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Irish Examiner
21 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Irish Examiner view: Free bets escalate gambling problems
Readers who are annoyed by gambling company advertisements that offer free bets to customers are on to something, to judge by a new report from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). The ESRI says that people at risk of problem gambling are more susceptible to the inducements offered by gambling companies, such as free bets and money-back guarantees, and that those people experience significantly more harm from their exposure to them. The ESRI's Diarmaid Ó Ceallaigh said: 'Our findings imply that gambling offers aren't merely marketing tools, but pose a real risk of financial harm, particularly among vulnerable groups.' Mr Ó Ceallaigh's assessment of those gambling offers will resonate with many members of the public. The free bets and various guarantees are clearly aimed at drawing in customers and, as he says, can be seen as marketing tools. That does not stop them from being dangerous in and of themselves, however. The ESRI's research showed that offering such inducements caused participants in its study to spend 10% more and almost halved the number of people opting not to bet, a significant increase in both participants and betting amounts. It is worth pointing out that the study was funded by the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI), which was established earlier this year to oversee the industry, and not before time. Last March, its chief executive, Anne Marie Caulfield, told this newspaper that the extent of problem gambling in Ireland was '10 times higher than had been previously thought", so clearly action is needed. Presumably, the gambling industry itself will work to solve this problem. Those advertisements mentioned above routinely carry warnings that people should 'gamble responsibly', after all. If those warnings are to be taken seriously, then it means the industry should row in to support the GRAI in its efforts. Apprentice pay rates must rise Last week, we were informed of the labour shortfall in the Irish economy, and the building sector specifically. Alan Barrett of the ESRI said getting housing completions up to about 50,000 a year would require about 40,000 additional construction employees, though he added that '80,000 additional employees' might be needed to complete the National Development Plan, according to research by the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council. One of the challenges in recruiting so many workers was spelled out by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions this week when it called for apprentices to be paid the minimum wage. New pay rates for apprentices are due to come into effect at the end of July, but they start at €7.66 per hour. It is only in the third year of an apprenticeship that pay exceeds the current national minimum wage of €13.50 per hour. It is difficult to believe that apprentices are expected to survive on €7.66 per hour, but that revelation makes it easy to understand why we have labour shortages. What's your view on this issue? You can tell us here It is not clear how we can be serious about encouraging people to take up the building trades when apprentices can expect to be paid half the minimum wage. An Ictu spokesperson added that employers in the sector agree that apprentice pay rates should start with the minimum wage as a baseline, but those employers also claimed legislation is required because they would be at a competitive disadvantage if they applied those higher pay rates unilaterally. There may be some substance to the suggestion that paying higher rates would eat into profits. There is less substance to claims to be in favour of the minimum wage if you need the law to force you to pay that rate. It might be helpful to hear from some large-scale developers on this issue. Many of them are swift to articulate their concerns about various challenges, so it would be good to hear some of them back the Ictu call for apprentices to be paid the minimum wage — for everyone's benefit. McGregor's court system experience Cianan Brennan of this parish reported earlier this week on a Court of Appeal hearing which was held in the Hugh Kennedy Court within the Four Courts complex. The choice of such a relatively small facility was a surprise, he noted, because the matter at hand was of considerable public interest. The Court of Appeal is to refer Conor McGregor's withdrawal of his application to the DPP for criminal investigation. File picture: PA The court was supposed to hear new information gathered by Conor McGregor regarding Nikita Hand: readers will be aware that Ms Hand won her case against Mr McGregor last November, when she was awarded nearly €250,000 in damages after the High Court jury in a civil rape case found Mr McGregor had assaulted Ms Hand in December 2018. However, no new information emerged. Just before the hearing was due to start, Mr McGregor's lawyers told the Court of Appeal they would be withdrawing the new claims. The court duly allowed the application to be withdrawn, but Ms Hand's senior counsel later said his client was owed an apology, adding that the matter should be referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions. Before the close of business that day, we learned that the Court of Appeal is to refer Mr McGregor's withdrawal of his application to the DPP for criminal investigation. Difficult though it is to believe, Mr McGregor recently aspired to become President of Ireland. The duties of the President include signing legislation into law and referring bills to the Supreme Court. He is certainly becoming more and more familiar with the workings of the Irish court system. Read More Irish Examiner view: Water fixes will come at a delayed cost
