In a literature review, researchers from the Institute for Interdisciplinary Addiction and Drug Research in Hamburg and the Gambling Research Unit at the Institute of Public Health and Nursing Research (IPP) at University of Bremen examined the effects of player protection measures in online gambling. The authors provide recommendations for policymakers.
“With the growing popularity of online gambling, the question arises from a health science perspective as to which player protection measures are suitable for effectively addressing the addiction risks and gambling-related harms associated with these digital products, explains Dr. Tobias Hayer from the (IPP) at University of Bremen.
“The results of the literature review are highly relevant to practice. For example, they show that player bans and financial limit systems are important developments for modern player protection. Such effective measures must be further reinforced.
A total of 42 academic publications, which contained empirical findings on the following player protection measures, were analyzed: player bans, personalized feedback, pre-commitment (limitation systems), pop-up messages, responsible gambling tools (player protection packages offered by online gambling providers), advertising restrictions, motivational telephone interventions, and self-assessments. Based on these measures, a total of eight recommendations for action were derived from the literature analysis for policymakers.
In a policy paper, the study’s authors presented recommendations for action. They emphasize that this is important with regard to the renewal of the State Treaty on Gambling among the federal states.
“Among other things, based on the results of a study from Spain, we recommend considering advertising restrictions as a promising approach for effective gambling addiction prevention. We hope that policymakers will take these findings into account and that evaluation studies on the effects of advertising restrictions in the gambling sector will also be conducted in Germany,” states Dr. Jens Kalke from the ISD.
The literature review was supported by the Federal Ministry of Health.
Further Information:
The German research report “Update 2025: Effekte von Maßnahmen des Spielerschutzes beim Online-Glücksspiel – Ein systematischer Review” is available for download here: https://www.isd-hamburg.de
Contact:
Dr. Tobias Hayer
University of Bremen, Faculty 11: Human and Health Sciences / Institute of Public Health and Nursing Research (IPP), Department Health and Society, Head of the Gambling Research Unit Phone: +49 421 218-68708
Email: tobha@uni-bremen.de
