Report
Assessment of online games design changes
Gambling Commission report focusing on research conducted into the impact of the online gambling games design changes.
Contents
- Executive summary
- Introduction
- Methodology and 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
Displacement to other games
Summary
The evidence suggests there has been no sizeable displacement to any product.
Another potential consequence of the game design process that was highlighted in the Theory of Change section of this report was the risk that consumers adapt more harmful gambling behaviours.
The Gambling Commission’s market data does not show any sizeable increase in revenue for other gambling products. The data identifies that, despite decreasing stake sizes, spin speeds, and session length, the revenue from slots products has continued to increase. In the sample of gambling businesses taken, there were 35.6 billion spins in the six months prior to the changes and this increased to 36.5 billion spins in the six months afterwards.
Figure 8: The number of spins by players using multiple tabs, browsers or accounts simultaneously while playing online slots games
| Statement | Six months pre-change (billions) | Six months post-change (billions) |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Spins | 35.6 | 36.5 |
Games design Next section
Time and position
Last updated: 8 June 2023
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