Principal Investigators: Debi LaPlante, PhD & Sarah Nelson, PhD
Funder: Entain PLC (formerly GVC Holdings PLC)
Timeline: 2019 – 2023
The Division will conduct a five-year research study on gambling and gambling-related problems among patrons of Entain (formally GVC), the multinational sports betting and gaming group. Entain will provide the Division with access to anonymized player data across a range of its brands, sports betting, and gaming products. The research will be broad ranging, focusing on a number of areas including, but not limited to: Patterns of normal internet gambling behavior, behavioral markers of gambling problems among internet players generally and on specific bettor and game types, cross-product analyses, cross-brand analyses, and the effects of the expansion of gambling in new markets. The Division will evaluate the effectiveness of algorithms used by Entain and other operators to detect at-risk behaviors, assess the effectiveness of intervention messaging and the impact of operators’ responsible gaming tools.
Available Publications
As part of the Entain-Division on Addiction Internet Gambling Research Collaborative, the Division has created infographics (called, Research Snapshots) summarizing our research findings.
Edson, T. C., Slabczynski, J. M., Lee, T. G., McAuliffe, W. H. B., & Gray, H. M. (2022). A meta-analytic investigation of problem gambling and self-harm: A causal inference perspective. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000858
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Edson, T. C., Tom, M. A., Louderback, E. R. Nelson, S. A., & LaPlante, D. A. (2022). Returning to the virtual casino: A contemporary study of actual online casino gambling. International Gambling Studies, 22(1), 114-141. https://doi.org/10.1080/14459795.2021.1985581
Gray, H. M., Edson, T. C., Nelson, S. E., Grossman, A. B., & LaPlante, D. A. (2021). Association between gambling and self-harm: A scoping review. Addiction Research & Theory, 29(3), 183-195. https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2020.1784881
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LaPlante, D. A. (2019). Replication is fundamental, but is it common? A call for scientific self-reflection and contemporary research practices in gambling-related research. International Gambling Studies, 19(3), 362-368. https://doi.org/10.1080/14459795.2019.1672768
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LaPlante, D. A., Louderback, E. R., & Abarbanel, B. (2021). Gambling researchers’ use and views of open science principles and practices: a brief report. International Gambling Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/14459795.2021.1891272
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Louderback, E. R., LaPlante, D. A., Currie, S. R., & Nelson, S. E. (2021). Developing and validating lower risk online gambling thresholds with actual bettor data from a major internet gambling operator. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000628
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Louderback, E. R., Wohl, M. J. A., & LaPlante, D. A. (2021). Integrating open science practices into recommendations for accepting gambling industry research funding. Addiction Research & Theory, 29(1), 79-87. https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2020.1767774
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McAuliffe, W. H. B., Edson, T. C., Louderback, E. R., LaRaja, A., & LaPlante, D. A. (2021). Responsible product design to mitigate excessive gambling: A scoping review and z-curve analysis of replicability. PloS one, 16(4), e0249926. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249926
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McAuliffe, W., Louderback, E. R., Edson, T. C., LaPlante, D. A., & Nelson, S. E. (2022). Using “Markers of Harm” to track risky gambling in two cohorts of online sports bettors. Journal of Gambling Studies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-021-10097-0
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Nelson, S. E., Edson, T. C., Louderback, E. R., Tom, M. A., Grossman, A., & LaPlante, D. A. (2021). Changes to the playing field: A contemporary study of actual European online sports betting. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 10(3), 396-411. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2021.00029
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