Reducing Erroneous Cognition and the Frequency of Exceeding Limits among Slots Players: A Short (3-minute) Educational Animation Facilitates Responsible Gambling

Educating slot machine players about the odds of winning and the benefits of pre-commitment is important from a responsible gambling perspective. Educational animation is a favorable medium in this regard but requires a short and cognitively simple format. To this end, for Study 1a, we developed a 3-min educational animation to test its responsible gambling utility and compare it against a 9-min version developed by Wohl and colleagues (Journal of Gambling Studies 26:469-486, 2010) with slots machine players (N = 123). The 3- and 9-min version equally facilitated a reduction in erroneous cognitions and limit adherence during the subsequent gambling session compared to a control video. However, the animations' effectiveness waned after 30 days. In Study 1b, slot players (N = 24) who watched both animations showed no version preference. Educational animations as a responsible gambling tool and the appropriate venue for short and long animations are discussed.