Measuring Responsible Gambling amongst Players: Development of the Positive Play Scale

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Behavioral Science
• Public Health

Background:

• The gambling industry has a duty of care to minimize risks through responsible gambling (RG) programming.
• Existing methods to measure player RG beliefs and behaviors are limited, hindering effective strategy development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Positive Play Scale (PPS) for measuring responsible gambling beliefs and behaviors.
• To provide a reliable tool for gambling operators, regulators, and researchers to assess RG strategy efficacy.

Main Methods:

• Literature review and expert/player consultations to define RG beliefs and behaviors.
• Principal Components Analysis (PCA) on survey data from 1,551 regular gamblers to identify scale components.
• Confirmatory factor analysis and test-retest reliability assessment with 413 players.

Main Results:

• The PPS was developed with four components: Honesty and Control, Pre-commitment, Personal Responsibility, and Gambling Literacy.
• PPS subscales showed no or negative associations with gambling frequency, particularly for high-risk games.
• The PPS demonstrated strong test-retest reliability over a 1-month period.

Conclusions:

• The PPS is the first validated scale to reliably measure positive gambling beliefs and behaviors.
• The PPS enables objective assessment of RG strategy effectiveness and identification of areas for improvement.
• Tailoring RG strategies to specific player segments based on PPS scores can optimize resource allocation and promote healthier gambling patterns.