Smaller study, “greater depth”
The Responsible Gambling Trust, a U.K. charitable organization that “aims to minimize gambling harm,” according to its website, has commissioned the firm Sophro Ltd. to study online gaming.
According to a release from RGT, researchers “will adopt a qualitative approach using a combination of behavioral and interview data” and “look at a smaller number of participants in greater depth.”
Online gaming operator Unibet will collaborate with Sophro to provide access to industry data, the release stated. Researchers will study customer data from Unibet’s online bingo, casino, sports betting and poker products. A final report is expected in autumn 2016.
RGT CEO Marc Etches said the study “is innovative and will contribute to our knowledge of player behavior and of effective responsible gambling interventions. We are delighted that Unibet has agreed to provide access to the player data necessary to make this research possible.”
“We are pleased to be working with RGT and Unibet on this exciting project designed to enhance understanding of how to minimize risk in remote gambling,” added lead researcher Dr. Jonathan Parke of Sophro. “In an innovative approach to researching player data we will be using qualitative techniques to analyze real gambling behavior; moving beyond description and towards explanatory understandings of remote gambling processes associated with harm. This project will contribute to the groundwork for more effective harm minimization in remote gambling.”
