As the gaming industry explores new ways to promote responsible gaming messages, one thing stands out: Consumers need to understand just what responsible gaming is.
“One in three consumers have a very general understanding of what responsible gaming means,” Heart + Mind Strategies Senior Vice President Darren Bishop said during Tuesday’s webinar Advertising Trends and New RG Messaging Framework. “But many of the responses we heard in the focus groups show a bit of confusion, for example, that responsible gaming was only intended for people who have issues with problem gambling. And that’s not the case.”
The webinar was held in conjunction with the American Gaming Association’s launch of its new responsible gaming framework.
While consumers might be confused by the preponderance of sports betting ads on television, radio, print, and digital channels, research shows that gambling spend for advertising decreased in 2024. And in terms of volume, the numbers of ads for gambling sites pales in comparison to other industries, research indicated. For every ad about a gambling company, there were 38 ads related to the pharmaceutical industry and four ads for alcoholic products.
“Across all channels … betting advertising volume fell by 9% in 2024,” said AGA Vice President, Research, David Forman. “There are about 27% fewer sports betting ads overall than there were at the peak in 2021.”
Heartland + Strategies interviewed various industry stakeholders to get background on industry perceptions of responsible gaming, how it has been studied in the past, and what can be done to connect consumers with messaging. Consumers were then asked for their impressions and asked for better ways they could connect with responsible gaming messaging, rationally and emotionally.
“We found an opportunity to raise the relevance of responsible gaming by connecting it to the motivations of having fun and enjoyment,” Bishop said. “And consumers believe gaming can be more fun and enjoyable when they are smart about how they play.”
The key to that statement is the word “smart.” Focus groups seemed to especially gravitate to “smart,” with 40% of respondents selecting it. The top nine taglines all used the word “smart,” and “Responsible Gaming: Play Smart from the Start” was the highest rated tagline.
“We heard that the words ‘responsible gaming’ were actually a very important inclusion because it really anchors what being smart is about,” Bishop said. “It’s not being smart to win the games; it’s about playing the games the right way and being responsible. Anchoring that word (smart) with the words responsible gaming really helped drive that point home about what being smart means.”
The word “play” also resonated with respondents, acknowledging that gambling should be fun. “From the start” also was important in that it emphasized a proactive approach before a player enters a casino or logs onto a betting app.
“This proactive approach is really a clear separation from that reactive approach that relates to problem gambling,” Bishop said. “This is another objective we had, which was trying to make this applicable to everyone, not just for people who think it relates to them.”
“We’re trying to inform consumers that they can the most enjoyment from their gaming experiences by having the right mindset and behaviors from the very outset,” Bishop added.
