Discussion
The present study is the first to empirically investigate the effect of voluntary limit-setting on gamblers’ loyalty using behavioural tracking data. The main finding supported the hypothesis that those who set voluntary limits would be more loyal to the gambling operator over time (in this case, a 1-year period). Overall, the present study found that relatively few gamblers set voluntary limits. More specifically, out of the 175,818 players, 8.3% choose a limit between January 2016 and May 2017 (
n = 14,581). This is higher than the study by Nelson et al. (
2008) who reported that out of 47,134 players who subscribed to
bwin.com in February 2005, 1.2% utilized the voluntary limit-setting feature (
n = 567). The increased percentage of players using the voluntary money setting feature in the present study may purely be because such RG features are now more embedded in modern online gambling websites and/or are more advertised to players within-site than they were 10 years ago. The percentage of 8.3% of players setting a voluntary limit in the present study was similar to that to the recent study by Ivanova et al. (
2019) who found that 6.5% of newly registered players set a voluntary limit 90 days after registration without actively being prompted by the operator to do so.
In each of the ten playing intensity groups in the present study, the percentage of active players in the first quarter of 2017 was higher in the group of players who had set voluntary money limits in the first quarter of 2016 compared to players that did not. The smallest difference between players who had and who had not set money limits was found in the lowest playing intensity group. The present study also found that 8.8% of players aged between 18 and 21 years chose a voluntary money limit compared to 6.9% of players aged between 56 and 76 years. Based on these findings, the study demonstrates that the percentage of players who voluntarily set a money limit decreases with age. This may be because older people are less likely to bet riskily with their money and who feel more in control of their gambling expenditure compared to younger players. However, it should be noted that there was no clear positive or negative trend visible overall with respect to gambling intensity.
Previous studies have demonstrated that the use of voluntary spending limits decrease near-future gambling intensity (Auer and Griffiths
2013). However, no previous empirical study has ever provided empirically based insight into the long-term business effects of voluntary limit-setting. The results of the present study suggest that gamblers who use voluntary limit-setting features remain more loyal to the gambling operator compared to those who do not set such limits. From a business perspective, the implication is that gambling operators should try to get their players to utilize limit-setting features because it may increase long-term customer retention (and therefore ‘lifetime customer value’) while simultaneously providing protection against over-spending for their clientele.
These findings are in a context of limit-setting appearing to become an increasingly common RG practise in online gambling. For instance, Bonello and Griffiths (
2017) reviewed the social responsibility practices comprising 50 of world’s most well-known online gambling sites. They reported that 45 sites (90%) offered players the opportunity to voluntarily set monetary spending limits. Marionneau and Järvinen-Tassopoulos (
2017) reviewed consumer protection among all 18 licensed online operators in France and all 18 of the operators offered monetary betting limits as well as deposit limits. Calvosa (
2017) reviewed ten regulated online gambling sites in Italy and reported that all ten had the mandatory requirement for players to choose a monetary deposit limit before they could play.
Apart from players aged between 56 and 76 years, the median daily limit in the present study was always smaller than the median daily bet in all age groups. This means that limits are generally set in a realistic range of the actual gambling behaviour. This supports previous findings which report that the majority of players think that voluntary spending limits are a useful RG feature (International Gaming Research Unit
2007; Griffiths et al.
2009; Auer et al.
2018a). Voluntary money limits are not useful if the limits chosen are much higher than the actual gambling habits because they will not help the player to control excessive gambling. In order to examine the effect of voluntary limit-setting on loyalty, the present study utilized a predictive research design. Players were categorized into equal groups according to gambling intensity over a single-time period (January–March 2016) and then their behaviour was observed during a future time period (January–March 2017). The difference between the players starting point (first quarter of 2016) is the fact that they did or did not have a voluntary limit in the previous time period. A similar approach was chosen by Coussement and De Bock (
2013) during which they predicted future inactivity on an online gambling site based on past behaviour.
In the present study, none of the ten intensity groups were significantly different with respect to gender. However, the first seven intensity groups were significantly different with respect to age. Players who set voluntary limits were younger compared to players who did not set limits. This is in line with the aforementioned finding that the percentage of players aged 18 to 21 years who chose limits was higher compared to players aged between 56 and 76 years.
A logistic regression with the activity in the first quarter of 2017 as the binary dependent variable and age, gender, and setting a voluntary limit (yes/no) as the independent variables found that all three variables are significant. More specifically, being older, being male, and the setting of a voluntary limit in the first quarter of 2016 were positively correlated with still being an active gambler in the first quarter of 2017. The interaction between gender and age as well as the interaction between gender and the setting of a voluntary limit in the first quarter of 2016 were also significant in predicting being an active gambler in the first quarter in 2017. This indicates that there are non-linear relationships between those variables with respect to the gambling activity in the first quarter of 2017. However, the model quality is poor as reported by the area under the curve (AUC) which was 54% and the significant Hosmer-Lemesbow statistic (χ2 = 130.07, df = 8, p < 0.0001). However, this does not impact the finding that voluntary limit-setting is correlated with loyalty over a 1-year period. It cannot be expected that limit-setting, age, and gender alone are sufficient in fully explaining gambling activity 1 year later.
On the assumption that voluntary limit-setting should be part of a gaming operator’s CSR strategy, the results appear to underline the fact that CSR has a positive effect on business outcomes. Other studies underline this hypothesis, although they were based on survey data. In a study of 596 casino customers in South Korea, Kim et al. (
2017) found that philanthropic CSR had a significant and direct effect on behavioural intentions. In a survey of Canadian casino customers, Abarbanel et al. (
2018) also found that corporate social responsibility, and in particular, a commitment to responsible gambling programs, were closely related to customer satisfaction with gambling operators.
The extent to which voluntary limits are used strongly depends on a gaming operator’s overall RG strategy. Some companies require all players to choose a limit, and/or have maximum loss limits whereas other operators offer limit-setting as an entirely voluntary tool (Auer et al.
2018a). The authors believe that the present study’s result is an important argument for player protection because it demonstrates that voluntary limit-setting does not increase players’ inactivity. On the contrary, it increases retention. This is not contradictory to the goals of voluntary limit-setting, assuming that voluntary limit-setting aims to reduce expenditure and not stop gambling completely. The present authors envisage that this finding will encourage more operators to introduce voluntary limit-setting options and actively advertise them to their players.
The present study is not without its limitations. The study was not an experiment because it is impossible to control a ‘voluntary’ behaviour. A control group in which players are told to choose a limit would contradict the voluntary aspect of such responsible gaming tools. The variables examined were limited and many different influences such as playing on other sites, winning or losing experiences, and available income can all impact on future gambling behaviour. The present study was also conducted with players from one online gambling operator although contrary to many other empirical behavioural tracking studies, the players came from seven different countries (Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Sweden and the UK). The evaluation of voluntary limit-setting on future loyalty was only assessed during one specific time period which could have been potentially effected by factors unknown to the authors. In order to understand the relationship between voluntary limits and loyalty in more detail, further studies with data from other operators have to be carried out.
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