The Role of Loyalty Programs in Gambling: Final Report Of
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The role of loyalty programs in gambling: final report of findings from audit of electronic gaming machine gambling venues, literature review, online discussion boards and longitudinal telephone survey Commissioned by: Gambling Research Australia 2014 Prepared by: Dr Nina Van Dyke Danielle Jenner Christine Maddern Market Solutions Social Research Group (SRG) Funded by the State and Territory Governments and the Australian Government Published on behalf of Gambling Research Australia by the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing Department of Justice, Melbourne, Victoria Australia January 2016 Gambling Research Australia: The Role of Loyalty Programs in Gambling Gambling Research Australia (GRA) is a partnership between the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments to initiate and manage a national program of gambling research. The Secretariat is provided by the Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney-General. Further information about the national research program may be obtained from www.gamblingresearch.org.au GRA commissioned Market Solutions to undertake a study into the role of loyalty programs in gambling. This study through Gambling Research Australia is supported by the following jurisdictions: · Australian Capital Territory: ACT Government through the ACT Gambling and Racing Commission · Australian Government: Department of Social Services · New South Wales: NSW Government through the Responsible Gambling Fund · Northern Territory: Northern Territory Government through the Community Benefit Fund · Queensland: Department of Justice and Attorney-General · South Australia: Government of South Australia · Tasmania: Tasmanian Government through the Community Support Levy · Victoria: Government of Victoria · Western Australia: Government of Western Australia through the Problem Gambling Support Centre GRA Secretariat Telephone: 07 3872 0938 Facsimile: 07 3237 1656 © Copyright State of Victoria, Department of Justice 2016 This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Also published on www.gamblingresearch.org.au Disclaimer The views expressed in this report are solely those of the author/s. The information, views and reference material in this report is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the information provided. Gambling Research Australia make no warranty - express or implied - nor assume any liability or responsibility for use of or reliance on the contents of this report Print authorised by: Gambling Research Australia Author acknowledgement We would like to thank Gambling Research Australia (GRA) for commissioning this study. Thanks also to our topic expert consultants, Professor Byron Sharp of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute University of South Australia and Dr Damien Brevers, Postdoctoral Scholar at the Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California and the Psychological Medicine Laboratory, Université Libre de Bruxelles; and our statistical consultant, Dr Mark Griffin, Director of Australian Development Agency for Statistics and Information Systems. An enormous thanks to Professor Ronald H. Heck, University of Hawaii, for his input and advice regarding the initial statistical analysis of the longitudinal survey data. We would also like to thank our colleague, Anna Lethborg, for setting up and moderating the online discussion boards, and our dedicated research assistants: John Roberts and Erin Roberts, as well as the field staff who conducted the audit and CATI survey and recruitment for the discussion boards and survey. Finally, we would like to extend our thanks to the people who gave their time to take part in the online discussion boards and the telephone survey. Gambling Research Australia: The Role of Loyalty Programs in Gambling ACRONYMS ARIMA Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average CATI Computer Assisted Telephone Interview CPGI Canadian Problem Gambling Inventory DoJ Department of Justice (Victoria) EGM Electronic Gaming Machine GABS-23 Gambling Attitudes and Beliefs Survey (shorter version) GABS-7 Seven-items from the Gambling Attitudes and Beliefs Survey (modified from GABS-23) GLMM Generalised linear mixed model GRA Gambling Research Australia HSLP High Success Loyalty Program IGC Individual Growth Curves IRR Incidence-rate Ratios LMM Linear Mixed Model(ling) LP Loyalty Program LPM Loyalty Program Member/ship MM Multilevel Modelling / Mixed effects modeling MAR Missing at Random NFI No Further Information PG Problem Gambler PGSI Problem Gambling Severity Index (9-item) RGM Responsible Gambling Message RSL Returned and Services League SRG Social Research Group (a division of Market Solutions) TGS TabCorp Gaming Solutions TSI Torres Strait Islander Gambling Research Australia: The Role of Loyalty Programs in Gambling Contents 1 Executive Summary........................................................................................................................8 1.1 Background and study rationale .................................................................................. 8 1.2 Methodology ................................................................................................................ 9 1.3 Audit of gambling loyalty programs in Australia ........................................................... 9 1.4 Literature review ........................................................................................................ 11 1.5 Online discussion boards ........................................................................................... 15 1.6 Three-wave longitudinal telephone survey ................................................................ 17 1.7 Discussion .................................................................................................................. 21 1.8 Limitations .................................................................................................................. 22 2 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 23 2.1 Background ................................................................................................................ 23 2.2 Research objectives ................................................................................................... 24 2.3 Project overview ......................................................................................................... 25 2.3.1 Study 1: Audit of loyalty programs ................................................................ 25 2.3.2 Study 2: Literature review ............................................................................. 26 2.3.3 Study 3: Online discussion boards................................................................ 27 2.3.4 Study 4: Longitudinal panel survey ............................................................... 28 2.4 About this report ......................................................................................................... 29 3 Audit of gambling loyalty programs .......................................................................................... 31 3.1 Objectives .................................................................................................................. 31 3.2 Methodology .............................................................................................................. 31 3.2.1 Venue selection............................................................................................. 31 3.2.2 Audit process ................................................................................................ 33 3.2.3 Data weighting .............................................................................................. 34 3.3 Prevalence and content of loyalty programs ............................................................. 36 3.3.1 Prevalence of loyalty programs ..................................................................... 36 3.3.2 Prevalence of EGMs and loyalty programs on venue websites ................... 39 3.3.3 Prevalence of responsible gambling messages in conjunction with loyalty programs advertised on venue websites ...................................................... 41 3.3.4 Loyalty program details ................................................................................. 44 3.4 Discussion .................................................................................................................. 57 4 Literature review .......................................................................................................................... 59 4.1 Objectives .................................................................................................................. 59 4.2 Methodology .............................................................................................................. 59 4.2.1 Search strategy ............................................................................................. 59 4.2.2 Choice of studies........................................................................................... 61 4.3 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 63 4.3.1 Gambling and EGMs in Australia .................................................................. 63 4.3.2 Loyalty programs..........................................................................................