A study supported by the Irish Gambling Regulatory Authority recently indicated that promotions such as bonuses and free bets offered by gambling operators may encourage players to increase their betting amounts, especially for those with gambling problems, where this "incentive" effect is more pronounced.
The study focused on male players under the age of 40, with a sample size of 622 individuals. Researchers conducted experimental simulations with participants in the weeks leading up to the 2024 European Championship, presenting different betting options, including some with free bets or cashback offers, and recorded the most likely betting methods in scenarios similar to real-life.
The results showed that although the betting odds were the same, players bet on average about 11% more when bonuses or free bets were included. Especially when facing so-called "bad bets" (odds lower than other options), the attractiveness of bets with incentives remained significant: bad bets with free bets attracted 27.2% of participants, while the same bets without promotions only garnered 7.9% favor.
Additionally, cashback bonuses also influenced betting behavior: 19% of players chose options with cashback, while only 4.9% chose options without promotions. In terms of betting amounts, players invested more than 2 euros on average in poor bets with free bets, while cashback bets were below 1.5 euros.
The study further combined PGSI (Problem Gambling Severity Index) scores and found that the problem gambling group reacted more strongly to these incentive mechanisms. They tended to spend more on bets with bonuses, and the amount of "induced betting" was more than twice that of ordinary bets without promotions.
In all categories, problem gamblers bet significantly more on "bad bets" than other groups, averaging over 2 euros, while in the same bets without bonuses, only about 0.5 euros.
The study concluded that such promotional offers are not merely marketing activities but are manipulative mechanisms with potential risks, inducing more consumption, increasing financial losses, and significantly boosting operator profits. The research team called on legislators to impose stricter restrictions on gambling bonuses, drawing on Spain's practice of setting a bonus cap (100 euros) and prohibiting registration bonuses, to fundamentally curb the negative impact of such marketing on vulnerable groups.
As the report emphasized: "Viewing gambling bonuses as a simple brand differentiation tool is a serious underestimation of their actual impact."
