”, europeangaming.eu August 7, 2019.