The post Has The Time Come To Incentivize Gamblers To Use Responsible Gambling Tools? appeared first on SportsHandle.

Ask 100 gamblers what “responsible gambling” means to them, and you’ll probably get 100 different answers.

But ask those same 100 gamblers if they use RG tools, and around 98 of them will give you the same answer: Nope.

For proof, look no further than Massachusetts, where at a recent meeting of the state gaming commission, a pair of sports betting app operators — DraftKings and PENN Entertainment, operator of ESPN BET — showed the members a breakdown of who uses their responsible gambling tools.

At DraftKings, almost no one set time limits for themselves, and only a sprinkling of users set spend and wager limits. A little more than 1% of gamblers took part in a self-imposed “cool down” period, and 2.3% of users used a deposit limit.

Noted RG advocate and host of The After Gambling Podcast Jamie Salsburg called attention to this on Twitter/X following the Massachusetts Gaming Commission meeting:

Everyone (yelling): “Set limits!!!”

Users: “Nah bro, I’m good.”

It’s great to see these numbers being presented. Clearly something is broken with our messaging. pic.twitter.com/j9SzDUqqLn

— Jamie Salsburg (@jamiesalsburg) November 27, 2023

Over at PENN, only 2.3% of users used any form at all of RG tools, according to a Bonus.com report.

If a tree falls in the forest …

“I think it is incumbent on the operators to do a much better job of promoting and incentivizing their customers to use the tools, and obviously use a continuous improvement process to find out what tools are working, what aren’t, how to improve, and how to start to develop more personalized and tailored messages and tools,” said Keith Whyte, the executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling.

One key word Whyte used that is normally not heard with responsible gambling is “incentive.” As it stands right now, to the best of Sports Handle’s knowledge, no online sportsbook or casino offers any incentive whatsoever to engage with its responsible gambling tools.

Interestingly, Massachusetts brick-and-mortar casinos do play the incentive game.

“The commission worked with the three properties in the commonwealth that feature PlayMyWay on their slot machines to offer food vouchers should a patron sign up to utilize the feature,” said Thomas Mills, the communications division chief for the MGC. “The vouchers vary by property, but are all for food: $5 food voucher at [Plainridge Park], $5 Dunkin’ voucher at Encore, and $10 food voucher at MGM Springfield’s South End Market.”

Mills said there are no current plans for online operators in Massachusetts to offer similar incentives, but Whyte thinks the whole incentive idea is one whose time has come.

“Maybe the most important lesson is that we need to incentivize RG tool use,” he said.

North of the border

Michael Wohl, a psychology professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, is very interested in the idea of incentivizing gamblers to use responsible gambling tools.

In fact, he recently received a grant to study the topic — along with gaining access to player account data.

“I will be running the first study in January,” he said, though he noted he has studied the concept before.

In a 2018 paper published in International Gambling Studies, Wohl studied the overall effect of loyalty programs for gamblers. While his original intention was to see what harms would arise from loyalty programs, he also noted they can potentially be used for responsible gambling initiatives.

“Rewarding the use of responsible gambling tools may be one means by which loyalty programmes advance informed decision-making about how much time and money a player spends gambling,” Wohl wrote.

In 2022, Wohl co-wrote a paper in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction titled “Loyalty Program Rewards Increases Willingness to Use Responsible Gambling Tools and Attitudinal Loyalty.” That paper took a deeper dive into the idea and concluded that “the current research showed that incentivizing players to use responsible gambling tools may be a vehicle for increasing use and informed decision-making about how much time and money a player spends gambling.”

The second paper used a questionnaire to suss out answers, but Wohl’s soon-to-launch study, as stated above, will be looking directly at player data.

Throwing money at it

There is definitely movement in the legal sports betting industry to try to get people to engage with responsible gambling tools. DraftKings recently introduced a “Stay Safe, Set a Budget” banner in its front-page promotions carousel — nestled in-between betting come-ons.

Flutter, the parent company of FanDuel, has stated goals of having 50% of its user base using its “Play Well” RG tools by the end of 2026, and 75% of its customers using them by the end of 2030.

Those are moonshot goals, however, if the Massachusetts numbers are anywhere near the average across the industry.

“Hopefully we will see a lot of innovation and creativity coming soon,” Whyte said.

But on Flutter’s “Play Well” site, there seems to be more of the same old, same old: money thrown at the issue in the form of advertising dollars. Perhaps money should instead be thrown at the customers in incentives. And if $5 Dunkin’ gift cards aren’t enough, perhaps even … free bets?

Whyte isn’t completely against the idea, at least as a thought experiment.

“So while initially I’ve thought most about monetary or other incentives, I think bonus bets or credits are interesting but should be done carefully. I’m all for the experiment.”

Whyte takes the notion even one step further when it comes to bonuses: “[You could] theorize the only people who should get enticements to gamble are those who use RG tools — since they have protections in place. If you don’t have limits, no bonuses.”

As it stands now, it’s clear — based on the Massachusetts report — responsible gambling messaging isn’t moving the needle much in terms of getting people to engage with it.

Perhaps a few small bonus bets would.

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