Perceptions of Consumers towards Responsible Gambling - Example

Title: Marketing Report Name of student: Institution of Learning: Name of instructor: Date of submission: Executive Summary There are various areas where gambling activities are common. This is mainly observed in consumer decision making activities and in sports betting activities. Despite the general attitude that gambling is a risky activity, there are cases where gambling can be carried out responsibly. There are also a number of people who participate in gambling as an enjoyable leisure and entertainment process. However, in some people gambling has resulted into negative impacts, thus the need to address the process of gambling with the focus on ensuring responsible gambling. This paper presents a study in which perceptions of consumers towards responsible gambling are investigated. The main areas of gambling investigated are offline and online gambling. In addition, the level of impacts of gambling on the respondents is investigated. According to the results of the study, it is found that there exists responsible gambling while there is an attitude that there is the need to stop gambling except under unavoidable circumstances. TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary 2 CHAPTER ONE 5 1.Introduction 5 1.1 Problem Definition 6 1.2 Scope of the Research 7 1.3 Research problems and objectives 7 CHAPTER TWO 7 2. Methodology 7 2.1. Introduction 7 2.2. Measures 8 2.3. Sampling Methods 9 2.4. Data analysis 9 CHAPTER THREE 10 3. Results 10 Figure 1. Age groups of participants 10 Table 1. Responses on offline and online gambling methods 11 Table 2. Responses on years of gambling 11 Table 3. Reponses on whether gambling should be stopped 12 Table 4. reeponses on whether responsible gambling messages affect caution when gambling 12 Table 5. Responses on whether responsible gambling messages affect consumers in various platforms 13 Figure 2. Responses on whether responsible gambling messages affect problem gamblers 13 Figure 3. Responses on Whether responsible gambling messages affect non-problem gamblers 14 Table 6. Correlations between variables 16 CHAPTER FOUR 16 4.Discussion 16 4.1.Limitations and future Research 19 CHAPTER FIVE 20 5.Conclusions and Recommendations 20 6.References 21 Appendix 24 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Responses on offline and online gambling methods 11 Table 2. Responses on years of gambling 11 Table 3. Reponses on whether gambling should be stopped 12 Table 4. reeponses on whether responsible gambling messages affect caution when gambling 12 Table 5. Responses on whether responsible gambling messages affect consumers in various platforms 13 Table 6. Correlations between variables 16 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Age groups of participants 10 Figure 2. Responses on whether responsible gambling messages affect problem gamblers 13 Figure 3. Responses on Whether responsible gambling messages affect non-problem gamblers 14 CHAPTER ONE 1. Introduction Gambling is a controversial topic in advertising because it determines the level of trust that consumers have on a particular product or service advertised. There are polarized views with regards to advertising with some views supportive of the idea while others opposing the idea. Polarized views result from functions that gambling messages convey in the modern market economy (Allcock, 2002). There are negative views towards gambling messages such as creation of trickery artificial needs among consumers, generation of demands that cannot be satisfied and also creation of the demands that result into disaster to the society. There is also increased controversy in commercial gambling in public sphere. It has been associated with increased entertainment for consumers, creation of employment opportunities, generation of gambling companies’ services and generation of revenues through taxes (Bjerg, 2010). There are also negative views towards gambling messages that has moral dimension, associating gambling messages with hedonism, individualism and fatalism. Gambling messages have also been associated with public concerns such as creation of psychological harms that have impacts on parts of the population. In addition, gambling can result into polarization of views, making people develop a negative attitude towards it, while others assuming a social responsibility of being gamblers (Dedonno & Detterman, 2008). In various parts of the world, responsible provision of gambling messages such as responsible advertising has become a significant part of the companies’ descriptions. Responsible gambling has also been associated with protection of consumers in number of ways such as protecting consumers from national harms of gambling such as excessive involvement. The practice of gambling has been common in most industrialized countries and most adults have been observed to gamble at least once a year. This is because, they associate gambling with addition of quality to life (Gainsbury, 2011). Advertising enables attaining value for gambling through creation of information about products and services and ensures enjoyable forms of gambling are implemented. Responsible gambling messages have been formulated in Australia mainly because there are many risky gambling activities that take place thus the need to ensure its regulation. Other factors that pose potential constraints to the growth and success of responsible gambling have been suggested to include trust in regulators, perception of consumer safety and responsible gambling processes. The implementation and maintenance of the right practices, relevant codes of regulation is in compliance with profitable business structures due to its impact in increasing customer acquisition and retention (Gainsbury, 2012). In this study, the main areas of focus include attitudes, experiences and needs of respondents in gambling in addition to perceptions regarding gambling activities. The significance of this research is that it enables understanding of commercial advantages affecting customers in their use of gambling messages by providing variables which are associated with mistrust and lack of satisfaction to enable taking steps aimed at avoiding similar concerns. The relevance of this paper to researchers, gamblers, regulators and policy makers is that it creates additional knowledge on gambling practices as well as enabling development of the right regulation to ensure gamblers are protected. 