ORIGINAL RESEARCH
published: 23 February 2017
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00227

Measuring Responsible Gambling
amongst Players: Development of the
Positive Play Scale
Richard T. A. Wood 1*, Michael J. A. Wohl 2 , Nassim Tabri 2 and Kahlil Philander 3

Edited by:
Pietro Cipresso,
Istituto Auxologico Italiano (IRCCS),
Italy
Reviewed by:
Davis K. Fong,
University of Macau, China
Drozdstoy Stoyanov Stoyanov,
Plovdiv Medical University, Bulgaria
Riccardo Sartori,
University of Verona, Italy
*Correspondence:
Richard T. A. Wood
info@gamres.org
Specialty section:
This article was submitted to
Quantitative Psychology and
Measurement,
a section of the journal
Frontiers in Psychology
Received: 19 December 2016
Accepted: 06 February 2017
Published: 23 February 2017
Citation:
Wood RTA, Wohl MJA, Tabri N and
Philander K (2017) Measuring
Responsible Gambling amongst
Players: Development of the Positive
Play Scale. Front. Psychol. 8:227.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00227

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GamRes Limited, Hawkesbury, ON, Canada, 2 Gambling Lab, Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada,
British Columbia Lottery Corporation, Responsible Gambling, Vancouver, BC, Canada

The modern gambling industry has, by-in-large, assumed a duty of care to minimize
the risks associated with gambling, which has manifested in responsible gambling (RG)
programming (e.g., educating players about the odds of success). The current study fills
a void in gambling operators, regulators, and researchers ability to measure RG beliefs
and behavior in their player-base, with the development and validation of the Positive
Play Scale (PPS). In Study 1, we reviewed the literature and consulted 30 players as well
as 10 RG experts to help generate a definition of RG beliefs and behavior that helped
guide item generation. In Study 2, regular players (N = 1,551) of a Canadian provincial
gambling operator completed a positive play survey. Four components from a principal
components analysis (PCA) were extracted: Honesty and Control, Pre-commitment,
Personal Responsibility, and Gambling Literacy. The PPS subscales were either not
associated with gambling frequency or had small-to-moderate negative relationships
with frequency of play for games most often associated with disordered gambling
(e.g., electronic games). In Study 3 (N = 413), the factor structure of the PPS was
confirmed and refined in a new sample of players. Moreover, a 1-month follow-up session
demonstrated that the PPS has high test-retest reliability. The PPS is the first validated
scale that reliably assesses the extent to which a consumer base has positive beliefs
about gambling and gambles in a positive manner. The PPS can be used by the gambling
industry to objectively assess the efficacy of their RG strategy, pinpoint specific areas for
future focus, as well as examine the utility of new RG initiatives that aim to promote
healthy patterns of gambling consumption. Furthermore, by examining the PPS scores
for different player segments (e.g., sex, age, games played) it becomes possible to tailor
RG strategy to the needs of specific players. In this way, RG strategy can be optimized
by focusing resources where they will be most effective.
Keywords: responsible gambling, harm reduction, harm avoidance, gambling disorder, corporate social
responsibility

INTRODUCTION
In industries with products that have the potential to harm to some customers’ health, firms often
become the focus of policymakers and other stakeholders, as those parties develop frameworks to
minimize negative health related outcomes (Moodie et al., 2013). As public health goals tend to
focus on population-wide outcomes, individual firm contributions may be difficult to reconcile due

Positive Play Scale

of the overall population (between 0.1 and 5.8% world-wide
based on past-year gambling, Calado and Griffiths, 2016). As
such, a focus on disordered players is not particularly informative
about the vast majority of players who do not exhibit measurable
problems. Additionally, some researchers have argued that RG is
not merely the absence of disordered gambling, but also involves
the presence of positive gambling elements (e.g., considering a
budget prior to gambling, playing for fun, balancing gambling
with other leisure interests; see Wood and Griffiths, 2015; Hing
et al., 2016). Conversely, some players may play “irresponsibly”
and hold erroneous beliefs about gambling, but not exhibit any
signs of a gambling problem (at least at the time of measurement).
As such, we argue that RG is best identified and measured via the
presence of positive gambling beliefs and behaviors (i.e., positive
play).
The current research was designed to develop and validate the
positive play scale (PPS)—a scale that could objectively identify
and measure the extent of responsible play within a sample
of players. The use of such a scale by the gambling industry
would provide important information concerning the majority
of players’ beliefs and behaviors about RG. Moreover, it could
help identify the utility of a particular RG strategy, aiding future
RG strategy optimization. That is, areas of RG where players are
scoring relatively low on the PPS, could be the focus for future RG
strategy, whereas areas of RG that are scoring relatively high on
the PPS would not require the provision of additional resources.
Furthermore, by examining player segments (e.g., sex, age, games
played) RG resources can be further applied to support those
specific players who are found to score lowest. Additionally,
concrete evidence for an individual firm’s or overall industry’s
contribution to public health goals is objectively demonstrated.
This is because using a validated RG scale before the introduction
of a new RG strategy or initiative provides a benchmark level
of RG in a population to compare both over time and between
jurisdictions.

