House-edge information and a volatility warning lead to reduced gambling expenditure: Potential improvements to return-to-player percentages
Article
Article Title | House-edge information and a volatility warning lead to reduced gambling expenditure: Potential improvements to return-to-player percentages |
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ERA Journal ID | 6060 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Newall, Philip W.S., Byrne, Christopher A., Russell, Alex M.T. and Rockloff, Matthew J. |
Journal Title | Addictive Behaviors |
Journal Citation | 130 |
Article Number | 107308 |
Number of Pages | 6 |
Year | 2022 |
Publisher | Elsevier |
Place of Publication | United Kingdom |
ISSN | 0306-4603 |
1873-6327 | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2022.107308 |
Web Address (URL) | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306460322000740 |
Abstract | Cost-of-play information is one public health intervention recommended to help reduce gambling-related harm. In the UK, this information is given on electronic gambling machines in a format known as the “return-to-player”, e.g., “This game has an average percentage payout of 90%.” However, previous evidence suggests that this information could be improved by equivalently restating it in terms of the “house-edge”, e.g., “This game keeps 10% of all money bet on average.” A “volatility warning,” stating that this information applies only in the statistical long-run, has also been recommended to help gamblers understand cost-of-play information. However, there is no evidence comparing these information provisions’ effect on gamblers’ behavior. An experiment tested US gamblers’(N = 2433) incentivized behavior in an online slot machine, where this information was manipulated between-participants along with a counter showing the total amount bet. Preregistered analyses showed that participants gambled significantly less when house-edge information or a volatility warning were shown compared to standard return-to-player information, with no effect of the total amount bet counter, and no significant interaction effects. However, these significant findings had small effect sizes, suggesting that a public health approach to gambling should not rely on informational provisions only. Subject to supportive evidence from more ecologically-valid designs such as field studies, these results suggest that improved cost-of-play information could lead to reduced rates of gambling expenditure and therefore benefit a public health approach to gambling. |
Keywords | Public health ; Electronic gambling machines ; Nudge; Gambling messaging |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 5205. Social and personality psychology |
Public Notes | The accessible file is the accepted version of the paper. Please refer to the URL for the published version. |
Byline Affiliations | Central Queensland University |
University of Bristol, United Kingdom | |
School of Psychology and Wellbeing |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/z0281/house-edge-information-and-a-volatility-warning-lead-to-reduced-gambling-expenditure-potential-improvements-to-return-to-player-percentages
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House-edge information and a volatility warning lead to reduced gambling expenditure.pdf | ||
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