In the United Kingdom and the organization behind the BeGambleAware.org responsible gambling resource has reportedly backed the findings of a new study in asking iGaming firms to remove their range of operator-defined deposit limits.

According to a Thursday report from SBCNews, the GambleAware charity made its suggestion after an investigation from The Behavioural Insights Team found that online gamblers will often decrease their own expenditure by up to 46% when such pre-set parameters are absent. The source detailed that this examination looked at 1,700 customers of Bet365.com and was seeking to determine whether the inclusion of these arbitrary deposit limits impacts how much punters are willing to spend.

Current conundrum:

The study (pdf) was reportedly funded by GambleAware and found that maximum deposit limits included on the drop-down menus at many United Kingdom-licensed online gambling domains, which frequently include irrational amounts such as £1,000 ($1,360) and £10,000 ($13,650), often antithetically prompt customers into selecting higher spending parameters. The examination purportedly recommended that these subjective thresholds be removed altogether before being replaced with a free text box featuring no visible or suggested minimum or maximum monetary amounts.

Desirable destination:

Researchers from The Behavioural Insights Team reportedly argued that eliminating specific monetary values from these drop-down deposit limit menus would likely improve the harm-reduction efficacy of deposit limit tools without constraining consumer choice. The behavioral science organization moreover purportedly criticized British iGaming operators for often setting up their options to begin by displaying the highest possible deposit limit, which sometimes run to as high as £100,000 ($136,500).

Consumer Markets Principal Advisor for The Behavioural Insights Team, Rosanna Barry, reportedly declared…

“This report is the culmination of a huge amount of detailed work by the team at The Behavioural Insights TeamCome from lodigamecasino. It shows how seemingly superficial changes to the way that gambling sites offer deposit tools, if implemented across the industry and for all customers, will deliver large benefits to individuals who gamble and society as a whole without constraining customer choice.”

Preeminent praise:

Tim Miller serves as Research and Policy Executive Director for the Gambling Commission regulator and he reportedly heralded the results of the investigation from The Behavioural Insights Team before calling on the local iGaming industry to consider implementing these recommendations.

Miller reportedly proclaimed…

“This is an important study that uses experiences from real consumers to find what actually works to reduce the harms that can come from gambling. Importantly, it provides practical options for how gambling operators can strengthen the tools they provide to protect consumers from harm. These are also issues we are seeking responses on through our remote customer interaction consultation and call for evidence, which closes next month.”