Positioning of online gambling and gaming products from a consumer perspective: A blurring of perceived boundaries

Abstract

Traditionally disparate markets and products, gambling activities and games have begun to overlap in many ways, particularly in the online marketplace. Consumers appear to be moving between these activities, indicating perception of similarities in products. The hybrid nature of some activities has resulted in gambling regulators considering whether they need to act with regards to certain games. Typically, regulatory classifications and taxonomies have been centred on objective features of product offerings, based on the perspective of producers and technology. However, consumer perspective is relevant to defining markets and understanding the potential migratory relationship between products. This research aims to gather an indepth understanding about the multifacetal market space of online gambling and gaming from a consumer perspective. A large-scale survey (n=1000 respondents) assesses perceived similarities between 16 gaming and 9 gambling products by means of holistic triadic comparisons. Multidimensional scaling provides evidence for enduring market boundaries between online gambling and gaming products, but indicates several finegrained similarities on the level of specific products. Products encountering elements of skill, planning, consideration, and achievements over time were perceived differently from those that are more playful and less realistic with immediate outcomes. Consumers did see connections between games and some gambling products, which may explain the joint usage of and migration between products. Insights are thus relevant for regulators, consumers, and professionals in both gambling and gaming industries as market boundaries have become blurred.

A Literature Review and Gap Analysis of Emerging Technologies and New Trends in Gambling

“…Research generally supports the concept of migration to monetary gambling, particularly in young people [80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88]. Micro-transactions within simulated gambling were identified as a potential predictor of migration [88].…”

eSports, skins and loot boxes: Participants, practices and problematic behaviour associated with emergent forms of gambling

“…-This process is not limited to games and gambling, but is part of a wider trend of media convergence (Jenkins, 2006), and has been studied in reference to other, more established, gambling activities such as sports betting (Lopez-Gonzalez and Griffiths, 2016). The blurring of 3 boundaries between video games and gambling activities has led to a range of problems regarding regulation and legislative issues (Teichert et al, 2017). Although the consequences of this trend are yet to be fully assessed, current concerns include the targeting of vulnerable populations through gambling-like experiences, and increased penetration of gambling using socially-accepted vehicles such as sports and video games (Lopez-Gonzalez and Griffiths, 2016).…”

Predatory monetization schemes in video games (e.g. ‘loot boxes’) and internet gaming disorder

“…These technological developments highlight the evolving financial nature of gaming products and patterns of monetary overcommitment observed in relation to electronic gambling machines. Emerging research evidence and clinical case reports are beginning to highlight the financial risks of these schemes . Some news stories have reported on teenagers spending thousands of dollars on microtransactions .…”