The Journal
2 days ago
- Business
- The Journal
ESRI and gambling regulator studied gambling promotions by having participants bet on the Euros
A STUDY CONDUCTED by the Economic and social Research Institute has found that when gamblers are presented with offers of free bets and moneyback guarantees, they bet more. The ESRI has said the findings of the study show a need for stricter regulations on the gambling industry, especially when it comes to offers designed to encourage more betting. The research, which was funded by the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI), used a controlled experiment involving 622 men interested in the Euro 2024 football competition. The men were randomly split into two groups – one which was presented with offers, or 'inducements', and one which was not. The experiment was conducted using a bespoke gambling system that was not connected to any betting company. The participants were given money to place up to six 'realistic' bets on Euro games. After the study, all unspent money and winnings were converted into raffle entries to win a €100 voucher, which the ESRI's Dr Diarmaid Ó Ceallaigh told The Journal was 'standard practice' in experiments of this kind. The article documenting the experiment said this raffle system ensured that the participants' choices were 'incentive-compatible'. 'The more money participants ended up with, the better their chances of winning €100.' The odds for most of the bets were set at the market rate at the time of the study, but some bets carried odds that were much less favourable, referred to in the study as 'bad bets'. Advertisement According to the ESRI report on the study, 'For these 'bad bets', even if the bet came with an offer, participants would be better off choosing something else or not betting at all'. 'Without offers, less than 10% of participants chose bad bets. But when the inducements were presented, people were three times more likely to choose a bad bet and they spent three times more on them,' the ESRI's report on the study said. The results of the study indicated that once gamblers are presented with inducements, they bet more than those who were not given such offers. Before seeing any offers, both groups bet similar amounts on their first bet, the ESRI report said. 'But once the group presented with offers had received a first free bet, they proceeded to bet more than the other group on every subsequent bet and were less likely to opt not to bet.' These offers also affected people at risk of problem gambling. 'Participants with higher scores on a standard measure of problem gambling bet even more after receiving offers, although this effect was somewhat weaker among those with the very highest scores on the problem gambling measure.' After the experiment, the participants answered questions about their understanding of the offers. 'Even though most of the participants were regular bettors, most did not realise that there were restrictions on free bets, and many did not know that they would not receive their stake back if they won a free bet, both of which are standard practice in the market,' the ESRI said. The ESRI concluded that the findings of the study 'imply that inducements to gamble are not merely a tool for marketing, but pose a risk of financial harm, particularly among vulnerable groups'. The findings support arguments for stricter regulation of promotional gambling offers, the ESRI said. Anne Marie Caulfield, CEO of GRAI, said they 'add weight to the discourse around the harms of gambling inducements and I very much welcome this additional evidence base'. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Gambling offers lure people into betting more, ESRI report finds
Published today, a new study titled 'Effects of inducements on sports gambling and decision-errors' was conducted by the Behavioural Research Unit of the ESRI. The research, funded by the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI), used a controlled experiment on a sample of 622 men aged under 40, just before the Euro 2024 football championship, to test whether offers or 'inducements' change the betting behaviour. As part of the experiment, participants were given money to place up to six realistic bets on Euro 2024 matches. Half of the group, which was selected randomly, were presented with offers of free bets and money-back guarantees on some bets, while the other half saw no offers. These offers caused participants to spend over 10pc more of their money, and decreased the number of people who chose not to bet at all by almost half. Some bets were intentionally designed as 'bad bets', offering odds well below market rates, which meant that participants were better off choosing other options or not betting at all. Those who were exposed to these offers were three times more likely to spend money on these bad bets. ESRI postdoctoral research fellow and the co-author of the