to the complexity of dynamics between products, individuals,
and environments. Over the last 10 years, much of the gambling
industry has accepted promotion of responsible gambling (RG)
to their customers (Blaszczynski et al., 2004) to reduce harms
caused by excessive gambling. The framework stipulates that
although the consumer holds the ultimate responsibility for their
playing behavior, the gambling industry holds a duty of care.
Indeed, an ethical gambling operator should institute a
program that assists players to make well-informed choices about
their gambling behavior, in order that they may gamble in
accordance with personally affordable money and time limits (see
Blaszczynski et al., 2011). This strategy is important, because a
significant number of gambling players believe they can exert
control over the outcome of objectively uncontrollable gambling
games, have inflated beliefs about their chances of winning, and
spend more money and time than they can afford—factors that
can lead to excessive gambling (Blaszczynski and Nower, 2007;
Hodgins and Holub, 2007). In addition, gambling operators can
have positive impacts on players’ well-being by deploying many
tactics as part of the consumer experience (for a review see Wohl
et al., 2014b).
Among other tactics, tools have been created that inform
players about the odds of winning (Wohl et al., 2010;
Blaszczynski et al., 2014), describe the benefits of limit setting
and adherence (Auer and Griffiths, 2013; Stewart and Wohl,
2013; Kim et al., 2014), and provide personalized player feedback
(i.e., personalized communications about engagement in risky
gambling behaviors; Wood and Wohl, 2015). These and other
tools have become an inherent part of many gambling operators’
harm minimization strategies, in part, because the research
community has demonstrated their RG utility—they can help
players to decide upon suitable spending limits and help them
to stay within those limits—and as such provide players with a
more ethical and less harmful product (Wood et al., 2014).
Nevertheless, one critical aspect for evaluating gambling
industry RG initiatives that have been largely overlooked is the
examination of the extent to which players in a given jurisdiction
actually engage in RG. Moreover, gambling operators currently
have little or no knowledge about the extent to which their
customers have positive (i.e., accurate and realistic) beliefs about
their gambling, or the nature and extent to which their players
engage in positive, responsible behaviors. As such, gambling
operators must develop their overall RG programs based largely
on RG theory or evaluations of individual RG initiatives, with
little or no direct information about their specific player base.
Gambling operators currently have no means to benchmark
levels of RG beliefs and behaviors prior to implementing their
RG program or across firms/jurisdictions, making it difficult to
evaluate whether an RG program positively contributed to wider
health framework related goals.
The closest approximation for identifying and measuring
positive, responsible gambling beliefs and behaviors in a player
base, has been through identifying the extent to which customers
report symptoms of disordered gambling (i.e., a high-score on
a disordered gambling screen) and then deducing that those
who do not report symptoms are playing responsibly. However,
disordered gambling is an issue that affects a very small minority

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OVERVIEW OF THE CURRENT RESEARCH
Three studies were conducted. In Study 1, the aim was to
generate the items that would form the PPS. To this end, we
reviewed the existing RG literature and consulted relevant players
as well as RG experts. Based on this, it was anticipated that
positive play would be multidimensional, consisting of both
positive beliefs (e.g., believing that the outcome of each game
cannot be pre-determined) and positive behaviors (e.g., setting
a money and time limit of gambling). As such, items were
developed to measure both positive play beliefs and behaviors.
This procedure enabled us to generate questionnaire items with
both high content and face validity based on input from experts
and players (see Sartori, 2010). In Study 2, the aim was to
examine the psychometric properties of the PPS items and to
pursue scale formation via principal components analysis (PCA).
We also assessed the construct validity of the PPS through
associations with self-reports of gambling frequency, disordered
gambling severity, and disordered gambling beliefs (see Sartori
and Pasini, 2007). The purpose of Study 3 was to replicate the
factor structure of the PPS and to assess its reliability over time

Positive Play Scale

(1 month). Another aim of Study 3 was to further assess the
validity of the PPS through associations with constructs that have
been previously associated with gambling. These constructs were
the Big-Five personality traits, impulsivity, general self-efficacy,
financial dissatisfaction, and financially focused self-concept.

play. There is recognition that gambling will always involve some
degree of chance.”

Item Selection
We developed an initial list of 61 potential items after reviewing
the outcome variables used in RG-oriented research and in light
of our working definition of RG. These items were sent back
to the 10 experienced researchers in the field for feedback on
possible re-wording and culling. Based on feedback, 11 items
were culled. These 40-items were then presented to 30 players
(male = 15, female = 15) who regularly played a wide range of
gambling type games, for feedback on item clarity. As a result,
some items were revised further and seven items culled, leaving
33 items (belief items = 20, behavior items = 13; see Tables 1, 2,
respectively).

STUDY 1: OPERATIONALIZING AND
MEASURING RESPONSIBLE GAMBLING
Before developing items for a scale that assesses positive play, we
thought it prudent to operationally define responsible gambling
in terms of beliefs and behaviors that encouraged amongst
players. Current definitions of RG are sparse. The most often
cited model of RG is the “Reno Model” (Blaszczynski et al.,
2004), which focuses on the actions of gaming operators to assist
players to help themselves in making well-informed choices.
However, whilst the definition utilized by the model has been
extremely useful for considering the design and implementation
of RG strategy, it does not define what RG looks like from the
player’s perspective. That is, how should players think and behave
to be considered “responsible?” This is important, because in
order to measure the success of something it is necessary to
have a clear notion of what “success” actually looks like. The
lack of input from the player’s perspective is a limitation of
many current RG initiatives. Indeed, Wohl et al. (2014a) showed
that when the player’s perspective and feedback are incorporated
into a RG tool, effectiveness is significantly enhanced. A more
recent attempt to define RG, suggests that “the pivotal definition
underpinning all RG policies and strategies: are initiatives that are
designed to limit gambling expenditures to personally affordable
levels” (Ladouceur et al., 2016, p. 3). However, this definition is
again focused on policies and strategies and does not consider
the consumer experience or how adherence to RG might be
measured within a player sample.
In order to set parameters for item construction, we
sought the input of 10 other experts in the field of gambling
studies about the construct under investigation—RG. With
the PPS, we wanted to go beyond defining what gambling
operators/regulators/policymakers should do to promote RG.
Instead, we wanted to understand how players might be expected
to behave and think in relation to their gambling for it to be
considered “responsible.” By doing so, a clearer notion of what
RG “success” looks like can be achieved and measured.
To generate a new working definition of RG, we conducted
a rapid evidence assessment of the RG literature, spoke to 30
players about RG, and consulted with 10 experienced researchers
in the field (from five different countries). Based on these
activities, the following working definition of RG was generated:

STUDY 2: FACTOR STRUCTURE
ASSESSMENT
In Study 2, we evaluated the psychometric properties of the
PPS items developed in Study 1. To that end, we recruited
a large sample of players to complete the PPS in order to
determine its factor structure. Players also completed measures
of gambling frequency, problem gambling severity index (PGSI:
Ferris and Wynne, 2001), and gambling beliefs questionnaire
(GBQ: Steenbergh et al., 2002) to assess the construct validity of
the PPS. Because people who score higher on the PPS should be
more likely to engage in RG, they should also be less likely to have
gambling related problems, and have less erroneous beliefs about
gambling. Thus, we hypothesized that players with higher scores
on the PPS would be less likely to show symptoms of gambling
problems and report less irrational cognitions.

