German people’s attitudes towards maximum deposit limits and how attitudes are linked to actual gambling behaviours

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Author(s): Auer, Michael M. ; Griffiths, Mark D.

Journal: Journal of Gambling Studies

Year Published: 2022

Date Added: December 01, 2022

This study examined how people felt about gambling limit-setting overall and Germany’s monthly maximum deposit limit. The researchers used two datasets provided by a German online slots game operator. In one dataset, 1000 people were surveyed about deposit limits and self-reported gambling problems. The second dataset included information about each person’s wagers, wins, monetary deposits, and withdrawals. The datasets were combined. Most participants agreed with the maximum deposit limit. Participants who disagreed deposited more money than those who agreed with the limit. While over half of the participants (60.5%) said that they reached the maximum limit in at least one month, only 7.6% of participants actually did. About 42% of participants said they continued to gamble after reaching the deposit limit. These participants wagered and deposited more money than those who said they stopped gambling when they reached the limit. Over 20% of participants experienced gambling problems. However, problem gambling was not linked with depositing, wagering, or other account-based metrics.

Citation: Auer, M., & Griffiths, M. D. (2022). Attitude toward deposit limits and relationship with their account-based data among a sample of German online slots players. Journal of Gambling Studies. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-022-10155-1

Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-022-10155-1

Keywords: behavioural tracking ; limit setting ; problem gambling ; responsible gambling

Topics: Gambling Resources ; Information for Operators

Conceptual Framework Factors: Environment - Responsible Gambling ; Gambling Environment

Study Design: Secondary Data Analysis

Geographic Coverage: Germany

Study Population: Customers of a German online slots operator who were registered for at least 30 days before the survey (n = 1000). On average, the participants were 40 years old. Only 18% of participants were female.

Sampling Procedure: The researchers used secondary data provided by a German online slots operator. The operator collected survey responses from 1000 customers in February 2022. People were asked to answer the survey when they logged into their account. Only people who had registered for at least 30 days were asked to answer the survey. The researchers were also given a second dataset by the slots operator. This dataset contained information about each person’s wagers, wins, monetary deposits, and monetary withdrawals.

Study Funding:

No funding was received for this study.