SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN GAMBLING,
MARKETING AND ADVERTISING
Dr Mark Griffiths
Professor of Gambling Studies
International Gaming Research Unit
Psychology Division, Nottingham Trent University
United Kingdom
mark.griffiths@ntu.ac.uk

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN GAMBLING
• Underlying objective of a socially
responsible code of conduct should
be to maximise opportunity and
minimise harm
• Operators need to develop a culture
that is supported by socially
responsible policies and procedures
• Social responsibility is fundamental
to the long-term development of the
gaming industry
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• Most
operators
are
now
developing a culture that is
supported by socially responsible
policies and procedures
• As Ray Bates has said, social
responsible practices in gambling
are “a necessity not a luxury”
• Some gaming companies claim
that social responsibility has
underpinned
their
gaming
practices for 60 years even when
it wasn’t called that.
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PROTECTING THE VULNERABLE
MAXIMISING
FUN
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MINIMISING
HARM
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RESPONSIBLE GAMING
Research
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Game design
Informed player
choice
Player support
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Understand
the risk of
gambling
Set a time
limit for
gambling
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Gambling
outcomes are
not
predictable
Don't gamble
when you are
drunk
Gamblers
lose in the
long run
Don't borrow
to finance
gambling
Set a budget
for gambling
Seek
proactive
help
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WHERE DOES RESPONSIBILITY LIE?
Individual
Characteristics
Structural
Characteristics
Gambling
Behaviour
Situational
Characteristics
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MAIN AREAS OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
• No
misleading/irresponsible
targeted
advertising/promotion
• Actively complying with
relevant codes of conduct
all
• Giving
players
as
much
information to make informed
choices
• Having fair and well designed
games to protect players
• Having product advice that
doesn’t encourage excessive
play
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• Denying
vulnerable
minors)
• Displaying
information
access
to
groups (e.g.,
of
helpful
• Providing sources of help
for gambling problems
• Ongoing staff training on
all
aspects
of
social
responsibility
• Having active support for
social impact initiatives
• Having a core commitment
to social responsibility
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PERCEIVED CONCERNS AND ISSUES
• Great deal of speculation
over the role of marketing
and advertising as a possible
stimulus
to
increased
gambling,
and
as
a
contributor
to
problem
gambling
• Various lobby groups claim
advertising has played a role
in the widespread cultural
acceptance of gambling
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• These groups claim
advertising tends to
use
glamorous
images and beautiful
people
to
sell
gambling
• Does
advertising
create
unrealistic
hopes of winning
that
may
later
trigger a gambling
addiction?
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LOTTERY ADVERTISING: SOME EXAMPLES
• 'Winning is easy'
• 'It might as well be you'
• 'Win a truckload of cash'
• 'Play by your rules'
• 'Spend for the rest of your life'
• 'Win a million, the fewer numbers you
choose, the easier it is to win'
• 'It's easy to win'
• '$600,000 giveaway simply by inserting
card into the machine'
• 'Wins are multiplying like bunnies’
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• US states routinely promote their lotteries with get-rich-quick slogans
that sometimes denigrate the values of hard work, initiative,
responsibility, perseverance, optimism, investing for the future, and
even education.
• "All you need is a dollar and a dream" (New York)
• "Work is nothing but heart attack-inducing drudgery" (Massachusetts)
• "How to get from Washington Boulevard to Easy Street" (Illinois)
• "His [Martin Luther King's] vision lives on. Honor the dream” (D.C.
Lottery)
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THE INDUSTRY’S RESPONSE
• “We are selling fantasies and dreams”
• “Everyone
excessive’
knows
the
claims
are
• “Big claims are made to catch people's
attention”
• “People don't really
advertisements”
believe
• “Business
advertising
necessarily
emphasise
aspects of products”
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these
does
not
'negative'
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ACADEMIC VIEWS ON
GAMBLING ADVERTISING
• Content analyses of gambling adverts have
reported that gambling is portrayed as a
normal, enjoyable form of entertainment
involving fun and excitement (Monoghan et
al, 2008; McMullan & Miller, 2008)
• Large number of gambling adverts are
misleading (Monoghan et al, 2008)
• Furthermore, they are often centred on
friends and social events (Korn, Hurson &
Reynolds, 2004).