Method
Participants and Procedure
A third party survey company (Vision Critical) recruited 1,551
customers of the British Columbia Lottery Corporation1 via
email to complete an online survey about their gambling beliefs
and behaviors. Participation was restricted to “regular players”
(i.e., people who gambled at least once in the preceding month).
Recruitment was based upon quota sampling, such that sex
composition was relatively equivalent (male = 847, female = 704)
and there was equal representation from players who primarily
played lottery games purchased at a retailer (n = 303), casino
games played in a casino (n = 413), slot-machine and table game
players who were members of a loyalty program (n = 408), and
online players (n = 427). They ranged in age from 19 to 65+
and most (58.4%) were between the ages of 55 and 65+. All
participants were compensated $1 for completing the survey.
Ethical review and approval was not required for this study as
per the institutional and national requirements. All participants
were responding to a survey that was part of a prior customer
agreement with the British Columbia Lottery Corporation,

“RG, is when a player undertakes positive playing experiences
and holds attitudes and beliefs that do not put them at risk for
developing gambling problems. More specifically, this means only
spending what is affordable to lose and sticking to personally
allocated spend and time limits (formal or informal). Responsible
play includes honesty and openness with self and others about
personal gambling habits. Belief in luck or other superstitions may
be present, but they do not have a significant negative impact on

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1 The British Columbia Lottery Corporation is a government owned entity that
conducts and manages all legal casino, lottery, and online gambling in the Province
of British Columbia.

Positive Play Scale

TABLE 1 | Rotated factor loadings from a principal component analysis of the PPS behavior items in Study 2.
Item

I deliberately hid how much TIME I spent gambling from my family and/or friends.

0.88

0.02

−0.04

I deliberately hid how much MONEY I spent gambling from my family and/or friends.

0.86

0.01

−0.03

I experienced unwanted thoughts about my gambling when I WASN’T playing.

0.77

−0.03

0.08

I felt my gambling was out of control.

0.74

−0.01

0.10

I gambled to forget about problems in my life.

0.73

−0.01

0.02

I only spent time gambling that I could afford to spend.

0.08

0.76

−0.11
−0.15

0.00

0.72

I considered the amount of MONEY I was willing to lose BEFORE I gambled.

I only gambled with money that I could afford to lose.

−0.04

0.67

0.00

I considered the amount of TIME I was willing to spend BEFORE I gambled.

0.05

0.61

0.07

**I gambled just for entertainment.

−0.15

0.55

0.26

**I spent more MONEY gambling than I wanted.

−0.01

−0.01

0.88

**I spent more TIME gambling than I wanted.

0.01

0.07

0.85

**I used an ATM to take out money to CONTINUE gambling.

0.12

0.01

0.66

**Items were culled following analysis. PPS, Positive Play Scale. Values in bold represent a moderate-to-large loading on each component.

TABLE 2 | Rotated factor loadings from a principal component analysis of the PPS belief items in Study 2.
Item

0.05

I should be able to walk away from gambling at any time.

0.69

−0.07

I should be aware of how much MONEY I spend when I gamble.

0.69

0.00

0.18

It is my responsibility to spend only money that I can afford to lose.

0.69

0.00

−0.02

I should only consider gambling when I have enough money to cover all my bills.

0.67

0.02

−0.02

I should only view my gambling as a form of entertainment.

0.61

−0.00

−0.10
−0.04

**To try to win back my losses is a bad idea.

0.57

0.00

**I would seek help if I felt I was losing control over my gambling behavior.

0.47

−0.03

0.13

**Each time I play a particular game, my chances of winning or losing are always the same regardless of whether I
won or lost in the previous game.

0.45

−0.12

0.00
0.23

**The odds of winning are mostly against me when I gamble (i.e., I will eventually lose more than I win).

0.35

0.01

Gambling is a good way for me to make money.

−0.12

0.69

0.09

My chances of winning improve after I have lost.

−0.13

0.64

0.07

If I gamble frequently, it will help me to win more than I lose.

−0.09

0.61

0.12

0.06

0.60

−0.16

It is fine for me to gamble to forget my problems.
**Sometimes, I can predict the outcome of a gamble.

−0.02

0.58

0.10

**My gambling can make me feel important.

−0.14

0.57

0.04

**Having good luck is a valid reason for me to continue gambling.

0.17

0.55

−0.13

**It is fine for me to take money out of an ATM to CONTINUE gambling.

0.32

0.44

−0.41

**It is important to control how much TIME I spend gambling.

−0.04

0.06

0.87

**I should be aware of how much TIME I spend when I gamble.

0.17

0.01

0.67

**It is important to control how much MONEY I spend gambling.

0.31

0.06

0.53

**Items were culled following analysis. PPS, Positive Play Scale. Values in bold represent a moderate-to-large loading on each component.

a response scale anchored at 1 (strongly disagree) and 7 (strongly
agree). For the PPS behavior items, participants responded using
a response scale anchored at 1 (never) and 7 (always). Participants
also completed the following two questionnaires:

concerning the provision of feedback related to gambling beliefs
and behavior. Nevertheless, participants were fully informed
about the nature of the study, provided their written consent to
take part and were free to withdraw at any point. All data was
anonymized and the study was carried out in accordance with
the British Columbia Freedom of Information and Protection of
Privacy Act.

Disordered gambling severity
The extent to which participants have gambling problems
was assessed using the PGSI (Ferris and Wynne, 2001). The
PGSI consists of nine items that measure the extent of
problem gambling behaviors (e.g., “Have you gone back another
day to try and win back the money you lost?”) and the

Measures
Participants completed the PPS items developed in Study 1 (see
Tables 1, 2). Participants responded to each PPS belief item using

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Positive Play Scale

Likewise, for the 20 PPS belief items, results of the PCA
indicated that three components were extracted each with an
eigenvalue >1. The first component had an eigenvalue of
5.08 and accounted for 25.42% of the variance. The second
component had an eigenvalue of 2.14 and accounted for an
additional 10.73% of the variance. The third component had an
eigenvalue of 1.29 and accounted for an additional 6.4% of the
variance. Importantly, the scree test and parallel analysis both
indicated that the optimal solution would be to retain only the
first two components. The rotated factor loadings are presented
in Table 2. For the first component, five of the nine items had
loadings >0.60 and thus these items were averaged to form a scale
(α = 0.74). For the second component, four of the five items had
loadings >0.60 and thus these four items were averaged to form a
scale (α = 0.66). All remaining items (see Table 2) were excluded
from subsequent analyses.

consequences of engaging in problem gambling behaviors (e.g.,
“Has your gambling caused any financial problems for you or
your household?”). Participants responded by indicating how
frequently they engaged in problem gambling behaviors and
experienced consequences due to their gambling behavior over
the last 12 months. Responses were anchored at 0 (never) and 3
(almost always). Responses were summed such that higher scores
indicated greater disordered gambling severity (α = 0.91).

