The Campaign for Fairer Gambling commissioned a report to investigate harms associated with high-stakes betting available at fixed odds bettings terminals (FOBTs) in betting shops in the United Kingdom. This report is associated with that report. It also builds upon other ResPublica reports to provide recommendations to the gambling industry.
This report focuses on the online gambling industry and the need to prevent operant conditioning techniques. Operant conditioning is learning process that reinforces behaviours through reward and punishment. It argues that online gambling platforms use methods that create long-term dependency. These methods target problem gamblers and increase the risk of problem gambling.
The report concludes that consumer protection should be a priority for the government. Consumer protection regulatory bodies should have greater authority over the online gambling industry. This will better protect vulnerable consumers from exposure to operant conditioning techniques.
