Financial inducements in gambling marketing: An information disclosure proposal to inform gamblers of their true economic value
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Financial inducements such as free bets are frequently-used gambling marketing offerswhich temporarily improve a gambler’s usual pattern of risk and potential return. Previous research has shown that there are up to 15 distinct types of financial inducements incommon use, and that gamblers frequently misunderstand inducements’ play-through requirements and other complex terms and conditions. The Australian government has therefore recently banned play-through requirements for inducements shown to new customers,and the Great British regulator the Gambling Commission has recently announced a maximum play-through requirement of 10 times. The present work describes an alternativeand yet potentially complementary approach based on disclosing financial inducements’true economic value to gamblers. This approach can be motivated by the fact that financialinducements are not intrinsically harmful, and an understanding of their value has beenexploited for profit by some gamblers via techniques called “bonus hunting” and “matchedbetting”. Disclosure-based approaches can be designed to reflect the average losses implied by any play-through requirements, as well as any other terms and conditions whichaffect their economic value. Disclosure-based approaches for protecting consumers fromthe potential harms of financial inducements should be subject to further research and policy consideration.
Authors: Philip Newall, Dominic Cortis, Jamie Torrance
Institutions: University of Bristol, Swansea University
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W4414560141