Gambling beliefs
Participants’ beliefs about gambling were assessed using the GBQ
(Steenbergh et al., 2002). The GBQ consists of 21 items that are
divided into two subscales. The first subscale consists of eight
items that measure control beliefs about gambling (e.g., “My
knowledge and skill in gambling contribute to the likelihood that
I will make money”). The second subscale consists of 13 items
that measure beliefs in luck (e.g., “Where I get money to gamble
doesn’t matter because I will win and pay it back”). Participants
responded to each item using a response scale with endpoints 1
(strongly disagree) and 7 (strongly agree). Items for each subscale
were averaged such that they reflected greater beliefs in control
over gambling outcomes (α = 0.82) and greater beliefs in luck (α
= 0.91).

Descriptive Statistics and Bivariate
Analyses
Descriptive statistics and correlations for all variables in Study 1
are reported in Table 3. The magnitude of the intercorrelations
between the four PPS subscales were small-to-moderate. This
supports the view that four PPS subscales are related, but
distinct, constructs. Importantly, as expected, the magnitude of
the correlations between the four PPS subscales on the one
hand and the PGSI and GBQ were all negative (see Table 3). As
for gambling frequency, the four PPS subscales were either not
associated with gambling frequency or had small-to-moderate
negative relationships with frequency of play for particular games
(see Table 3).2

Gambling frequency
Participants indicated the extent to which they engaged in the
following land-based gambling activities: lottery draw games,
scratch-cards, sports betting, bingo, electronic games (e.g., slot
machines, puzzle games), casino style card games (e.g., poker,
blackjack), and Casino style table games (e.g., roulette, craps).
Participants also reported their frequency of playing according
to different channels of access (e.g., online, a land-based casino,
bingo hall, lottery ticket booth, grocery store, gas station).
Participants reported their level of engagement using a response
scale with endpoints 1 (never) and 7 (more than once a week).

Discussion
Results of Study 2 showed that RG can be measured empirically
and is composed of four related, but distinct subscales: Honesty
and Control, Pre-commitment, Personal Responsibility, and
Gambling Literacy. Findings showed that most players in the
sample scored fairly high on each subscale. This is to be expected
as most players of gambling type games will not have, or be at
risk for, developing a gambling problem. The PPS subscales were
moderately and negatively associated with disordered gambling
severity and erroneous gambling beliefs. However, the magnitude
of the associations were not overwhelming, which suggests that
the PPS is tapping into some similar items as the PGSI and
GBQ, but overall it is measuring different constructs. That is, the
PPS is not just measuring the absence of problematic gambling
behavior and beliefs, but instead appears to be measuring the
concept of positive play (i.e., RG as manifested by the player).
This supports and extends the findings of recent studies that
suggested RG is more than just an absence of gambling related
problems or erroneous beliefs (e.g., Wood and Griffiths, 2015;
Hing et al., 2016). Overall, frequency of play was not strongly
correlated with the PPS subscales, indicating that RG is not
simply a product of less frequent gambling. However, as shown
in Table 3, frequent players of games that have been consistently
linked to problem gambling (e.g., electronic games) showed lower

Results
Structure of PPS
PCA with promax rotation was conducted on the PPS. For
the 13 PPS behavior items, three components were extracted
each with an eigenvalue >1. The first component had an
eigenvalue of 4.85 and accounted for 37.36% of the variance.
The second component had an eigenvalue of 1.86 and accounted
for an additional 14.32% of the variance. The third component
had an eigenvalue of 1.03 and accounted for an additional
7.99% of the variance. Importantly, the scree test and parallel
analysis (involving 5,000 resamples from the data)—a statistical
procedure to determine the number of components to retain
from PCAs (O’Connor, 2000)—both indicated that the optimal
solution would be to retain only the first two components. The
rotated loadings are reported in Table 1. For the first component,
all five items had loadings >0.60 and thus were averaged to form a
scale (α = 0.87). For the second component, four of the five items
had loadings >0.60 and thus these four items were averaged to
form a scale (α = 0.67). All remaining items (see Table 2) were
excluded from subsequent analyses.

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2 The pattern of correlations between the PPS and gambling frequency, but for
online games was similar.

Positive Play Scale

TABLE 3 | Descriptive statistics and correlations between PPS subscales and other variables in Study 2.
1. Honesty and control

−

2. Pre-commitment

0.28**

−

3. Personal responsibility

0.29**

0.43**

−

4. Gambling literacy

0.44**

0.20**

0.33**

−

5. PGSI

−0.67**

−0.31**

−0.26**

−0.38**

−

6. GBQ-luck

−0.44**

−0.18**

−0.31**

−0.61**

0.46**

−

7. GBQ-Control

−0.28**

−0.09**

−0.20**

−0.47**

0.32**

0.69**

−

8. Lottery draw games

−0.04

−0.05*

−0.03

−0.09**

0.11**

0.09**

0.06*

−

9. Scratch-cards

−0.08**

−0.03

−0.02

−0.11**

0.13**

0.11**

0.10**

0.31**

−

10. Sports betting

−0.14**

−0.02

−0.10**

−0.19**

0.17**

0.22**

0.27**

0.05*

0.11**

−

11. Bingo

−0.06**

−0.02

−0.07

−0.09**

0.08**

0.11**

0.07**

0.12**

0.22**

0.25**

−

12. Electronic games

−0.20**

−0.05*

−0.01

−0.11**

0.25**

0.13**

0.09**

0.20**

0.30**

0.08**

0.24**

−

13. Casino card games

−0.15**

−0.03

−0.08**

−0.19**

0.21**

0.25**

0.30**

0.14**

0.20**

0.34**

0.27**

0.31**

−

14. Casino table games

−0.18**

−0.09*

−0.12**

−0.17**

0.24**

0.26**

0.24**

0.13**

0.18**

0.36**

0.30**

0.27**

0.61**

−

M

6.63

5.76

6.45

6.42

0.97

19.78

16.88

2.39

2.00

1.14

1.13

1.74

1.24

1.15

SD

0.88

1.28

0.85

0.85

2.63

10.47

8.78

1.01

0.95

0.54

0.51

1.00

0.67

0.53

PPS, Positive Play Scale; PGSI, Problem Gambling Severity Index; GBQ, Gambling Beliefs Questionnaire. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01.
N = 1551.

