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
Consumer awareness
Summary
Reported awareness has not changed and remains high.
This outcome is most closely linked to the new requirement for gambling businesses to clearly display session length and expenditure information when gambling on online slots products.
We included several statements on our Online Tracker Survey aimed at those who reported gambling on online slots products. The responses indicate that awareness of how much time and money is spent remains high and did not change significantly in the months immediately following the implementation date. However, this statement relies on participant recall, and it is therefore unclear whether participants are reflecting on their slots play before and/or after the online game design changes came into force.
Figure 3: Awareness of time and money spent while playing slots
| Statement | September 2021 (percentage) | December 2021 (percentage) | March 2022 (percentage) |
|---|---|---|---|
| I am aware of the length of time I spend playing per game | 76% | 76% | 77% |
| I am aware of the amount of money I spend playing per game | 86% | 80% | 84% |
| Base size (individuals) | 325 | 268 | 330 |
Reduced play intensity Next section
Reduced binge gambling
Last updated: 8 June 2023
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