Multi-venue exclusion program and early detection of problem gamblers: what works and what does not?

ABSTRACT

Since April 2014, in Hesse (Germany), it has been possible to arrange an exclusion from all gaming halls. In addition, the Hessian Gaming Halls Act obligates operators to exclude individuals who show signs of addictive gambling behavior. The objective was firstly to quantitatively analyze the administrative data set of all excluded individuals (N = 12,253). Secondly, the compliance of staff in implementing various gambler protection measures was examined. Test players visited 64 of the 750 gaming hall sites in Hesse. The findings showed that third-party exclusion accounted for only 1% of all exclusions. Checks on on-site gambler protection revealed that in 16% of all attempts of access by test players and observers, no entry checks were conducted; in 28% of the gaming halls, they were able to play despite being excluded. Furthermore, staff reacted with appropriate interventions to signs of problematic gambling behavior in 7% of cases. The low level of compliance can be explained by an inherent conflict between economic interests and an adequate protection of gamblers. Measures for improvement should include the set up of a centralized, cross-sector exclusion system, a more closely monitoring of protection measures, and the introduction of a personalized gambler identity card.

KEYWORDS:

• Problem gambling
• responsible gambling
• electronic gaming machines
• self-exclusion
• corporate social responsibility

Disclosure statementsFunding sources

This study was commissioned by the Hessen Ministry for Social Affairs and Integration. The funding was not subject to conditions of any kind. Both the selection of research methods and the analysis and interpretation of the data were solely the authors’ responsibility.

Constraints on publishing

There were no restrictions or contractual constraints with regard to any publication including the submitted manuscript. Moreover, no governmental, institutional or other constraints exist that affected our freedom to publish this work.

Competing interests

Gerhard Meyer has received grants for gambling research from the German Research Foundation, the Federal Ministry of Health, the Ministries of Health of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hamburg and Bremen, the Ministry of the Interior of Lower Saxony, and several gambling providers. Tobias Hayer has received grants for gambling research from the Federal Ministry of Health, the Ministry of the Interior of Lower Saxony and the German Lotto and Toto Block. Tim Brosowski declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

At this point we should like to thank all of the students who took on the roles of test players and observers and who were therefore largely responsible for data collection. We are also grateful to Ms. Christina Nadler of the Regierungspräsidium Darmstadt (the regional authority for Darmstadt) for her time-consuming work in processing and making available the OASIS database.

Ethical approval

This article does not contain any studies where human participants or animals have directly been involved. Analysis of the exclusion system database (OASIS) was based on a previously prepared and fully anonymized data set (secondary data analysis). Gambler protection on-site at the gaming locations was tested by previously trained students. Their training included coverage of the dangers of addiction associated with gambling and the risk potential. It is not possible to draw conclusions about individual operators, sites or persons from this observation study of behavior in a public space or the corresponding data analysis. This precludes the possibility of identifying or causing harm to individual persons.

Additional information

Funding

This study was commissioned by the Hessen Ministry for Social Affairs and Integration. The funding was not subject to conditions of any kind. Both the selection of research methods and the analysis and interpretation of the data were solely the authors’ responsibility.

Notes on contributors

Tobias Hayer

Tobias Hayer is a psychologist (Diploma) and works, since 2001, as a researcher at the University of Bremen (Germany). In 2012 he wrote his doctoral thesis on “Adolescents and gambling-related problems”. His research focuses on various facets of (problem) gambling. This includes, among other things, the prevention of gambling-related problems, the effectiveness of gambler and youth protection measures, the risk potential of certain gambling forms and the “gaming/gambling” interface.

Tim Brosowski

Tim Brosowski is a psychologist (Diploma) and data analyst with particular expertise in behavioral addictions, data mining and statistical modeling. He graduated in 2011 at the University of Bremen (Germany) and is working at the University of Bremen (Germany) on several research projects about gambling as well as on his dissertation project about big data in gambling research.

Gerhard Meyer

Gerhard Meyer is a Professor at the University of Bremen (Germany), Institute of Psychology, Division on Gambling Research. His research focuses on problem gambling and delinquency, neuroendocrine responses to casino gambling, brief intervention for problem gamblers and the addictive potential of different gambling forms. He also served as a consultant for national regulators as well as the gambling industry and acted as a forensic expert witness in court cases.