family and friends about the amount of money I spent gambling.”
All PPS items used in Study 3 are reported in Tables 4, 5. In
addition, we assessed the test re-test reliability of the PPS by recontacting a subset of participants approximately 1 month later
to complete the PPS again.
The second aim of Study 3 was to further examine the validity
of the PPS through associations with constructs that have been
linked to gambling in prior research. These constructs were
impulsivity, the Big-Five personality traits, financially focused
self-concept, financial dissatisfaction, and general self-efficacy.
We expected that higher PPS scores would be associated with
lower impulsivity. The reason is that impulsivity is a known risk
factor for problem gambling (Blaszczynski and Nower, 2002).
For the Big-Five, we expected that higher PPS scores would be
associated with lower neuroticism and higher conscientiousness,
and be unrelated to extraversion, agreeableness, and openness to
new experiences. The reason is that disordered gamblers (relative
to most regular players) are likely to be more neurotic as well as
less conscientious (MacLaren et al., 2015). For financially focused
self-concept and financial satisfaction, we expected higher PPS
scores to be associated with lower financially focused self-concept
and higher financial dissatisfaction. This is because players who
are focused on financial success are more likely to have gambling
problems (Tabri et al., 2017). Lastly, for general self-efficacy, we
predicted that higher PPS scores would be associated with greater
general self-efficacy. This is because people who have low control
over their gambling behavior are likely to have low self-efficacy
scores (Kaur et al., 2006).

PPS sub-scale scores, compared to players of games which are less
commonly linked to problem gambling (e.g., lottery draw games).
More frequent players of electronic games showed lower scores in
relation to: Honesty and Control, Pre-commitment, and Gambling
Literacy and higher scores on the PGSI. This may suggest that
higher levels of problem gambling on electronic games could be
more than just a function of the characteristics of the game, but
may also be based on the individual players’ level of responsible
play. However, as this observation is correlational it could also
be that problematic play on such games leads to less responsible
behavior and beliefs. More research is needed to further explore
the nature and direction of this relationship. This finding does
suggest that RG strategy (for this sample of players) would benefit
from focusing efforts to increase the scores of high-frequency
electronic game players, in relation to the PPS sub-scales Honesty
and Control, Pre-commitment, and Gambling Literacy.
Although we found the expected PPS factor structure and the
PPS subscales were correlated with the PGSI and GBQ in the
predicted directions, one potential limitation of the items was
the high number of negatively worded items (e.g., Honesty and
Control was only composed of negative items). Because the PPS
is focused on positive play, we addressed this limitation in Study
3 by revising three of the negatively worded items to be positively
framed.

STUDY 3: FACTOR VALIDATION AND
RELIABILITY ASSESSMENT

Method

The first aim of Study 3 was to replicate the factor structure
observed in Study 2. We also revised the wording of three
behavioral items so that that they were positively framed. For
example, “I deliberately hid how much money I spent gambling
from my family and friends” was revised to “I was honest with my

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Participants and Procedure
A total of 443 community gambling players were recruited using
the same third party survey company in Study 1 to complete
an online survey about their gambling attitudes and behaviors.

Positive Play Scale

TABLE 4 | Rotated factor loadings from a principal component analysis of the PPS behavior items in Study 3.
9-items

7-items

Item

I considered the amount of TIME I was willing to spend BEFORE I gambled.

0.94

−0.17

−0.07

0.93

−0.20

I considered the amount of MONEY I was willing to lose BEFORE I gambled.

0.89

−0.03

0.02

0.90

−0.03

I only spent TIME gambling that I could afford to spend.

0.69

0.16

0.03

0.69

0.18

I only gambled with MONEY that I could afford to lose.

0.67

0.23

0.03

0.67

0.24

I was honest with my family and/or friends about the amount of TIME I spent gambling.

−0.03

0.94

−0.07

−0.06

0.92

I was honest with my family and/or friends about the amount of MONEY I spent gambling.

0.02

0.91

−0.05

0.01

0.90

I felt in control of my gambling behavior.

−0.03

0.55

0.21

0.02

0.62

**I gambled to forget about problems in my life.

−0.11

0.04

0.88

–

–

0.12

−0.05

0.82

–

–

**I experienced bad thoughts about my gambling when I WASN’T playing.

**Excluded from the final scale. PPS, Positive Play Scale. Values in bold represent a moderate-to-large loading on each component.

TABLE 5 | Rotated factor loadings from a principal component analysis of the PPS belief items in Study 3.
Item

−0.01

It’s my responsibility to spend only money that I can afford to lose.

0.92

−0.03

I should be aware of how much MONEY I spend when I gamble.

0.88

−0.01

0.02

I should only gamble when I have enough money to cover all my bills first.

0.80

−0.04

−0.06

I should be able to walk away from gambling at any time.

0.78

0.01

0.15

**I should only consider gambling as entertainment.

0.55

0.12

−0.16

If I gamble more often, it will help me to win more than I lose.

0.02

0.85

0.08

My chances of winning get better after I have lost.

0.01

0.79

0.01

Gambling is a good way to make money.

−0.02

0.76

−0.09

**Gambling to forget my problems is a bad idea.

−0.02

0.01

0.97

**Excluded from the final scale. PPS, Positive Play Scale. Values in bold represent a moderate-to-large loading on each component.

However, the data of 31 participants were excluded from the
analyses because these participants failed one or more attention
checks. Thus, the data of 412 (male = 225, female = 218)
participants were included in the analyses Participants ranged
in age from 19 to 65+ and most (59.4%) were <65 years of
age.
A subset of participants (N = 149) were re-contacted 1 month
later to complete the PPS a second time. Of the 149 participants
who completed the PPS, the data of two participants were
excluded because they failed one or more attention checks. Thus,
the data of 147 (male = 72, female = 75) participants from the
initial data collection of Study 3 were included in the follow-up
analyses.

were “sympathetic, warm” and “critical, quarrelsome” (reverse
coded). For conscientiousness, the traits were “dependable,
self-disciplined” and “disorganized, careless” (reverse coded).
For neuroticism, the traits were “anxious, easily upset” and
“calm, emotionally stable” (reverse coded). For openness to new
experiences, the traits were “open to new experiences, complex”
and “conventional, uncreative” (reverse coded). Participants
rated the extent to which each pair of traits applies to
them. Responses were anchored at 1 (strongly disagree) and
7 (strongly agree). We averaged responses such that higher
scores reflect greater neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness,
conscientiousness, and openness to new experiences.

Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS; Spinella, 2007)

Measures

The short form 15-item BIS was included to assess participants’
degree of impulsivity. Like the original long form 30-item BIS,
the 15-item short form BIS are equally distributed across three
subscales that measure the extent to which people engage in
non-planning (e.g., “I say things without thinking”), motor
impulsivity (e.g., “I act on impulse”), and attentional impulsivity
(e.g., “I am restless at lectures or talks”). Responses were anchored
at 1 (rarely/never) and 4 (almost always/always). We averaged
responses across subscales such that higher scores reflect greater
impulsivity (α = 0.81).

Participants completed a revised version of the PPS as well as
the PGSI and GBQ used in Study 1. They also completed the
following measures:

Ten-item personality inventory (TIPI; Gosling et al., 2003)
We used the TIPI to assess the Big-Five personality domains.
Each personality domain was measured using two pairs of traits.
For extraversion, the traits were “extraverted, enthusiastic” and
“reserved, quite” (reverse coded). For agreeableness, the traits

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Positive Play Scale

Financially focused self-concept (FFS; Tabri et al., 2017)

The third component had an eigenvalue of 1.15 and accounted
for an additional 12.82% of the variance. However, the scree test
and parallel analysis both indicated that the optimal solution
would be to retain only the first two components. The rotated
loadings are reported in Table 4. As such, we repeated the PCA
after omitting the two items that loaded on the third component.
Importantly, we observed the same two components from the
PCA with seven items. Moreover, the scree test and parallel
analysis both indicated that the optimal solution would be to
retain both of these components. The four pre-commitment
items that loaded on the first component had loadings >0.60 and
thus were averaged to form a scale (M = 6.52, SD = 0.94; α =
0.84). Likewise, the loadings for the three honesty and control
items that loaded on the second component were >0.60 and thus
were averaged to form a scale (M = 6.45, SD = 1.13; α = 0.76).
Likewise, for the nine PPS belief items (see Table 5), results
of the PCA indicated that three components were extracted each
with an eigenvalue >1. The first component had an eigenvalue
of 3.40 and accounted for 37.83% of the variance. The second
component had an eigenvalue of 1.79 and accounted for an
additional 19.91% of the variance. The third component had an
eigenvalue of 1.01 and accounted for an additional 11.31% of the
variance. Importantly, the scree test and parallel analysis both
indicated that the optimal solution would be to retain only the
first two components. The rotated factor loadings are presented
in Table 5. The five personal responsibility items that loaded on
the first component had loadings >0.50 and thus were averaged
to form a scale (M = 6.79, SD = 0.55; α = 0.82). Likewise,
the three gambling literacy items that loaded on the second
component had loadings >0.75 and thus were averaged to form
a scale (M = 6.46, SD = 0.90; α = 0.73). The remaining item
that loaded on the third component was excluded from further
analyses (see Table 5). The final scale contained seven items
related to behavior and seven items related to beliefs.

The short form of the FFS was used in the present research.
This questionnaire includes four items that measure the extent to
which people’s self-concept is focused on financial success. The
four FFS items were “How I feel about myself is largely based on
the amount of money I have,” “My moods are influenced by the
amount of money I have,” “People will think less of me if I don’t
have a lot of money,” and “The opportunities that are available
to me depend on the amount of money I have.” Participants’
responses were anchored at 1 (not at all) and 5 (extremely).
We averaged responses such that higher scores indicated greater
financially focused self-concept (α = 0.77).

InCharge financial distress/financial well-being scale
(IFDFW; Prawitz et al., 2006)
The IFDFW scale consists of eight items measuring the extent
to which participants are satisfied with their financial situation.
Items were “What do you feel is the level of your financial
stress today?,” “How stressed do you feel about your personal
finances in general?,” “How often does this happen to you? You
want to go out to eat, go to a movie or do something else and
don’t go because you can’t afford to?,” “How frequently do you
find yourself just getting by financially and living paycheck to
paycheck?,” “How satisfied are you with your present financial
situation,” “How often do you worry about being able to meet
normal monthly living expenses?,” and “How confident are you
that you could find the money to pay for a financial emergency
that costs about $1,000?” Participants responded using a scale
with anchor labels that varied by item. For the first two items, the
anchors were overwhelming stress (1) and no stress at all (10). For
the third and fourth items, the anchors were all the time (1) and
never (10). For the fifth item, the anchors were feel overwhelmed
(1) and feel comfortable (10). For the sixth item, the anchors were
complete dissatisfaction (1) and complete satisfaction (10). For the
seventh item, the anchors were worry all the time (1) and never
worry (10). For the eighth item, the anchors were no confidence
(1) and high confidence (10). Consistent with Prawitz et al. (2006),
we averaged across items such that higher scores indicate great
financial satisfaction (α = 0.94).

Descriptive Statistics and Bivariate Analyses
Descriptive statistics and correlations between the PPS and
all other variables are reported in Table 5. As in Study 2,
higher scores on each of the PPS subscales were negatively
correlated with scores on the PGSI as well as with scores
on the GBQ luck and control subscales. In addition, higher
scores on the PPS subscales were each associated with greater
conscientiousness, lower neuroticism, lower impulsivity, greater
financial satisfaction, greater general self-efficacy, and lower FFS.
The magnitude of these associations were weak-to-moderate (see
Table 6).

General self-efficacy (GSE; Schwarzer and Jerusalem, 1995)
The 10-item GSE was used to measure the extent to which
participants’ perceive that they have a general sense of selfefficacy to face difficulties (e.g., “I can always manage to solve
difficult problems if I try hard enough.”) and attain goals (e.g.,
“It is easy for me to stick to my aims and accomplish my goals.”).
Responses were anchored at 1 (not at all true) and 4 (exactly true).
We averaged responses such that higher scores reflect greater
perceived general self-efficacy (α = 0.85).

Test Re-test Reliability of the PPS
The same PPS subscales identified with the total sample of Study
3 were computed for the subsample that completed the PPS 1
month later. The magnitude of the test re-test correlations for
the pre-commitment (r = 0.62, p < 0.001), honesty and control
(r = 0.39, p < 0.001), personal responsibility (r = 0.37, p <
0.001), and gambling literacy (r = 0.43, p < 0.001) PPS subscales
were moderate to strong. These results indicate that participants’
relative rankings on the PPS subscales tended to be stable over
time.

Results
Structure of the PPS
PCA with promax rotation on the nine PPS behavior items (see
Table 4) revealed three components with an eigenvalue >1. The
first component had an eigenvalue of 4.06 and accounted for
45.19% of the variance. The second component had an eigenvalue
of 1.17 and accounted for an additional 13.05% of the variance.

