Misunderstanding of financial gambling inducements among people who gamble in the UK

Financial inducements are promotional offers used by the gambling industry to attract and encourage people to gamble. However, it is often not transparent what is required of people if they accept a financial inducement. As such, people may not fully understand the true costs. In this study, the researchers examined people’s understanding of a financial inducement and whether providing a worked example explaining the wagering requirement would make a difference. A total of 585 adults took part in an online experiment. It was found that most people underestimated the cost associated with accepting the inducement. This underestimation was seen across all levels of gambling risk. Providing a worked example reduced the inducement's attractiveness. In general, people expressed negative views towards financial inducements, seeing them as manipulative and of little value, and called for stricter regulation or complete ban.

See the two-page plain language summary 'Misunderstanding of financial gambling inducements among people who gamble in the UK' in Greo's Evidence Centre.