1.1 Problem Definition It is common to find responsible gambling messages being used by customers in Australian customers’ services departments. This has resulted into formulation of South Australian Gambling Codes of Practice Notice 2013 with the requirement that all marketing messages to have responsible gambling information that can be distinguished by customers so that they engage in responsible gambling (Grant & Kim, 2001). Despite the existence of the law, there has been the concern with regards to the effects of responsible gambling messages on the target clients. This is an implication that when gamblers read the gambling messages, they are likely to engage in responsible gambling (Griffiths, 2007). Various studies have been conducted on the role of gambling through display of responsible gambling messages as a process of ensuring loss of money is minimized during gambling process. Internet gambling has been promoted by use of pop-up messages that provide a guide to consumers whenever they attempt to gamble in the internet (Jawad & Griffiths 2008). However, there has not been any proof that the messages contribute to responsible gambling. The gap in knowledge has been based on the possibility that consumers can lose control of their gambling process if they do not take part in responsible gambling and also worsened by the fact that some consumers are problem gamblers. 1.2 Scope of the Research This study focuses mainly on empirical study of responsible gambling messages on consumers of various products among the samples involved in the study. The study does not include the role of ‘counter-advertising’, the role of media campaigns with regards to responsible gambling. This is because counter-advertising is a topic on its own and involves activities aimed at preventing risky gambling. In addition, this report does not cover the effects of gambling on people’s gambling preferences, gambling in the news, TV series, books and poker magazines and poker tournaments. In addition, this study does not include advertising as one of the components of gambling process. This study involves empirical research and presenting empirical data which is analyzed so that a recommendation is made about the empirical study. It takes advantage of various forms of offline and online advertising strategies to understand the role of responsible gambling messages on the possibility of a consumer to make a responsible decision. 1.3 Research problems and objectives The objective of the research was to find the views of respondents with regards to a number of questions as follows: 1. Does responsible gambling message affect consumer’s sense of caution when gambling? 2. How do responsible gambling messages affect different consumers using different gambling platforms? 3. Is the effect of responsible gambling messages similar on different consumer categories specifically problem gamblers and non problem gamblers? CHAPTER TWO 2. Methodology 2.1. Introduction In this study, quantitative methods were used to collect data where the participants were selected from a group of gamblers in Australia. Quantitative research refers to the process of collecting numerical information that can be used to explain a phenomenon (Jolley, Mizerski & Olaru, 2006). The assumption of quantitative method is that a solution to a scientific problem can be reached by measuring the characteristics of the variables and analyzing them to come up with a conclusion for the research problem. This research will involve a pragmatic study to gauge the effectiveness of responsible gambling messages in contributing to responsible gambling. In order to ensure accurate data is obtained and analyzed, the researcher assumed the position of neutrality towards the research problem so that respondents could provide independent answers without the manipulation of the researcher (Ledgerwood & Petry, 2006). The research questions required the respondents to provide their views regarding the research questions in a number of ways such as ‘Agree’, ‘neutral’, and ‘Disagree’. Quantitative method of data collection was used to collect information such as the age of respondents, gender, duration of gambling and their agreements with the research questions. This enabled obtaining of descriptive characteristics of the samples and analysis of the quantitative data to obtain a conclusion about the views of respondents towards responsible gambling messages. The data collected was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) so that information such as descriptive characteristics and correlation between variables could be obtained. 2.2. Measures The questionnaire included 10 items that were organized into the following sections: a. Demographic characteristics the questions required respondents to provide demographic characteristics relevant to then such as age, gender and marital status. b. The option whether respondents preferred to use online gambling or offline gambling with the aim of getting a distinction of the most popular gambling method among the two forms of gambling. c. The number of years that the participants have participated in gambling. This was achieved through provision of choices such as 2, 5, and 7 and above 7 years so that participants could select the number of years they have participated in gambling. d. Responses were also recorded in terms of the proposal that gambling should be stopped. Responses were recorded in terms of: ‘Agree’, ‘Neutral’ and ‘Disagree’. e. The role of responsible gambling messages on the taking caution during gambling process. This question required respondents to respond using the responses: ‘Agree’, ‘Neutral’ and ‘Disagree’. f. Whether responsible gambling affects consumers in various platforms. Respondents were required to respond to this question by either replying using the responses: ‘Agree’, ‘Neutral’ and ‘Disagree’. g. Respondents were required to explain whether gambling had an impact on problem gamblers. The responses were recorded on a scale that involved responses such as: ‘Agree’, ‘Neutral’ and ‘Disagree’. h. Questions were provided requiring respondents to explain whether responsible gambling had an impact on non-problem gambling. The responses were recorded in terms of: ‘Agree’, ‘Neutral’ and ‘Disagree’. 