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• Media gambling exposure leads to
positive
attitudes
towards
gambling and the effects of media
gambling exposure were stronger
than the effects of counter
advertising media exposure (Lee
et al, 2008)
• ‘Positive portraying’ of gambling is
not per se harmful as long as
consumers also perceive sufficient
and accurate information on
gambling-related risks (Planzer &
Wardle, 2012)
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• A science-informed regulatory approach uses empirical data to
examine the relationship between gambling advertising and
disordered gambling (Planzer & Wardle, 2012).
• However, demonstrating the negative effects of gambling are solely
attributable to advertising is hard to demonstrate empirically
• “There is no more difficult, complex, or controversial problem in
marketing than measuring the influence of sales” (Bass, 1969)
• “If demonstrating a link between advertising and sale is complex,
demonstrating a link advertising and broader gambling behaviour is
even more so” (Planzer & Wardle, 2012).
• Advertising effects are not uniform and ‘maturity’ and ‘immaturity’ of
the market will have an impact (e.g., adaptation)
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• The likelihood of large financial gain
is often central theme (“It could be
you”) with gambling also viewed as a
way to escape day-to-day pressures.
• A number of authors claim that
gambling
advertising
plays
an
important
role
in
“normalizing”
gambling, increasing participation
and
contributing
to
problem
development (Adams, 2004).
• Dyall
(2004)
also
claims
that
gambling advertising targets high-risk
populations (e.g., ethnic minorities).
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• Research has found that there is a
large public awareness of gambling
advertising
• Problem gamblers often mention
advertising as a trigger to gambling
(e.g., Amey, 2001; Grant & Kim, 2001;
Abbott, 2001; Binde, 2009).
• Similar findings have also been
found among adolescent gamblers –
one-third of disordered gamblers
often or sometimes gambled after
viewing a gambling ad (Derevensky
et al, 2010)
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• Reviews (Griffiths, 2005; Planzer &
Wardle, 2012) noted that almost all of
the data on gambling advertising
concerned attitudes in some way.
• Very little of these data provide
insight into the relationship between
advertising and problem gambling.
• Advertising is an environmental factor
that has the power to shape attitudes
and behaviours relating to gambling –
but the strength is unclear (Planzer &
Wardle, 2012)
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ADVERTISING CODE ADHERENCE
• Do not promote
individuals
gambling
to
vulnerable
• Do not appeal to under-18s, especially by
reflecting or being associated with youth
culture
• Do not exploit cultural beliefs or traditions
about gambling or luck
• Do not condone or feature gambling in a
working environment
• Do not exploit the susceptibilities, aspirations,
credulity, inexperience or lack of knowledge
of under-18s or other vulnerable individuals
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• Promote gambling in adult environments
and media at appropriate times
• Avoid promoting gambling in non-gambling
areas
• Focus on entertainment rather than gaming
• Don’t feature anyone who is (or seems)
under 25 years gambling or playing a
significant role.
• Avoid sending out promotional materials to
self-excluders
• Comply
with
all
codes
of
conduct
(Advertising Standards Authorities, Trade
organization such as WLA)
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EXAMPLE OF BEST PRACTICE
(Loto-Quebec)
• Disallows any advertising that is overly
aggressive
• Rejects concepts liable to incite the interest
of children
• Prohibits the use of spokespeople who are
popular among youth
• Prohibits placement of advertisements within
media programs viewed mainly by minors
• Highlights the odds of winning
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• TV commercials for new products
devote 20% of their airtime to
promoting gambling helpline and
warnings about problem gambling.
• Prohibits targeting of any particular
group or community for product
promotion
• The Chinese community did not agree
with making references to its customs
in order to promote the game.
