Safer Gambling and Consumer Protection Failings Among 40 Frequently Visited Cryptocurrency-Based Online Gambling Operators

TY - JOUR

T1 - Safer Gambling and Consumer Protection Failings Among 40 Frequently Visited Cryptocurrency-Based Online Gambling Operators

AU - Andrade, Maira

AU - Sharman, Steve

AU - Xiao, Leon Y.

AU - Newall, Philip W.S.

N1 - Funding Information: Steve Sharman is currently funded by the Society for the Study of Addiction as a Griffith Edwards Academic Fellow, at the University of East London. He is also funded by the National Addiction Centre, part of the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health, which is based at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience. In the last 3 years, Steve Sharman has also contributed to projects funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) program and The Howard League. Maira Andrade has no conflicts of interest to declare. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 American Psychological Association

PY - 2022/9/23

Y1 - 2022/9/23

N2 - Objective: Online gambling has increased the accessibility and range of gambling products available to people all over the world. This trend has been particularly noticeable in the United Kingdom. Cryptocurrency-based gambling is a new, largely unregulated, way to gamble online, which uses mostly anonymous blockchain-based technologies, such as Bitcoin. The present research investigated consumer protection features of 40 frequently visited and U.K.-accessible cryptocurrency-based online gambling operators. Method: A content analysis was performed by visiting all 40 cryptocurrency-based online operators and recording their safer gambling and consumer protection practices. Coded features included aspects of the sign-up process, features of any safer gambling pages, customer support practices, and Identity verification. Results: Results revealed significant failings in the account registration process; none of the operators verified the identity of new users, and 35% required only an email or no personal information for sign-up. Overall, 37.5% of operators offered no safer gambling tools and a further 20% offered only one. Additionally, 64.7% of operators continued to email promotional material after being informed of a user’s impaired control when gambling. Less than half of the analyzed operators held a valid license (47.5%), and none of the operators with an available deposit page required identity verification before enabling deposits. Conclusions: These results highlight the potential risks for young and vulnerable individuals, especially when a lack of identity verification is paired with the inherent anonymity of cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, it emphasizes the need for greater policy and research attention toward cryptocurrency-based online gambling.

AB - Objective: Online gambling has increased the accessibility and range of gambling products available to people all over the world. This trend has been particularly noticeable in the United Kingdom. Cryptocurrency-based gambling is a new, largely unregulated, way to gamble online, which uses mostly anonymous blockchain-based technologies, such as Bitcoin. The present research investigated consumer protection features of 40 frequently visited and U.K.-accessible cryptocurrency-based online gambling operators. Method: A content analysis was performed by visiting all 40 cryptocurrency-based online operators and recording their safer gambling and consumer protection practices. Coded features included aspects of the sign-up process, features of any safer gambling pages, customer support practices, and Identity verification. Results: Results revealed significant failings in the account registration process; none of the operators verified the identity of new users, and 35% required only an email or no personal information for sign-up. Overall, 37.5% of operators offered no safer gambling tools and a further 20% offered only one. Additionally, 64.7% of operators continued to email promotional material after being informed of a user’s impaired control when gambling. Less than half of the analyzed operators held a valid license (47.5%), and none of the operators with an available deposit page required identity verification before enabling deposits. Conclusions: These results highlight the potential risks for young and vulnerable individuals, especially when a lack of identity verification is paired with the inherent anonymity of cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, it emphasizes the need for greater policy and research attention toward cryptocurrency-based online gambling.

KW - Crypto gambling

KW - Online betting

KW - Regulation

KW - Responsible gambling

KW - Safer gambling

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85147564821&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1037/adb0000885

DO - 10.1037/adb0000885

M3 - Article

C2 - 36355659

AN - SCOPUS:85147564821

SN - 0893-164X

JO - Psychology of Addictive Behaviors

JF - Psychology of Addictive Behaviors

ER -