Responsible Gambling Trust launched a landmark research programme

The RGT said that the research had been instigated to better understand how people behave when playing these machines and what helps people to stay in control and play responsibly.

Marc Etches, CEO of the Responsible Gambling Trust, commented: “Ninety-nine percent of British adults who gamble do so without getting into difficulties.  Some unfortunately do have problems and we have a responsibility to fund and commission appropriate research, education and treatment services.
"There is significant consumer and political interest in Category B gaming machines, which are those that offer the highest stakes and prizes in Britain, but there is a lack of robust evidence about how people play on these machines and what helps people to stay in control and play responsibly,” he added.

“The us$ 800,000 research programme that we are commissioning will be the largest programme of academic research into gaming machines ever undertaken in Britain and represents a unique opportunity to provide high quality, empirically-sound and peer-reviewed research to inform future policy-making,” he assured.

The charity will begin its gaming machine research programme in January 2013 with the commissioning of the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) to investigate the machine-related data that different gambling operators hold.  This initial phase of the research programme is expected to take six months and will create a data-rich platform on which to build further research.

The charity's Director of Commissioning Dr Parke explained: “This research initiative is hugely significant and the Responsible Gambling Trust is now well placed to commission NatCen to begin the process of filling the evidence gap. Our aim is to describe and understand patterns of gaming machine play in various locations; to explain the impact on player behaviour of various factors; and to identify where there is robust evidence that consumers may be experiencing problems.

"While research involving collaborations with industry and use of player data have been done before, nothing has ever been attempted on this scale involving such a range of gambling providers nor has it ever involved such a complex and advanced industry environment where there are various operators, gambling environments and types of gaming machine.  Although it is early days, we are hopeful this landmark research is an important first step to making a vital contribution to understanding consumer behaviour related to gaming machines in Britain."

Etches added: "By its keenness to give researchers unprecedented access to gaming machine data and then to stand back from the research process, the industry has given a mandate to the Trust to commission research that will be rigorously objective and independent of the industry.  A panel of independent experts will provide the necessary academic oversight to underpin stakeholder confidence in both the quality and the objectivity of the research.

"We expect to publish some initial analysis as early as June 2013, but the scale and significance of this work and the importance of getting it right means that the overall research programme is likely to take 18 months.”