Prevention of Gambling Addiction in the State Gambling Sector:Are Problem Gamblers Reached?

Objective: According to the German State Gambling Treaty, gambling operators are obliged to implement player protection measures. Findings about the access to problem gamblers, as well as the use of voluntary self-limiting strategies are lacking. The study investigates the use of player protection measures as well as the application of self-limiting strategies among normal and problem gamblers. Methods: Data collection was carried out among lottery players in Rhineland-Palatinate (a county in Germany) by means of questionnaires (terrestrial and online). The total sample comprised of 1,966 questionnaires. The differentiation of normal and problem gamblers was based on the "Lie-/Bet-Questionnaire". Results: The proportion of problem gamblers was 7.8 % (Lifetime). The use of player protection measures in the overall sample was average to low (41.2-0.0%) and was based on concrete problem situations. More problem- than normal gamblers used player protection measures. Problem gambling was hardly addressed by staff:12.9% of terrestrial and 1.5% of online problem gamblers were approached about their gambling behaviour. Problem gamblers showed significantly lower levels of agreement to limiting gambling duration, frequency, and stakes; online, there was no significant difference in stakes limitation. Conclusions: The majority of problem gamblers are not reached by way of current measures. Early warning systems based on behavioural data can help to increase the access to player protection measures, especially among problem gamblers.