Browsing by Subject "Gambling"

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Essays on pre-commitment in Germany
(2019) Strohäker, Tanja; Becker, Tilman
As a superordinate topic, the thesis analyzes and evaluates selected pre-commitment tools that are available in the German gambling context. Pre-commitment is a form of self-binding that allows gamblers to limit money and time spent on gambling before they start a session. This is based on the underlying idea that gamblers will benefit from the fact that expenses and duration of stay are determined before commencing a gambling session, when they are not yet in a state of emotional arousal and hence more capable of deciding rationally. The most extreme form of limitation is the exclusion from gambling. While other countries established formalized pre-commitment systems allowing gamblers in arcades to limit time and money spent on gambling and/or self-exclude from establishments, Germany has not established such a comprehensive scheme yet. There are, however, certain types of gambling, for which at least exclusions are regulated, enforced and externally binding. To further improve the exclusion schemes, it is important to understand the drivers of exclusions. Hence, the second and third chapter of this thesis analyze the drivers for the variation of the number of exclusions between municipalities. Next to sociodemographic characteristics, the models also contain availability measures. Other than most countries, Germany distinguishes between casinos and gambling arcades. Casinos offer table games as well as automated gambling, whereas gambling arcades only provide electronic gambling machines (EGMs hereafter). Both establishments naturally attract different clientele, hence, a thorough examination of these two different types of gamblers is important. Chapter two concentrates on analyzing which variables drive the differences in the number of exclusions from casinos throughout German municipalities. This chapter aims to analyze the degree to which sociodemographic factors and proximity measures can be used to explain the variation in the number of excluded gamblers across German communities. At the time of the analysis, the exclusion file consisted of 31,118 unambiguously assignable entries distributed among 3,091 communities. The results of the study suggest that excluders are more likely to be male, between 30 and 39 years old, and less likely to be single. As only few of the sociodemographic variables yield significant results, we can only partially confirm the well-established risk factors for problematic or pathological gambling. Additionally, the results show that the number of exclusions increases with close proximity to gambling establishments. The distance to the closest casino has a negative impact on exclusions. This is backed up by the finding indicating that in relation, there are more exclusions in communities where casinos are located directly. Chapter three deals with a similar research question, which this time is tailored to excluders from gambling arcades in Hesse, Germany. The aim of the paper is to identify significant predictors that are useful in explaining the variation of exclusions between different Hessian communities. This data set contains 11,902 exclusions that are distributed among 191 Hessian communities. Next to sociodemographic factors, we control for three different accessibility measures in two models: the number of electronic gambling machines in model I as well as the number of locations and density of gambling machines at a location in model II. Considering the sociodemographic variables, the explanatory power of the cross-sectional models is rather low. Only the age group of 30 to39-year-olds and those who are not in a partnership (in model I) yield significant results. Hence we are again not able to determine a specific sociodemographic background for self-excluders. The accessibility variables, on the other hand, turn out to be significantly associated with the number of exclusions. All three of them are statistically significant and their association is positive. The fourth chapter deals with self-limitation, which is another type of pre-commitment. As there has existed no formalized limit scheme in Germany, it is left to evaluate voluntary and self-initiated limits that are frequently used as self-management strategies by gamblers, independent of their gambling severity. The analysis yields promising results. 50 percent of gamblers use at least one limit. There are significant differences in most variables concerning gambling behavior. Gamblers with limits consistently spend significantly less time and money in gambling arcades. The overarching goal of this doctoral thesis is to provide insights considering pre-commitment tools that can be used in the German gambling context. It shows that pre-commitment is an accepted and widely used instrument with positive consequences for gamblers. It is therefore worthwhile in any case to further expand the existing programmes.