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Positive Play Scale

TABLE 6 | Descriptive correlations between PPS subscales and all other factors measured in Study 3.
M (SD)

Honesty and control

Pre-commitment

Personal responsibility

Gambling literacy

PGSI

0.17 (2.23)

−0.32**

−0.38**

−0.03

−0.15**

GBQ-luck

19.81 (9.43)

−0.21**

−0.32**

−0.25**

−0.58**

GBQ-Control

17.23 (8.70)

−0.03

−0.16**

−0.13**

−0.39**

Neuroticism

2.69 (1.21)

−0.07

−0.14**

−0.11*

−0.21**

Openness

4.87 (1.18)

−0.02

0.08

0.06

0.02

Conscientiousness

5.72 (1.03)

0.22**

0.21**

Extraversion

3.97 (1.41)

0.01

0.05

Agreeableness

5.27 (1.10)

0.08

0.09

0.05

0.09

BIS

1.92 (0.40)

−0.21**

−0.28**

−0.23**

−0.17**

General self-efficacy

3.20 (0.37)

0.09†

0.15**

0.12*

0.09

Financial satisfaction

7.57 (2.10)

0.14**

0.25**

0.13**

0.29**

FFS

1.73 (0.60)

−0.19**

−0.26**

−0.09*

−0.24**

0.17**
−0.06

0.14**
−0.04

†

PPS, Positive Play Scale; PGSI, Problem Gambling Severity Index; GBQ, Gambling Beliefs Questionnaire; BIS, Barratt Impulsivity Scale; FFS, Financially Focused Self-Concept. p = 0.05;
*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01.
N = 412.

Discussion

Consequently, less money and resources are wasted on strategies
that are ineffective, while effective elements can be more fully
supported. For example, if a gambling operator finds that a
sample of slot machine players are scoring low on the precommitment sub-scale, they could focus future RG efforts on
promoting the use of limit setting tools. The PPS should be
particularly useful when introducing new RG initiatives (e.g., an
education campaign aimed at dispelling gambling fallacies). To
this end, the PPS could be used in pre-post evaluations to identify
any positive or negative changes following the implementation.
That is, does the new RG initiative result in a measurable increase
in PPS scores for the player population. Furthermore, the PPS
offers the opportunity to more effectively measure beliefs and
behaviors by providing a means by which to measure changes
toward the positive end of the gambling spectrum, which should
include the vast majority of players.
The PPS could also aid RG strategies to become more
segmented, by identifying the approaches that work best with
different player demographics and according to game types.
In their study of product harm and consumer vulnerability to
marketing, Smith and Cooper-Martin (1997) suggest that firms
are better served by focusing on product harm reduction rather
than on business development with lower-risk groups. They
also find that policymakers should focus on vulnerabilities in
clearly defined groups of consumers. The PPS better enables
both of these objectives. For example, some RG approaches
may work best with younger players, with women, with slotmachine players etc. In other words, the PPS could help tailor
RG programs to the individual consumer (e.g., game of choice,
age, gender) based on empirical evidence.
The PPS should facilitate a more positive (carrot-based)
approach to behavior change, by examining and encouraging
positive patterns of play amongst the majority of players. Hence,
enabling the focus of RG strategy to be refined to include the
much wider base of players whose behavior and beliefs are largely
positive, but who may benefit from information and initiatives

The results of Study 3 replicated the overall structure of the
PPS for seven of the nine behavior items and seven of the
nine belief items. In addition, results of Study 3 demonstrated
that the PPS subscales had good test-retest reliability, which
suggests that the PPS is reliable over time. Study 3 also replicated
the correlations between the PPS on the one hand and the
PGSI and GBQ observed in Study 2, which further supports
the reliability of the PPS. As well, findings from Study 3
showed that the PPS subscales were each associated with greater
conscientiousness, lower neuroticism, lower impulsivity, greater
financial satisfaction, greater general self-efficacy, and lower FFS.
These findings suggest that the PPS is measuring a construct that
is linked to an overall sense of well-being in terms of reported
behaviors and psychological constructs that we might reasonably
expect to accompany RG, as defined in our working definition.

GENERAL DISCUSSION
Like many industries that can produce harms, it is often
challenging to disentangle the relative contributions of the
gambling industry to wider public health outcomes. While
reduction of harms may be an overall public health goal,
responsible gambling programs are only part of a larger solution
that also includes treatment programs, public education, and
other policy decisions around availability and support.
The current research developed and assessed the psychometric
properties of a new PPS. Consistent with what is known about
RG, the scale assesses two unique components: players’ positive
(or responsible) beliefs about gambling and players’ positive (or
responsible) gambling behaviors. Importantly, these components
produced reliable and valid data in two studies utilizing the
customers of a provincial Canadian gambling operator.
Using the PPS should help to optimize gambling operators’ RG
strategy by objectively measuring the effectiveness of programs.

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Positive Play Scale

Limitations and Future Directions

that are aimed to promote elements of RG that could be further
strengthened (e.g., encourage engagement with limit-setting
tools). This contrasts with the largely negative (stick-based)
approach that currently underpins most RG strategies. A more
positive approach is likely to resonate well with players (i.e.,
“this is how to maximize positive playing experiences”), rather
than negative messages that infer problem gambling (i.e., “if
you don’t play responsibly you will experience problems”; Wood
and Griffiths, 2015). Additionally, a positive play approach
should attenuate the stigma typically associated with extant stickbased RG initiatives (i.e., “these strategies are for people with
problems”). In doing so, non-problematic players may be more
likely to relate to and engage with RG strategies, thus showing
utility for problem gambling prevention.
Moreover, including the PPS in public health research like
gambling prevalence studies, offers the opportunity to gain much
more detailed information about the overall level of healthy
gambling behavior amongst players. This would be a significant
shift in perspective. Indeed, both gambling regulations and RG
policies are frequently informed through an examination of
problematic gambling (typically a hundred or so players from
a total sample of thousands). Furthermore, by focusing on the
much larger sample of positive players, more subtle differences
in responsible playing behaviors and beliefs should be observed.
As such, it becomes more readily possible to focus harm
minimization initiatives toward those players with much less
severe indicators of risky behavior and beliefs (i.e., lower scores
on the PPS). The likelihood of successfully changing erroneous
gambling beliefs and risky behaviors, should be increased
when they are identified at an earlier stage. Consequently,
we argue that lighter touch interventions could be employed
that are more palatable to less responsible (but not necessarily
problematic) players. This is because such customers may
disregard interventions that appear to be aimed at players with
more severe gambling related issues. For example, “nudging”
people with milder health related issues has been shown to be
more effective at the population level, than trying to intervene
with just those people who have much more serious health
issues to deal with Maretau et al. (2011). Nudging is just the
kind of low intensity approach that would be suitable to use
with the majority of players who are gambling as a means of
entertainment.
We also contend that asking players to consider their
positive playing beliefs and behaviors would be much less
insensitive than asking them to complete problem gambling
screens which focus on socially deviant negatively framed
behaviors (stealing, lying, deception etc.). This is important
because gambling is a leisure activity that players undertake
for enjoyment. If most players are to be encouraged to play
responsibly and to better understand their own gambling
behaviors and beliefs, then the approach toward studying and
subsequently promoting RG should arguably be more focused
on positive play than gambling related problems. Such a positive
approach may not just encourage RG engagement; it may also
help counter the perception that RG is just for people with
problems.

