Submission Title
The utilization of player account data in assessing the effectiveness of responsible gambling tools in Finland
Session Title
Session 1-1-C: Using Data for Responsible Gambling
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation
Location
Park MGM, Las Vegas, NV
Start Date
23-5-2023 10:15 AM
End Date
23-5-2023 11:45 AM
Disciplines
Behavioral Economics | Econometrics | Policy Design, Analysis, and Evaluation
Abstract
In recent years, responsible gambling (RG) tools have gained significant attention among the gambling professionals as well as the public. This has led to the adaption of a variety of RG tools by many gambling companies and countries, including Finland.
In this presentation, I will discuss the evaluation of the effectiveness of the current RG tools in Finland and the use of the Finnish legal gambling monopoly company Veikkaus’ customer registry data for this purpose. Veikkaus is obligated by law to provide information e.g. about their product sales and customers for the researchers of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare to study and monitor gambling-related harms in Finland. The player account-based data contains crucial information about the actual real-life gambling decisions and use of RG tools. With this kind of data, it is possible to detect e.g. who, how, and when these RG tools are used. Finally, an important question is to what extent the introduction and changes in RG tools are associated with the subsequent behavior of the gamblers.
Implication statement:
The evaluation of RG tools is in the great interest of multiple parties, the policy makers as well as the gambling companies. However, this task is very difficult in practice. This presentation is an attempt to discuss different methods and approaches to analyze the effectiveness of these tools.
Keywords
Gambling behavior, registry data, panel data, empirical analysis, responsible gambling tools, policy evaluation
Funding Sources
Tomi Roukka’s daily work at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare is funded by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Finland, within the objectives of the §52 Appropriation of the Lotteries Act. He also has a part time contract in the University of Turku, Economics department as a doctoral researcher. He has received funding to his doctoral sturdies from the Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies, Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation and The Emil Aaltonen Foundation.
Competing Interests
Tomi Roukka declares no conflicts of interest in relation to this abstract and presentation.
The utilization of player account data in assessing the effectiveness of responsible gambling tools in Finland
Park MGM, Las Vegas, NV
In recent years, responsible gambling (RG) tools have gained significant attention among the gambling professionals as well as the public. This has led to the adaption of a variety of RG tools by many gambling companies and countries, including Finland.
In this presentation, I will discuss the evaluation of the effectiveness of the current RG tools in Finland and the use of the Finnish legal gambling monopoly company Veikkaus’ customer registry data for this purpose. Veikkaus is obligated by law to provide information e.g. about their product sales and customers for the researchers of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare to study and monitor gambling-related harms in Finland. The player account-based data contains crucial information about the actual real-life gambling decisions and use of RG tools. With this kind of data, it is possible to detect e.g. who, how, and when these RG tools are used. Finally, an important question is to what extent the introduction and changes in RG tools are associated with the subsequent behavior of the gamblers.
Implication statement:
The evaluation of RG tools is in the great interest of multiple parties, the policy makers as well as the gambling companies. However, this task is very difficult in practice. This presentation is an attempt to discuss different methods and approaches to analyze the effectiveness of these tools.