Recent research suggests that Take time to Think is not a very effective gambling initiative from the Betting and Gaming Council. Results show that the slogan and campaign have little effect on players’ behavior.
Experts at the University of Warwick demonstrated the inefficiency of Take Time to Think. Researchers tested the effectiveness of the campaign in live betting environments, but they couldn’t see any effect on players’ wagering behavior.
Experts created an online game of roulette and provided all players with PS5 to use. These were real funds that players could withdraw and not gamble away. The researchers then divided the 1,500 participants into 3 groups.
The Take Time to Think campaign was prominently promoted by the first group. The campaign was prominently promoted throughout the game, but it didn’t interrupt their gameplay. The pop-up window that promoted Take Time to Think interrupted the second group mid-game. The second group had to close the popup window manually, unlike the first group. The third group was able to play the slogan without any visuals.
The experts couldn’t notice any difference between the games played by the three groups.
Experts say stronger words are needed
Lukasz Wilasek associate professor of psychology at Warwick and coauthor of the research found that neither the background message or the pop-up window had any discernible impact. Walasek stated that the slogan did not change players’ betting sizes, frequency, or playtime.
The study’s authors claim that a more responsible gambling campaign would highlight the dangers of gambling. Warning labels, such as those found on alcohol and tobacco products, could be used.
Elliot Ludvig is a professor of psychology at Warwick. He noted that strong language would be necessary if such initiatives were to have an effect on player behavior. Ludvig believes that these programs should be evaluated before being made available to the public.
BGC’s previous campaign was also suboptimal
In 2021, Take Time to Think was created. It replaced When the Fun Stops. Both programs were prominently featured in industry marketing materials.
When the Fun Stops Stop failed to have an impact on the behavior of British players. The University of Warwick conducted a similar probe before the campaign was replaced with Take Time to Think. Similar results were obtained.
