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
Complaints
Summary
The number of complaints about remote gambling businesses have remained static and no impact on online slots complaints can be discerned as complaints are not currently coded by product. This is a long-term outcome where it will be difficult to attribute changes.
One of the potential positive long-term outcomes of changes to online games design and other regulatory measures introduced by the Gambling Commission is an improved gambling environment with consumers having fewer grounds for complaint.
The total number of customer complaints to remote gambling businesses between October 2021 and September 2022 remained statistically stable (186,053 complaints, a slight decrease from 189,194 in 2020 to 2021). However, this complaints data is not product-specific and the number of complaints can also be impacted by access to the complaints process through reduced friction and a large number of other variables.
It is not possible to distinguish whether complaints are related solely to one product or issue, as they are often multi-faceted.
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Safer gambling measures
Last updated: 8 June 2023
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