Report

Assessment of online games design changes

Gambling Commission report focusing on research conducted into the impact of the online gambling games design changes.

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Published
8 June 2023

Last updated
8 June 2023 - Changes

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Contents

• Assessment of online games design changes

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• Executive summary
• Introduction
• - Background and approach
• - Theory of Change
• Methodology and limitations
• - Methodology for key sources
• - Limitations
• Outcomes
• - Reduced play intensity
• - Consumer awareness
• - Reduced binge gambling
• - Gambling within consumer means
• - Complaints
• - Safer gambling measures
• - Increased trust in gambling providers
• - Reduced 'problem gambling' rates
• Assumptions
• - Staking behaviour
• - Session length
• - Use of multiple tabs
• - Games design
• - Displacement to other games
• - Time and position
• - Loss chasing
• - Displacement to other markets
• - Inconvenience for gamblers
• Conclusions and next steps
• Appendices

Methodology for key sources

Many of the findings detailed in this report are based on our Online Tracker Survey and Market Impact data.

Online Tracker Survey methodology

An online survey was conducted by Yonder Consulting through their panel. A nationally representative sample of approximately 2,000 adults per wave aged 18 years and over in Great Britain was used.

Data was collected quarterly, with the data from 2020 onwards collected during some form of national or local restrictions due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Base sizes for different questions can be found in the various figures throughout this report.

The contract between the Gambling Commission and Yonder concluded after the March 2022 wave, which is why it was not possible to collect further data after that time.

A list of questions for each wave can be found in the Appendices section of this report.

Market Impact data

The Market Impact data is collected from some of the largest online gambling businesses and covers approximately 80 percent of the online market by Gross Gambling Yield (GGY). Therefore, data should not be compared to Industry Statistics data.

The Commission has been collecting and publishing Market Impact data since the beginning of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in March 2020 to add an additional layer of insight onto its ongoing monitoring and understanding of changing consumer behaviour.

The Commission conducts quality assurance on the data that is received, but the accuracy of the data is still subject to the quality of the provided data.

Next section
Limitations

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Last updated: 8 June 2023

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