MOD&JEU: Moderators of Online Gambling, How Effective? (MOD&JEU)

Prevalence of problem gambling is estimated about 1-3% of the general adult population. This percentage increases to 5% when talking about online gambling. In France, the market for online gambling was recently opened up to competition and regulation (May 2010), including poker and sports/horse races betting, but excluding for the moment casino games. Recent international studies show that legalizing online gambling led to an increase of practices, including problem gambling. In France, the law stipulates the establishment of moderators of online gambling, to prevent excessive gambling practices. The Regulatory Authority of Online Games (ARJEL) guarantees the implementation of these moderators. However, no evaluation of the effectiveness of these moderators is planned. Therefore the investigators propose to conduct an experimental study about online gambling. The objective will be to evaluate the effectiveness of four kinds of moderators, some already legislated, but not evaluated, and others offered by the investigators team. Proposals for amending legislation will be made according the results of this study.

The participants play on their preferred online gambling site (experimental gambling session) without gambling moderator.

The participants play on their preferred online gambling site (experimental gambling session) with the first gambling moderator sudied : bonus (with different modalities of the moderator).

The participants play on their preferred online gambling site (experimental gambling session) with the first gambling moderator sudied : auto-exclusion.

The participants play on their preferred online gambling site (experimental gambling session) with the first gambling moderator sudied : auto- limitation(with different modalities of the moderator).

The participants play on their preferred online gambling site (experimental gambling session) with the first gambling moderator sudied : information (with different modalities of the moderator).

The intervention consists in leaving the participants play on their, preferred online gambling site., The participant will be randomly assigned to an experimental condition, (i.e. the implementation of the gambling session with the presence of the, moderator studied) or to the control condition (i.e. with no moderator present).

Impact on money wagered and time spent gambling during the experimental gambling session (measured at the end of the gambling session +/- 15 days after +/- 2 months after, depending on the tested moderator)

Inclusion Criteria: Adult French people, living around Nantes Giving their consent for access to their gambling account User of a gambling site approved by the ARJEL, with an active account Regular gambler (gambling at least once a week, since at least 3 months) Exclusion Criteria: Age under 18 and over 65 Excessive gamblers (CPGI > 8) or gambler seeking treatment Protected persons (pregnant women, being under protection measures) Overindebtedness Psychiatric or cognitive major dysfunctions

Caillon J, Grall-Bronnec M, Saillard A, Leboucher J, Pere M, Challet-Bouju G. Impact of Warning Pop-Up Messages on the Gambling Behavior, Craving, and Cognitions of Online Gamblers: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Front Psychiatry. 2021 Jul 23;12:711431. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.711431. eCollection 2021.

Challet-Bouju G, Grall-Bronnec M, Saillard A, Leboucher J, Donnio Y, Pere M, Caillon J. Impact of Wagering Inducements on the Gambling Behaviors, Cognitions, and Emotions of Online Gamblers: A Randomized Controlled Study. Front Psychiatry. 2020 Nov 17;11:593789. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.593789. eCollection 2020.

Caillon J, Grall-Bronnec M, Hardouin JB, Venisse JL, Challet-Bouju G. Online gambling's moderators: how effective? Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. BMC Public Health. 2015 May 30;15:519. doi: 10.1186/s12889-015-1846-7.