Brain and Mind Centre, School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
International Gaming Institute, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Box 456037, 4505 S. Maryland Pkwy, Las Vegas, NV, 89154-6037, USA.
BMC Public Health. 2018 Dec 17;18(1):1381. doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-6281-0.
Responsible gambling messages are widely used as a tool to enable informed choice and encourage appropriate gambling behavior. It is generally accepted that gamblers have different levels of risk of developing gambling problems and require various harm minimization tools and resources. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that responsible gambling messages should be customized and target specific groups of gamblers. This project aimed to understand hypothesized differences between cohorts of gamblers and receive qualitative feedback on archetypal targeted messages used to increase use of responsible gambling tools.
Focus groups were held to test messages for specific cohorts: young adults (18-24 years), seniors (60+ years), frequent gamblers (weekly), and gamblers of skill-based games (poker, sports betting).
Cohorts exhibited different preferences and responses to message archetypes. Seniors preferred messages about limit setting, whilst young adults and frequent gamblers responded to messages about their own play and expertise. Skill game gamblers were interested in the odds of winning and their own outcomes over time. However, all groups agreed that using positive, non-judgmental language in messaging is important.
This research makes an important contribution to the field by demonstrating that the wording of message content will likely influence the effectiveness of such messages differentially across various groups of gamblers for engaging gamblers in harm reduction tools. Guidance is provided on themes that can be used by public health marketers.
负责任的赌博信息被广泛用作一种工具，以实现知情选择并鼓励适当的赌博行为。人们普遍认为，赌徒有不同程度的赌博问题风险，需要各种减少伤害的工具和资源。因此，有理由期望负责任的赌博信息应该是定制的，并针对特定的赌徒群体。本项目旨在了解不同赌徒群体之间的假设差异，并对用于增加负责任赌博工具使用的典型针对性信息进行定性反馈。
为特定群体（18-24 岁的年轻人、60 岁以上的老年人、每周赌博的赌徒、扑克和体育博彩等技巧类游戏的赌徒）举行焦点小组讨论，以测试信息。
不同群体对信息原型表现出不同的偏好和反应。老年人更喜欢有关设置限制的信息，而年轻人和经常赌博的人则对自己的游戏和专业知识的信息做出回应。技巧类游戏的赌徒对获胜几率和自己的长期结果感兴趣。然而，所有群体都同意在信息中使用积极、非评判性的语言很重要。
本研究通过证明信息内容的措辞可能会对不同群体的赌徒对减少伤害工具的参与程度产生不同的影响，为该领域做出了重要贡献。为公共卫生营销人员提供了可以使用的主题指导。
