How best to improve upon return-to-player information in gambling? A comparison of two approaches in an Australian sample

“Return-to-player” information is used in several jurisdictions to display the long-run cost of gambling, but previous evidence suggests that these messages are frequently misunderstood by gamblers. Two ways of improving the communication of return-to-player information have been suggested: switchin...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Philip W. S. Newall, Lukasz Walasek, Elliot A. Ludvig, Matthew Jenkins
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2022-01-01
Series:Experimental Results
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2516712X22000211/type/journal_article
Description
Summary:“Return-to-player” information is used in several jurisdictions to display the long-run cost of gambling, but previous evidence suggests that these messages are frequently misunderstood by gamblers. Two ways of improving the communication of return-to-player information have been suggested: switching to an equivalent “house-edge” format, or via the use of a “volatility warning,” clarifying that the information applies only in the statistical long run. In this study, Australian participants (N = 603) were presented with either a standard return-to-player message, the same message supplemented with a volatility warning, or a house-edge message. The return-to-player plus volatility warning message was understood correctly more frequently than the return-to-player message, but the house-edge message was understood best of all. Participants perceived the lowest chance of winning in the return-to-player plus volatility warning condition. These findings contribute data on the relative merits of two proposed approaches in the design of improved gambling information.
ISSN:2516-712X