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It would be fruitful for future research to replicate the structure
of the PPS in a new sample using a confirmatory approach (e.g.,
Confirmatory Factor Analysis). This was not undertaken in the
present studies because the PPS items were not identical across
Studies 2 and 3. In Study 2, we tested the first iteration of the PPS.
In Study 3, we revised the wording of some PPS items and cut a
few items. For this reason, we opted to replicate the structure of
the PPS using the same statistical method in both studies (PCA
and parallel analysis).
Another possible limitation of the current research concerns
the external validity of our findings. While the PPS was developed
using players of many different products, the sample was from
a single gambling jurisdiction (British Columbia). As such,
the applicability of the PPS may be geographically limited.
With that said, there is no reason to believe players in British
Columbia are any different than players in the rest of Canada
(or beyond). Future application of the PPS in other jurisdictions
will help to test this notion further. Participants in the study
were somewhat self-selected in that they had previously agreed
to take part in research studies. Therefore, we might question
how representative they were of players in British Columbia. Of
course, to some extent all survey respondents are self-selecting,
in that they accept or refuse a request to take part in the study.
Again, this notion will be further elucidated through utilizing the
PPS with additional samples. We would also argue, that what
the study lacked in terms of the representativeness of players
generally, it makes up for in terms of wider ecological validity
by utilizing actual players, reporting on their real-life gambling
behaviors and beliefs.
In interpreting the results of the PPS, an obvious question
would be “what are the cut-offs to indicate high, medium and
low levels of RG?” Currently there are no other similar scales
by which to make comparisons and only one sample has so far
been tested. As such, it is not yet possible to identify cut-offs.
Over time as more samples are tested and more benchmark data
is accumulated, then it should be possible to begin to designate
meaningful cut-off scores. The inclusion of the PPS in prevalence
studies would help to hasten this outcome. In the meantime, data
gathered in a single population can be used to set benchmarks for
later comparisons over time as well as to identify differences in
the level of RG between various player segments.
Another possible limitation is that the PPS is based on selfreported behaviors and beliefs. There is always a risk that what
people report and what they do are not always the same. To
minimize this, participants were guaranteed total anonymity to
help reduce any tendency to present themselves in a positive
light. The overall level of problem gambling that was identified
in the main sample (3.5% PGSI 8+) was somewhat higher than
the 0.7% PG rate identified in the last BC prevalence study
(Malatest et al., 2014). However, the sample in this study was
comprised solely of regular gambling players, whereas prevalence
studies include non-gamblers, and therefore the level of PGs
identified is likely broadly representative of levels of PG more
generally. Furthermore, it is worth noting that the vast majority
of scales measuring health–related behaviors, beliefs/cognitions

Positive Play Scale

definition of RG as well as a novel tool to measure RG beliefs and
behaviors. We demonstrated in two large samples of gambling
players that the PPS is both a valid and reliable tool that is related
to but distinct from problem gambling behaviors and beliefs.
The current research provides a new approach for understanding
and objectively measuring RG, that can be used to assess the
efficacy of RG strategies that are designed to promote positive and
responsible play amongst players.

(e.g., PGSI, GBQ etc.) are also developed using self-report data
and have been shown to be useful and valid tools. Nevertheless,
in future studies it would be worthwhile comparing the reported
behaviors of players with their actual player data, something that
is now more of a possibility with the advent of player-cards and
online player accounts.
Finally, the sensitivity of the PPS for measuring changes over
time is yet to be tested. An examination of different player
segments (e.g., lottery players vs. slot machine players) did show
a reasonable variation between mean scores on the PPS sub-scale
scores. This would suggest that the PPS is not being restricted
by ceiling effects (i.e., everyone scoring high) or floor effects (i.e.,
everyone scoring low). Nevertheless, it will be necessary to have
the same or a matched sample complete the scale again at a
later date to observe any changes in scores over time. Ideally,
this would take place following the implementation of a new
RG initiative (e.g., an RG awareness campaign) so that there is
a likelihood that changes would be evident. However, subsequent
analysis should be mindful of the extent to which little change
could be a result of the success (or lack of) of the RG initiative
rather than the sensitivity of the PPS. The inclusion of additional
pre and post measures (e.g., player interviews) should help to
illuminate such findings.

ETHICS STATEMENT
All procedures involving human participants were performed
in accordance with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its
later amendments. In addition, the study was carried out in
accordance with the British Columbia Freedom of Information
and Protection of Privacy Act.

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
RW was the Principal Investigator for the study and contributed
to the conceptual design, literature review, procedures, analysis,
results, and discussion. MW, NT, and KP contributed toward the
conceptual design, literature review, procedures, analysis, results
and discussion.

CONCLUSION

FUNDING

In the field of gambling studies, little or no empirical research has
examined RG from the player’s perspective. The current research
addressed this gap in the literature by developing a coherent

This study was funded by the British Columbia Lottery
Corporation.

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Conflict of Interest Statement: RW has conducted previous consultancy work for
BCLC. KP currently works for BCLC. In conducting the study, we were given full
consent to investigate, analyze and report all findings that the authors perceived
to be relevant. The aims and outcomes of the project were mutually beneficial to
both the authors and BCLC. That is, both wished to develop an effective scale
for measuring the extent of positive beliefs and behavior within a population of
players. Therefore, we do not consider that there was a conflict of interest between
the authors of this manuscript and the funders of the research.
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any
commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential
conflict of interest.
Copyright © 2017 Wood, Wohl, Tabri and Philander. This is an open-access article
distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).
The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the
original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this
journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution
or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