2.3. Sampling Methods Sampling method refers to the method in which respondents are selected for the study. In this study, 150 respondents who took part in gambling of various forms were involved. The sampling process was random and involved random distribution of questionnaires to the selected samples of the population. The target respondents were drawn from Australia and included both online and offline gamblers. This procedure enabled understanding of the differentials that exist between online and offline consumers. The analysis method involved the use of SPSS to conduct distribution analysis and the percentages of various parameters of a particular variable. 2.4. Data analysis Data analysis involved establishment of Pearson correlation between variables. In addition, the analysis included determination of descriptive statistics pertaining to the participants such as mean, median, standard deviation and variance. Analyses were carried out separately for each variable so that each variable could be understood better. The rationale of establishing gender characteristics of respondents is that there was the need to understand the responses of participants towards the research problems based on gender (Parke, Griffiths & Parke, 2005). CHAPTER THREE 3. Results The participants were selected randomly among a group of offline and online gamblers in Australia where 82 were male (54.7%) while 68 were female (45.3%). This implies that a greater number of participants were male gamblers. In terms of marital status of the participants, 56 were single (37.3), 67 were married (44.7%) and 27 were divorced (18%). This indicates that a greater number of participants were married. In terms of age group; 18-25 years were 28 (18.7%), 26-35 were 40 (26.7%), 36-45 were 50 (33.3%) and those above 45 years were 32 (21.3%). This implies that the largest age group among the participants was the age group of 36-45 years. These results are illustrated in the appendix. Figure 1. Age groups of participants In the investigation of various research questions, it was found that 58 respondents (38.7%) used offline gambling methods, 66 respondents (44.0%) used Offline gambling methods and 26 (17.3%) usd non of the gambling methods. This implies that a greater number of particioants used offline gambling methods. Online or Offline gambling Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Online 58 38.7 38.7 38.7 offline 66 44.0 44.0 82.7 None 26 17.3 17.3 100.0 Total 150 100.0 100.0 Table 1. Responses on offline and online gambling methods In terms of years of gambling, 40 respondents (26.7%) had gambled for 2 years, 48 (32.0%) respondents had gambled for 5 years, 37 (24.7%) respondents had gambled for 7 years and 25 (16.7%) had gambled for more than 7 years. Thus, it is observed that the greatest number of gamblers were those who had gambled for 5 years. Years of gambling Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 2 40 26.7 26.7 26.7 5 48 32.0 32.0 58.7 7 37 24.7 24.7 83.3 Above 7 25 16.7 16.7 100.0 Total 150 100.0 100.0 Table 2. Responses on years of gambling In the variable of whether gambling should be stopped or not, 62 respondents (41.3%) agreed, 56 respondents (37.3%) wrere neutral and 30 respondents (20.0%) Disagreed. This implies that more respondents were of the view that gambling should be stopped. Gambling should be stopped Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Agree 62 41.3 41.3 41.3 Neutral 56 37.3 37.3 78.7 Disagree 30 20.0 20.0 98.7 4.00 2 1.3 1.3 100.0 Total 150 100.0 100.0 Table 3. Reponses on whether gambling should be stopped In the investigation of the variable of whether responsible gambling messages affect caution when gambling, it was found that those who agreed were 52 (34.7%0, those who nwere Neutral were 54 (36.0%) and those who disagreed were 44(29.3%). This implies that most respondents were not sure whether responsible gambling messages affect caution when gambling. Responsible gambling messages affect caution when gambling Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Agree 52 34.7 34.7 34.7 Neutral 54 36.0 36.0 70.7 Disagree 44 29.3 29.3 100.0 Total 150 100.0 100.0 Table 4. reeponses on whether responsible gambling messages affect caution when gambling In the variable of whether responsible gambling messages affects consumers in various platforms, it was found that 54 respondents (36%) Agreed, 65 respondents (43.3%) respondents were Neutral and 31 respondents (20.7%) disagreed. This implies that there were a greater number of respondents who were neutral to the question. Responsible gambling messages affect consumers in various platforms Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Agree 54 36.0 36.0 36.0 Neutral 65 43.3 43.3 79.3 Disagree 31 20.7 20.7 100.0 Total 150 100.0 100.0 Table 5. Responses on whether responsible gambling messages affect consumers in various platforms In the variable of whether responsible gambling messages affects problem gamblers, it was found that 54 respondents (36%) agreed, 63 respondents (42.0%) respondents were Neutral and 33 respondents (22.0%) disagreed. This showed that most respondents were neutral to the question of whether responsible gambling messages affect problem gamblers. Figure 2. Responses on whether responsible gambling messages affect problem gamblers In the variable of whether Responsible gambling messages affect non-problem gamblers, it was found that 53 respondents (35.3%) respondents agreed, 59 respondents (39.3%) respondents were neutral, and 38 respondents (25.3%) disagreed. This implies that most respondents were neutral to the question of whether responsible gambling messages have impact on non-problem gamblers. Figure 3. Responses on Whether responsible gambling messages affect non-problem gamblers Bivariate correlation was also performed between variables. It was found that in some cases, there was a negative correlation and in some cases, there was a positive correlation. In all the variables, a 2-tailed significance level at sig. Read More