march 10th-11th gambling kte policy forum · • zynga poker alone attracts 34.8 million monthly...

Gambling KTE Policy ForumPantages Hotel Toronto, Ontario March 10th-11th 2016

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Social casino gaming and problem gambling:

Is protection/regulation required?Jeffrey Derevensky

McGill University

International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviors

www.youthgambling.com

March , 2016

Gambling KTE Policy ForumPantages Hotel Toronto, Ontario March 2016

The Millennials


So what’s so different???


Technologically sophisticated


Convergence of social media

sites and gambling


Casino type games have become the

most popular social gaming genre

• In 2010, 338 applications that allowed wagering using

virtual credits were found on Facebook (Korn et al.,

2010)

• Top 5 Facebook casino games attract almost 50

million active monthly users

• Zynga Poker alone attracts 34.8 million monthly

players; 6.8 million daily players

• Of the top ten grossing iPhone apps in the US, three

are currently casino games - Slotomania, Zynga

Poker, and Texas Hold’em Poker

• Social media games are the new darling; their

corporations are the most sought after by gambling

companies


Social media simulated “gambling”

games originally played for virtual

money are now being played for real

money


Convergence of Social Media &

Gambling• Poker/card games

• Casino games

• Sports wagering

• Reality shows

• Celebrity adoptions, arrests, etc.

• Any form of contest/Political race


Internet gambling without

money: A few examples

This website does not permit players to wager real money. Chips in players' accounts have no

monetary value, and cannot be exchanged for anything of value. Any and all references in the

website to "pots," "limits", "betting” or the like are solely for instructional or illustrative purposes and do

not involve wagering real money.

Practice sites


ZyngaPlusCasino brings players more than 160 slots

games and a variety of table games including

Blackjack, Roulette, Baccarat and Video Poker as well

as the first-ever FarmVille-themed slots game.

“This is just the beginning for us” and that its long-term

vision is “to offer our players the next generation of real

money games on multiple platforms in regulated

markets worldwide.”

The company also claims players have been asking for

real-money games and it is simply giving them what

they want.


• DoubleDown has more than 6 million players

• Survey of casual players (N=10,000)

• 25% indicated casino games are unique amongst other games

• 19% reported wanting the look and feel of a real casino increases entertainment value

• Player prioritize load times, gaming quality, graphics and variety

• 31% preferred slot games; especially those found in casinos


Is this a problem: Some empirical

evidence

Frequency of Play on Internet Gambling Sites Without Money

in the Past 12 Months by Gambling Severity

(McBride & Derevensky, 2006)

N = 2205 Internet

Gambling

Without Money1

(n = 1082)

Internet

Gambling

With Money1

(n=183)

Gambling Groups***

Non Gambler n = 726 33.9 0

Social Gambler n = 1278 56.6 9.5

At-Risk Gambler n = 129 74.4 21.6

Probable

Pathological Gamblern = 72 80.6 34.7

Total 49.1 8.0*

Age of Onset for Internet Gambling Without Money

by Gambling Severity

1Percentage. Gambling Groups are based on DSM-IV and DSM-IV-MR scores.aDSM-IV score (0-2); DSM-IV-MR-J score (0-1). bDSM-IV score (3-4); DSM-IV-MR-J score (2-3). cDSM-IV score ( ≥5); DSM-IV-MR-J score (≥4). ***p<.001.

Gambling Groups1

Social

Gamblera

(n = 1333)

At-Risk

Gamblerb

(n = 138)

Probable

Pathologica

l

Gamblerc

(n = 72)

Age***

Under 10

years4.4 13.1 16.9

10-11 years 8.8 10.9 16.9

12-13 years 15.2 19.0 25.4

14-15 years 17.2 15.3 15.5

16-17 years 9.1 7.3 2.8

Over 18 years 2.8 0.7 2.8


Another study (Meerkamper, 2010)

Past-Year Gambling Participation (On and Off the Internet) by Gender and Problem Gambling Severity among college students (McBride & Derevensky, 2013)

