ABSTRACT
Government and regulator campaigns typically focus on educating gamblers to minimise harms from gambling, but we know little of the full range of strategies gamblers use to stick to limits. This mixed-methods study sought to understand the strategies utilised, recommended or avoided by gamblers. This study recruited 104 participants from 11 EGM venues in Australia, encompassing both no problem/low risk (65%) and moderate risk/problem gamblers (35%). Participants were administered the 30-item Gambling In-venue Strategies Checklist (GISC) and used an average of 14 different strategies over a 30-day period. Two strategies were frequently used by 90% of gamblers: use only the money brought into the venue and only play low denomination machines. Compared to PGs, low risk/no PGs more frequently avoided chasing losses, set cues to keep track of time, used only the money brought into the venue, planned in advance their spending, and also viewed gambling as entertainment. Qualitative analysis revealed the top strategies for limiting gambling were bring in the exact amount of cash and not taking cards and setting a money limit. The measure developed for this study appears to capture a broad range of strategies used by gamblers when engaging with EGM gambling.
Author contributions
Authors A and B designed the study and wrote the protocol. Author A conducted the data analysis. Author A wrote the first draft of the manuscript and all authors contributed to and have approved the final manuscript.
Ethical approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Simone N. Rodda
Simone N. Rodda is Senior Lecturer at University of Auckland in New Zealand (School of Population Health) and an Honorary Senior Research Fellow with Turning Point (Melbourne, Australia) and also an Honorary Fellow at Deakin University. She is currently involved in multiple investigations involving behaviour change and brief interventions for problem gambling and other addictions.
Kathleen L. Bagot
Kathleen L. Bagot is a Research Fellow at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, and an adjunct Research Fellow at Monash University. She is a social/behavioural scientist involved in conducting applied, translational research in complex settings (e.g., health care, education).
Victoria Manning
Victoria Manning is Head of Research and Workforce Development at Turning Point and Monash University. She has worked as a clinical researcher in addiction treatment settings for over two decades in the UK, Asia and Australia. Her research is heavily translational in nature, largely centred around trialling novel psychological and neurocognitive interventions to reduce harm from alcohol, drugs and gambling.
Dan I. Lubman
Dan I. Lubman has worked across mental health and addiction settings in both the UK and Australia. He is Director of Turning Point and Professor of Addiction Studies and Services at Monash University. His research is wide-ranging, and includes the development of targeted intervention programmes across multiple service settings.