Slot machine players often fail to understand the probability of success resulting in problem gambling behaviours such as exceeding financial limits. A promising approach to changing this problematic behaviour involves educating players about the true odds of winning and providing money limiting strategies using educational animation. Based on Wohl and colleagues‟ 9-minute educational animation designed to dispel erroneous cognitions and promote adherence to financial limits, we developed and evaluated the effectiveness of a short 3-minute version. Slot machine gamblers (N=123) were recruited from two Ontario gaming venues and watched one of three videos: the 9-minute animation, 3-minute, or control video. Compared to the control group, participants who watched the animations showed reduced erroneous cognitions immediately after video exposure and greater adherence to financial limits during their subsequent gambling session but not 30 days later. Educational animations as a responsible gambling tool and the appropriate venue for the short and long animations are discussed.