N Offline gambling Practice sites Internet gambling

Gender***

Male 305 66.2 49.8 11.8 (90)

Female 160 46.9 30.0 0.6 (90)

Problem Gambling

Severity

Non gambler a 186 - 22.0 (90)*** -

Social gambler b 262 99.2 55.3 (90)*** 11.8 (90)**

Problem gambler c 17 100 82.4 (90)*** 35.3 (90)**

Total 465 59.6 (90) 43.0 (90) 8.0 (90)

1Percentage, participant numbers in parentheses.aDSM-IV score = 0, no gambling activity (on or off the Internet) in the past 12 months.bDSM-IV score (0 - 2).cDSM-IV score (≥ 3).***p < .001** p < .01


Student-Athletes Reporting Playing Any

Simulated Gambling Activity (Past Year)(Paskus & Derevensky, 2013)

2012 Study

Males 28.1%

Females 10.2%


• Perceptions

• 68% of young people report winning is

easy

• 60% report probability of winning is high

• 81% gambling can make you rich


Facts & Concerns


• Gambling sites permitting playing without money have been shown to• have differential payout rates

• represent training ground for future players

• Much social media gambling incorporates videogame technology

• Social gaming sites remain unregulated, have few age prohibitions, and provide indirect marketing to consumers

• Recent studies suggest young male adults are more likely to engage in both simulated gambling and actual Internet gambling


• Playing on Internet gambling sites without money is a common practice amongst adolescents and young adults

• At-Risk and PPGs play on Internet with and without money more often than non-gamblers and social gamblers

• Regulation would change the face of the industry

• Online gambling and social gambling business models are essentially identical (Morgan Stanley Report, 2012)


• There is concern “that with many gambling simulations is how the odds are often geared to benefit the players, which may provide a false impression of the ease of winning.” (Australian Government Review of the Interactive Gambling Act, 2012).

• Gambling operators are continuing to expand into social gambling

• Ipsos MORI study in the U.K. found • 15% of children (age 11-15) played simulated

gambling sites during past week

• 51% of children playing these games gambled for real money compared to 18% who had not played


• Engagement with social casinos games has been found to be a risk factor for increased gambling (Kim, Wohl, Salmon, Gupta & Derevensky, 2015; Gainsbury, King, Delfabbro, Hing, Russell, Blaszczynski & Derevensky, 2015).

• Individuals who played these games for connecting with other players or to build skill were more likely to gamble (Hollingshead, Kim, Wohl & Derevensky, in press).

• 26% of social casino gamers who never gambled migrated to online gambling 6 months later (Kim, Wohl, Salmon, Gupta & Derevensky, 2015).


• Social casino gaming sites might require monitoring (Derevensky & Gainsbury, 2015)

• Advertising these sites seems to promote play among moderate to severe problem gamblers (Gainsbury, King, Russell, Delfabbro, Derevensky & Hing (in press).

• Morgan Stanley report on social gambling (Nov., 2012) suggests that social gambling offers the potential to “teach young people to gamble”


• Australian Government Review of the Interactive Gambling act (2012):

“The public policy argument for prohibiting access

to such gaming simulations is that it potentially

normalises gambling amongst children and may

lead them to become problem gamblers in the

future.”


U. K. Gambling Commission (2015)

The boundaries between social gaming and commercial gambling have become increasingly blurred and are of concern for young people as a result of:

• the growth in use of social media for social gaming and gambling

• an increasing convergence between the products of traditional gambling and social gaming businesses

• significant investment by companies developing new products or ways of marketing existing products


Social Policy Implications

• Need to continue to monitor changes in gambling behaviors as new technologies develop

• Need to help protect vulnerable populations

• Need to help educate youth about the warning signs associated with problem gambling

• Need for more prevention/education initiatives

• Greater public and parental awareness

• This is an area in greater need for collaboration between policy makers, regulators, the industry and researchers

• Regulation ???

march 10th-11th gambling kte policy forum · • zynga poker alone attracts 34.8 million monthly...

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