The Effect of Mandatory Play Breaks on Subsequent Gambling Behavior Among Norwegian Online Sports Betting, Slots and Bingo Players: A Large-scale Real World Study

Abstract

In order to protect gamblers, gambling operators have introduced a wide range of responsible gambling (RG) tools. Mandatory play breaks (i.e., forced termination of a gambling session) and personalized feedback about the gambling expenditure are two RG tools that are frequently used. While the motivation behind mandatory play breaks is simple (i.e., gambling operators expect gamblers to reduce their gambling significantly as a result of an enforced break in play), empirical evidence supporting the efficacy of the mandatory breaks is still limited. The present study comprised a real-world experiment with the clientele of Norwegian gambling operator Norsk Tipping. On the Norsk Tipping gambling website, which offers slots, bingo and sports-betting, forced termination occurs if gamblers have played continuously for a one-hour period. The study tested the effect of different lengths of mandatory play breaks (90 s, 5 min, 15 min) on subsequent gambling behavior, as well as the effect of combined personalized feedback concerning money wagered, won, and net win/loss. In total 21,129 online players (61% male; mean age = 47.4 years) experienced at least one play break between April 17 and May 21 (2020) with 156,989 mandatory play breaks in total. Results indicated that a 15-min mandatory play break led to a disproportionately longer voluntary play pause compared to 5-min and 90-s mandatory play breaks. Personalized feedback appeared to have no additional effect on subsequent gambling and none of the mandatory play breaks appeared to affect the increase or decrease in money wagered once players started to gamble again.

Using artificial intelligence algorithms to predict self-reported problem gambling with account-based player data in an online casino setting

“…Sessions were computed based on the timestamp of the single wagers. If two wagers were placed within 15 min of each other, the time between those two events counted as gambling session time as has been used in other tracking studies (Hopfgartner et al, 2021). If there was more than 15 min between two wagers, the time between the two events was not counted as belonging to the same gambling session.…”

Responsible gambling through a motivational telephone intervention to high-risk gamblers – An evaluation of user satisfaction and subjective intervention effects

“…A number of low-threshold harm-reducing or therapeutic interventions have been suggested ( Gainsbury et al, 2020 ), including those delivered directly by gambling operators with responsible gambling policies ( Jonsson et al, 2019 ). These may, for example, involve mandatory play breaks, direct automated messaging with personalized feedback on gambling patterns ( Hopfgartner et al, 2021 ), or general consumer protection information providing links to different harm-reducing measures, such as voluntary self-exclusion or limit setting ( Gainsbury et al, 2020 ). However, a more direct contact from a gambling operator, such as in a personalized telephone call aiming to reach gamblers at risk with responsible gambling measures, is far less common ( Jonsson et al, 2019 ).…”

The Effect of a Mandatory Play Break on Subsequent Gambling Behavior among British Online Casino Players: A Large-Scale Real-World Study

“…In a real-world experimental study by Hopfgartner et al (2021), 21,129 online gamblers of Norwegian gambling operator Norsk Tipping were assigned to one of eight experimental groups. The groups differed with respect to a number of criteria, one of them being the length of a mandatory play break after one hour of consecutive play.…”