Measuring Responsible Gambling:
The Positive Play Scale
Dr Richard Wood, GamRes Limited
Dr Michael Wohl, Carleton University
Dr Nassim Tabri, Carelton Unviversity
Dr Kahlil Philander, British Columbia Lottery Corporation
What is Responsible
Gambling?
• Many people perceive RG as
• Policies and actions of gaming operators and
regulators
• A field of research (mostly on –ve aspects)
• Something we want to encourage
What is positive play?
• RG with a player facing perspective (Wood & Griffiths, 2015)
• Using the right language
• Focuses on maximising healthy and happy playing
experiences (not just fixing problems)
• Studies the majority of non-problematic players
Measuring positive play
• No standardised way to measure responsible
gambling
• Prevalence studies only focus on –ve play
• Focus on the 98% of players to see subtle changes
• Measure and optimise success of RG strategy
• Segment RG strategy
Developing the
Positive Play Scale (PPS)
Current definitions of
Responsible Gambling
• Focus on the actions of gaming operators (e.g.,
“Responsible
gambling refers to policies and practices designed to
Reno Model)
prevent and reduce potential harms associated with gambling;
these policies and practices often incorporate a diverse range of
interventions designed to promote consumer protection,
community/ consumer awareness and education, and access to
efficacious treatment.”
(Blasczczynski, Ladouceur, & Shaffer (2004)
Responsible Gambling from the
player perspective
“Responsible gambling is when a player exhibits positive playing behaviour
and holds attitudes and beliefs that do not put them at risk for developing
gambling problems. More specifically, this means only spending what is
affordable to lose and sticking to personally allocated spend and time limits
(formal or informal). Responsible gambling includes honesty and openness
with self and others about personal gambling involvement. Belief in luck or
other superstitions may be present, but they do not have a significant
negative impact on play. There is recognition that gambling will always
involve some degree of chance.” (Wood, Wohl & Kim 2015)
Scale development
• Online survey to 1551 British Columbian players
(n=1,551) gambled in last 12 months
•
•
•
•
Qs on frequency of play, games played, demographics
16 behavioural items & 27 belief items (7 point Likert)
PCA revealed 14 item scale with four components (sub-scales)
GBQ, PGSI (last month), Ten-item personality inventory (TIPI),
Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS), General self-efficacy (GSE),
InCharge financial distress/financial well-being scale (IFDFW),
Financially focused self-concept (FFS)
The Positive Play Scale
Positive Play Scale
In the last month….......
I felt in control of my gambling behaviour.
Behaviour 1 (honesty and control)
I was honest with my family and/or friends about the
amount of MONEY I spent gambling.
I was honest with my family and/or friends about the
amount of TIME I spent gambling.
I only gambled with MONEY that I could afford to lose.
I only spent TIME gambling that I could afford to
spend.
Behaviour 2 (Pre-commitment)
I considered the amount of MONEY I was willing to
lose BEFORE I gambled.
I considered the amount of TIME I was willing to
spend BEFORE I gambled.
(Wood, Wohl, Philander, Tabri, 2016)
The Positive Play Scale
Positive Play Scale
I believe that….......
I should be able to walk away from gambling at any
time.
Beliefs 1 (personal responsibility)
I should be aware of how much MONEY I spend when
I gamble.
It’s my responsibility to spend only money that I can
afford to lose.
I should only gamble when I have enough money to
cover all my bills first.
Gambling is not a good way to make money.
Beliefs 2 (gambling literacy)
(Wood, Wohl, Philander, Tabri, 2016)
My chances of winning get better after I have lost.
If I gamble more often, it will help me to win more
than I lose.
Total PPS mean scores (all players)
more
responsible
less
responsible
(n= 1,551)
Total PPS mean scores by games played
more
responsible
less
responsible
Honesty and Control mean scores by games played
more
responsible
less
responsible
Pre-Commitment mean scores by games played
more
responsible
less
responsible
Personal Responsibility mean scores by games played
more
responsible
less
responsible
Gambling Literacy mean scores by games played
more
responsible
less
responsible
What next?
The PPS would be a good addition for prevalence
studies
Use PPS to optimise RG strategies
Provide individual normative feedback to players
Establish cut-off scores for high/medium/low
Use the PPS in other jurisdictions
Questions?
[email protected]
www.gamres.org