Free bets, money-back guarantees and other special offers from gambling companies cause gamblers to spend over 10 per cent more, according to new research.
A study by think tank, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), funded by the State’s gambling watchdog, the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, found these inducements disproportionately entice those at risk of problem gambling.
The research was carried out in the weeks before the 2024 Uefa European Football championship, with a sample of 622 men under the age of 40, the majority of whom were regular gamblers.
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Participants were given money to place up to six bets on matches in the championship. Half of these participants were presented with offers of free bets and money-back guarantees, causing them to spend more than 10 per cent more, and encouraging about half of the participants to bet.
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Although most of the sample were regular gamblers, most participants were unaware of the terms and conditions of betting inducements.
More than half who accepted a free bet believed their stake would be returned if they won, despite this not being standard practice in the market.
Some 87 per cent who took a free bet were unaware of the size of the stake, and 63 per cent of those who took the same offer were unaware of what would be returned if they won.
Participants exposed to “bad bets”, which offer odds well below market rates, were three times more likely to spend money on these types of bets, despite being better off choosing other options or not betting at all.
Dr Diarmaid Ó Ceallaigh, a research fellow in the ESRI’s behavioural research unit, said the findings “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”.
Anne Marie Caulfield, chief executive of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, said the findings “add weight to the discourse around the harms of gambling inducements”.