Gambling advertising on social media
(2025) Singer, Johannes; Sousa-Poza, Alfonso
Digitalisation has made social media available worldwide and driven the global growth of the gambling industry. In response to these dynamic developments in a rapidly changing media landscape, the State Treaty on Gambling legalised online gambling in Germany in 2021. Providers are now also permitted to use advertising to direct interested parties to the legal gambling market. Since the legal gambling market, unless illegal gambling offers, is supervised by the German gambling authority, and providers must comply with applicable regulations, the aim is to protect the population, especially vulnerable groups, from gambling-related harm. However, advertising gambling can pose risks, especially for children and young people. A particularly high volume of gambling advertising appears on social media because these networks have established themselves as attractive advertising platforms. As children and young people are the most active social media users in Germany, they are likely to be exposed to a high level of gambling advertising on these platforms. Against this background, this dissertation analyses gambling advertising on social media in Germany for the first time. First, a systematic review provides an overview of the research literature on the advertising strategies of gambling providers and their effects on social media. To this end, three scientific databases were searched, and international journal articles in English published in or after 2021 were included. The review addresses the following four questions: (i) What are the characteristics of gambling advertising on social media? (ii) How do gambling advertisements and strategies affect users' attitudes and behaviour on social media? (iii) What safeguards are in place to protect individuals, particularly vulnerable groups, from gambling-related harm? (iv) What research gaps exist in the study of gambling advertising? Clearly, social media play a central role in gambling providers' advertising strategies. They can adapt their strategies flexibly to prevailing circumstances. However, the increasing intensity and complexity of gambling advertising, coupled with the blurring of boundaries between advertising and neutral content, appear problematic. Vulnerable groups, especially children and young people, are exposed to an increased risk as these forms of advertising are especially appealing to them. Furthermore, rapid developments make it difficult for regulatory authorities to keep up. The following chapter makes a first attempt to analyse the advertising strategies and content of German gambling providers on social media. For this purpose, various providers from different sectors are compared with each other. These include providers of sports betting, state lotteries, social lotteries, commercial lotteries, and casinos. The data analysis is based on tweets from selected accounts on the microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter) that were collected via the associated API. A mixed-methods approach is adopted, combining a qualitative summative content analysis with semi-supervised guided topic modelling to determine the frequency, number of followers, interactions, and content of the tweets. Overall, the accounts of German gambling providers demonstrate significantly lower activity levels than those of providers in other countries. Apart from the fact that all sports betting providers mainly used content from the 'News' category, no clear patterns emerged in the advertising strategies of the different providers or sectors. However, the ‘News’ content category was often used in combination with less neutral content categories. This is problematic given that most tweets had hardly any age restrictions or responsible gambling messages. Consequently, this leads to blurring of the distinction between neutral content and gambling advertisements, particularly when the latter is not explicitly identifiable as advertising. This advertising practice specifically endangers children and young people, despite the State Treaty on Gambling defining this target group as needing protection. Finally, a deep learning approach was employed to examine the stigmatisation of gambling disorder on the video platform YouTube in Germany and how it is expressed in the everyday language of users. As stigmatisation and self-stigmatisation are substantial barriers to therapy, and as young people are the age group most affected by gambling-related harm and the most active social media users, it is reasonable to assume that they encounter stigmatising statements on social media. This analysis combines guided topic modelling with qualitative summative content analysis to demonstrate the occurrence of statements associated with the stigmatisation of gambling disorder. Gambling disorder is associated with negative attributes and moral judgments. However, social media can also offer a suitable channel through which to protect young people from the negative consequences of stigmatisation and disseminate information to the general public, as well as targeted groups that are at risk. For example, attention could be drawn to treatment options or the fact that recovery is possible. It can also emphasise that seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness. This highlights the potential of social media to help reduce the stigma surrounding gambling disorder. To summarise, the role of social media in the context of the State Treaty on Gambling can be described as ambivalent. On the one hand, they are suitable as an attractive advertising platform for gambling providers to address interested individuals and direct them to the state-monitored, legal gambling market. In this sense, they help to protect the population from gambling-related harm since legal gambling providers are subject to the control of the state gambling supervisory authority and must comply with applicable gambler protection regulations, such as advertising regulations. In addition, social media offers the opportunity to address a young age group and inform them about prevention options and offers of help. On the other hand, young people, as the most active user group on social media in Germany, are highly exposed to gambling advertising. Since young people in Germany are most frequently affected by a gambling-related disorder, this certainly seems problematic. High exposure to gambling advertisements harbours health risks, especially as such content is often not accompanied by age restrictions and responsible gambling messages. This blurs the lines between harmless content and gambling advertising. Furthermore, gambling providers can flexibly adapt their advertising strategies on social media to evolving conditions. The fast-moving changes in the media landscape and the advertising practices of gambling providers ultimately present the regulatory authorities with the challenge of keeping pace with these dynamic developments.
