The document discusses social responsibility in gambling marketing and advertising. It notes that the underlying objective of socially responsible codes of conduct should be to maximize opportunities while minimizing harm. Most operators are now developing socially responsible policies and procedures, and social responsibility is fundamental to the long-term success of the gaming industry. However, gambling advertising is controversial as some research suggests it can normalize gambling behavior and potentially contribute to problem gambling. More research is still needed to fully understand the relationship between advertising and gambling behavior.

1. 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

2. 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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3. • 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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4. PROTECTING THE VULNERABLE
MAXIMISING
FUN
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MINIMISING
HARM
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5. RESPONSIBLE GAMING
Research
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Game design
Informed player
choice
Player support
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6. 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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7. WHERE DOES RESPONSIBILITY LIE?
Individual
Characteristics
Structural
Characteristics
Gambling
Behaviour
Situational
Characteristics
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8. 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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9. • 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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10. 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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11. • 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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12. 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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13. • 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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14. 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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15. 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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16. • 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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17. • 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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18. • 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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19. • 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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20. • 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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21. 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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22. • 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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30. 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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31. • 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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32. 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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33. • 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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practice.
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34. • 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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35. 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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36. • 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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37. • 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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38. • 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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39. • 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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40. 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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regulators/co-operation
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41. 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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42. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!
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