International research indicates that different aspects of the gambling environment, including venue design can mitigate the harm minimisation and host responsibility initiatives in place.
The Ministry is seeking services to investigate the effect of venue characteristics on both problem gamblers’ and recreational gamblers’ gambling behaviour.
This research will enable assessment of the impact of gambling venue characteristics on:
- player satisfaction and enjoyment
- player behaviour
- player expenditure
- player awareness of their expenditure, time spent playing and control over gambling
- risk factors associated with onset or maintenance of at-risk and problem gambling
- the perceptions of self-identified problem gamblers on the characteristics that have influenced the development and severity of their problems with gambling.
Key Results
- EGM Noise: Noise from machines has a strong positive relationship with problem gambling, likely because of the escalation in machine noise that accompanies an EGM win.
- Time loss: Even with the current indicators of time passing, such as clocks on the machines and in the room, 1 in every 3 gamblers underestimated how long they were at the venue. Time loss also has a strong positive relationship with the duration of play, a known indicator of problem gambling.
- Staff interaction: Qualitative interviews with problem gamblers indicate that those that have positive social interactions with staff are also less likely to be problem gamblers. There is already evidence of some success around staff interaction, with 1 in 5 gamblers having positive interactions with staff.
- Seat shifting behaviour: Those that report higher problem gambling switch between EGMs more often. About 58% of gamblers shifted machines, and problem gamblers were more likely to shift machines.
- Frequency vs Duration: The frequency with which someone gambles was a better indicator of self-reported problem gambling than the duration of each visit (44% of gamblers were at the same venue at least twice a week).