study, Dr Diarmaid Ó Ceallaigh, said the findings 'imply that gambling offers aren't merely marketing tools, but pose a real risk of financial harm, particularly among vulnerable groups'. We are committed to continued research to understand the extent of gambling in Ireland 'The results support the case for stricter regulation of gambling offers in Ireland, following steps already taken in other European countries, such as banning sign-up bonuses, restricting offers to at-risk individuals, and capping their value,' Dr Ó Ceallaigh added. The study also showed those at risk of problem gambling were more affected by the inducements than those not at risk. Even though the majority of participants were regular bettors, most did not realise there were restrictions on free bets and that they would not receive their stake back if they won a free bet – both of which are standard practice in the market. The CEO of the GRAI, Anne Marie Caulfield, said the findings 'add weight to the discourse around the harms of gambling inducements'. 'We are committed to continued research to understand the extent of gambling in Ireland, the drivers of gambling harms and the impact of inducements and advertising on gambling behaviours,' she said. 'We are actively engaged with a broad range of stakeholders, including with industry, charities and with people who have lived experience of harm caused by gambling. 'The Gambling Regulation Act 2024 sets out obligations for licensees in the way in which inducements can be offered, including a ban on targeted inducements, and the findings of this study affirm these measures.'
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Free bets increase risky gambling behaviour, ESRI study finds
Offering free bets leads gamblers to spend more, lose more, and pushes them into making bad decisions, a new study has found. The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) said that those at risk of problem gambling are more susceptible to the inducements offered by gambling companies, such as free bets and moneyback guarantees, and experience significantly more harm from their exposure to them. 'Our findings imply that gambling offers aren't merely marketing tools, but pose a real risk of financial harm, particularly among vulnerable groups,' said Dr Diarmaid Ó Ceallaigh of the ESRI's Behavioural Research Unit. 'The results support the case for stricter regulation of gambling offers in Ireland, following steps already taken in other European countries, such as banning sign-up bonuses, restricting offers to at-risk individuals, and capping their value.' Funded by the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, which was established earlier this year, the ESRI used a controlled experiment to test whether offers from gambling companies altered betting behaviour. Typically, operators offer sign-up bonuses to customers such as free bets. While Ireland passed new gambling laws last year after years of delaying, it stopped short of banning free bets altogether. Instead, such offers cannot be targeted at a specific person or group. However, within the law, the minister of justice will have the power to clamp down further on free bets should they so wish. This ESRI study looked at these inducements using a sample of 622 men under 40 just prior to the Euro 2024 football tournament last year. The participants were given money to place up to six realistic bets on matches at the tournament. Half of them were selected at random to receive offers of free bets and moneyback guarantees. The other half received no such offers. The ESRI said these inducements caused participants to spend 10% more and almost halved the number of people opting not to bet. Some of the bets were intentionally designed as 'bad bets', which offered odds well below the normal market rates which meant participants were better off choosing other options or not betting at all. Those exposed to the offers were three times more likely to spend money on these bad bets. The researchers said that previous studies have shown inducements led to riskier bets, but this was the first to show an increased take-up of poor value options. The participants were also asked about their understanding of inducements and, even though most were regular betters, most of them didn't realise that there were restrictions on free bets. Furthermore, many didn't know they wouldn't receive their stake back on a free bet, which is a standard industry practice. The study said: Our findings add to growing evidence that inducements lead more people to gamble and gamblers to spend more, increasing financial losses for consumers and raising profits for operators. Reacting to the study, Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland chief executive, Anne Marie Caulfield, said its findings show that the general public isn't aware of the dangers associated with the relatively benign-seeming free bets. 'It is our responsibility to ensure that gambling operators do not encourage excessive or compulsive gambling behaviour, and that we protect vulnerable people in our society, such as children and young people and those more likely to experience gambling harm,' she said. 'The Gambling Regulation Act 2024 sets out obligations for licensees in the way in which inducements can be offered, including a ban on targeted inducements, and the findings of this study affirm these measures.'
