Safer gambling messages are a commonly used public health intervention. Little research, however, has examined the content and utility of safer gambling messages. In this study, the researchers conducted focus groups with gambling professionals, including academics, regulators, and treatment providers. In each focus group, participants were presented with five different types of safer gambling messages. Participants discussed various aspects of these messages and how to improve them. The researchers identified five main themes from the focus groups: (1) messages may be insufficient to change behaviour; (2) messages should respect the diversity amongst people who gamble; (3) messages should not contribute to gambling stigma; (4) messages should provide norm-based information thoughtfully; and (5) messages should trigger only positive, and not negative, emotions. These findings have implications for the development of safer gambling messages. They also highlight the importance of considering various factors when designing such messages.
