In Australia, various organisation have launched anti-gambling and safe gambling campaigns to help players understand the potential harm of playing casino games. A new study has determined the most effective way to getting this message across.
Researchers at the University of Melbourne have recently reported that anti-gambling ads are most effective when they focus on social consequences rather than on the loss of material possessions. The study was conducted by PhD Student Davide Orazi, Dr Jill Lei and Associate Professor Liliana Bove.
“Problem gamblers are familiar with the lose-win-lose gambling cycle and often lose and win money in the immediate gambling environment, so we see less response to these types of messages,” says Dr Lei. The research team notes that advertisements are more effective when they focus on losses that are difficult or impossible to remedy – such as relationships with friends and family.
Dr Lei continues: “Individuals are naturally averse to losses, but loss aversion is often activated only with the prospect of losing something relevant for the individual.” The research involved 260 problem gamblers and casual players. It recorded their responses to various advertising messages, each one with a different message about material losses or social consequences.
Most of the individuals noted that the social advertisements were more effective, as they focused on a loss that they would unlikely to recover. The results of the study also noted how to best communicate social losses as a result of problem gambling.
Participants in the study were less receptive when the ad stated that players could preserve their relationships by developing less harmful gambling habits; they were more responsive when they ads outlined the potential threat of losing loved ones as a result of problem gambling. You can read more about this interesting study in the Journal of Business Research.
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