Gambling Commission survey finds lack of trust in support services
The regulator’s findings suggest the players see responsible gambling tools as a “PR exercise”.
UK.- New data published by the British Gambling Commission based on the revised Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) suggests the gamblers are skeptical of responsible gambling support tools. The latest insights come from NatCen‘s follow-up interviews with 25 survey participants who had said that they had experienced severe or adverse consequences from gambling in the prior 12 months.
The participants all had a PGSI score above three. The aim was to provide qualitative data to back up the statistical findings of main survey. The results found that gambling harm rarely evolves in the same way, with respondents having different stories, which included behaviour influenced by family members and a culture of casual betting.
What did emerge is that many participants had a lack of trust in support tools provided by gambling operators due to companies’ commercial interest in players gambling and spending more. Some saw such tools as merely a “PR exercise”. Participants also showed a general lack of awareness of the support tools available from operators.
One man aged over 55 said: “I don’t trust a lot of these so-called tools. I think indirectly they probably know that the actual participant will carry on doing it or even put some more funds into the gambling.”
Nevertheless, some respondents said that support tools like deposit limits had been helpful.
The Gambling Commission said: “Building full trust in support options available will be key to supporting those who have experienced adverse consequences to access help.”
The regulator is recommending that operators make early Interventions and improve public messaging. It said that it sees tailored support as essential and that a one-size-fits-all approach is rarely successful.
