The Gambling Research Group at Bournemouth University consists of interdisiplinary researchers from Psychology, Health, Computing and Marketing. Our work focuses on how to effectively prevent and intervene with problematic gambling behaviour.
Our work is funded through several grants, including by GambleAware and the International Center for Gaming. Bournemouth University is part of the Research, Education, and Treatment (RET) list managed by the Gambling Commission.
- In our Gaminnovate, EROGamb 1 and EROGamb 2 projects we have explored how technology can be used to deliver personalised, data-driven safer gambling messaging to players. This work has utilised co-creation sessions with people with lived experience of both gambling and gambling harms, gambling operator website analysis, eye tracking technologies and a clinical trial assessing the feasibility of social norms and goal setting based personalised safer gambling messages. Our findings from this work around transparency, data and website content are summarised in our How to Create Safer Online Gambling Report, and depicted in the artwork below that was created during one of our stakeholder engagement events.
- Through match-funded PhD studentships supported by Kindred and GiG we have looked at use and awareness of persuasive design techniques in gambling platforms; as well as minimising gambling related harm through cognitive tasks and interactive dialogue.
- In our work with LGBTQ+ populations we have explored how this group can be at increased risk of gambling harms, and how safer gambling approaches can be designed to better engage with LGBTQ+ populations.
- In our work on personality and personas we have investigated through the use of longitudinal surveys and eye tracking how personality relates to gambling behaviours, well-being, impulsivity and sensation seeking.
Fundamental to our research is engagement with people who have lived experience of gambling harms. Where possible we incorporate patient-public involvement (PPI) into our studies, and maintain links with charities and other stakeholders who work to prevent and mitigate gambling harms.
If you are interested in collaborating with the Gambling Research Group or would like more information about our work please email us on [email protected].
Selected journal articles and conference proceedings
Arden-Close, E., S. Thomas, R. Bush-Evans, R. Wang, E. Bolat, S. Hodge, K. Phalp and J. McAlaney (2023). "Social norms and goal-setting interventions to promote responsible gambling in low-to-moderate online gamblers: protocol for a four-arm randomised controlled feasibility study." BMJ Open 13(3): e065400.
Wang, R., R. Bush-Evans, E. Arden-Close, E. Bolat, J. McAlaney, S. Hodge, S. Thomas and K. Phalp (2023). "Transparency in persuasive technology, immersive technology, and online marketing: Facilitating users’ informed decision making and practical implications." Computers in Human Behavior 139: 107545.
Cemiloglu, D., E. Arden-Close, S. E. Hodge and R. Ali (2023). "Explainable persuasion for interactive design: The case of online gambling." Journal of Systems and Software 195: 111517.
Hodge, S. E., Vykoukal, M., McAlaney, J., Bush-Evans, R. D., Wang, R. J., & Ali, R. (2022). What's in the box? Exploring UK players' experiences of loot boxes in games; the conceptualisation and parallels with gambling. PLoS One, 17(2). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0263567
Drosatos, G., E. Arden-Close, E. Bolat and R. Ali (2020). "Gambling data and modalities of interaction for responsible online gambling: A qualitative study." Journal of Gambling Issues 44.
Drosatos, G., F. Nalbadis, E. J. Arden-Close, V. Baines, E. Bolat, L. Vuillier, T. Kostoulas, M. Budka, S. Wasowska, M. Bonello, J. Brown, T. Corner, J. McAlaney, K. Phalp and R. Ali (2018). "Enabling responsible online gambling by real-time persuasive technologies." Complex Syst. Informatics Model. Q. 17: 44-68.