• Out of respect for this community, the
game was immediately suspended.
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BONUSES AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
• Many
promotions
include
welcome bonuses, initial deposit
bonuses, retention bonuses, reactivation of account bonuses
and VIP bonuses.
• The issue here is to what extent
the use of promotional ‘hooks’ to
generate
new
custom
or
maintain repeat patronage can
be regarded as a socially
responsible strategy.
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• In gambling, there is a
fine
line
between
customer
enhancement
and customer exploitation,
particularly when it comes
to
facilitating
new
clientele
and
repeat
patronage.
• The perception of what
others think about a
particular
practice
are
sometimes given more
weight
than
what
it
actually
means
in
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• Some academic writings on the use of bonus
promotions in offline gambling environments
but these are based on observational
anecdotes rather than empirical research.
• Bonuses are used to entice the consumer in
several retail environments.
• What makes them especially appealing in a
gambling
environment are
the
obvious
similarities of the structural characteristics of
such bonuses and gambling events in general risk, uncertainty, interval- ratio reinforcement
etc.
• Furthermore, the appeal is strengthened since
gamblers feel they are ‘getting something for
nothing’.
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GENERAL VS PROPORTIONAL BONUSES
(Griffiths & Parke, 2003; Griffiths, 2010)
• There is a distinction between two fundamentally different forms of
bonuses – the ‘general bonus’ and the ‘proportional bonus’.
• These different types of bonuses may have different implications in
terms of social responsibility.
• General bonuses are those offers that are provided irrespective of
the type of player - for example, an occasional gambler is as equally
entitled to the bonus as a ‘heavy’ gambler.
• Proportional bonuses are those offers that depend on how long
and/or frequently the player gambles with a particular gaming
establishment.
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• This
means
that
‘heavy’
gamblers
would
receive
disproportionately more bonuses
than an irregular player.
• Given
that
a
significant
proportion of the ‘heaviest’
gamblers - sometimes referred
to as ‘VIP gamblers’ - may be
problem gamblers, it raises
questions whether rewarding
people the more they spend is
the most socially responsible
strategy.
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• In relation to the use of
promotional bonuses, two basic
issues arise.
• The first one is whether online
gaming companies should offer
bonuses.
• They can be perceived as
ideologically incompatible with
being socially responsible.
• The second is whether some
types of bonuses are less
socially responsible than others.
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• Absence of empirical evidence
• Could be argued that general bonuses, which target potential adult online
gamblers irrespective of play frequency and/or type, are acceptable within
online gaming environments that have a good social responsibility
infrastructure.
• However, bonuses that reward the biggest spenders could be argued to be
much less socially responsible.
• This model is well accepted in most commercial environments (i.e. loyalty
reward schemes)
• However, gambling is a commercial activity that can result in problems for
the heaviest gamblers.
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• Applying this to promotional bonuses
would mean that some bonuses appear
generally acceptable from a social
responsibility perspective
• e.g., $10 token, 100% welcome bonuses
and some re-activation offers
• Others may be less socially responsible
and potentially exploitative (retention
and VIP offers)
• It may be the case that other socially
responsible measures implemented by an
online gaming company may help
mitigate the potential exploitation of
problem gamblers (e.g., use of PlayScan)
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RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
(Planzer & Wardle, 2012)
• Investigate exposure to advertising (quantity)
• Investigate the content of advertising (quality)
• Investigate the impact of gambling advertising
population groups (problem gamblers, adolescents)
on
different
• Investigate the role of counter advertising
• Inform gambling-related research with the results from related
fields (e.g., alcohol, tobacco)
• Co-operation between researchers and
between legal and empirical disciplines
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CONCLUSIONS
It is perfectly acceptable for
gambling
companies
to
market and advertise its
products
However, such promotion
should be done in a socially
responsible way
In the long run, social
responsibility is good for
repeat business and long-term
profits
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THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!
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