Perception of gamblers: a systematic review
(2021) Wöhr, Andrea; Wuketich, Marius
It is generally assumed that gamblers, and particularly people with gambling problems (PG), are affected by negative perception and stigmatisation. However, a systematic review of empirical studies investigating the perception of gamblers has not yet been carried out. This article therefore summarises empirical evidence on the perception of gamblers and provides directions for future research. A systematic literature review based on the relevant guidelines was carried out searching three databases. The databases Scopus, PubMed and BASE were used to cover social scientific knowledge, medical-psychological knowledge and grey literature. A total of 48 studies from 37 literature references was found. The perspective in these studies varies: Several studies focus on the perception of gamblers by the general population, by subpopulations (e. g. students or social workers), or by gamblers on themselves. The perspective on recreational gamblers is hardly an issue. A strong focus on persons with gambling problems is symptomatic of the gambling discourse. The analysis of the studies shows that gambling problems are thought to be rather concealable, whereas the negative effects on the concerned persons‘ lives are rated to be quite substantial. PG are described as “irresponsible” and “greedy” while they perceive themselves as “stupid” or “weak”. Only few examples of open discrimination are mentioned. Several studies however put emphasis on the stereotypical way in which PG are portrayed in the media, thus contributing to stigmatisation. Knowledge gaps include insights from longitudinal studies, the influence of respondents‘ age, culture and sex on their views, the relevance of the type of gambling a person is addicted to, and others. Further studies in these fields are needed.
Stigmatisation of gambling disorder in social media: a tailored deep learning approach for YouTube comments
(2025) Singer, Johannes
Background: The stigmatisation of gamblers, particularly those with a gambling disorder, and self-stigmatisation are considered substantial barriers to seeking help and treatment. To develop effective strategies to reduce the stigma associated with gambling disorder, it is essential to understand the prevailing stereotypes. This study examines the stigma surrounding gambling disorder in Germany, with a particular focus on user comments on the video platform YouTube. Methods: The study employed a deep learning approach, combining guided topic modelling and qualitative summative content analysis, to analyse comments on YouTube videos. Initially, 84,024 comments were collected from 34 videos. After review, two videos featuring a person who had overcome gambling addiction were selected. These videos received significant user engagement in the comment section. An extended stigma dictionary was created based on existing literature and embeddings from the collected data. Results: The results of the study indicate that there is substantial amount of stigmatisation of gambling disorder in the selected comments. Gamblers suffering from gambling disorder are blamed for their distress and accused of irresponsibility. Gambling disorder is seen as a consequence of moral failure. In addition to stigmatising statements, the comments suggest the interpretation that many users are unaware that addiction develops over a period of time and may require professional treatment. In particular, adolescents and young adults, a group with a high prevalence of gambling-related disorders and active engagement with social media, represent a key target for destigmatisation efforts. Conclusions: It is essential to address the stigmatisation of gambling disorder, particularly among younger populations, in order to develop effective strategies to support treatment and help-seeking. The use of social media offers a comprehensive platform for the dissemination of information and the reduction of the stigmatisation of gambling disorder, for example by strengthening certain models of addiction.