Playtech Releases Information About Colombian Gaming
Author:
Jacob McKenzie
Earlier this year, Playtech released information from a survey it conducted regarding gaming in Latin America. Though the original survey data focused on Argentina, Playtech has now released a new batch of data concerning another surveyed country, Colombia. Readers can now find out how Argentina and Colombia’s data differ, as well as where there is overlap. All in all, Playtech and Toluna’s survey aims to better understand responsible gaming in a few key territories and to provide insights for gaming authorities in those countries.
Further insights on responsible gaming messaging have been revealed in Colombia, thanks to a survey by Playtech. Firmbee.com/Unsplash
Why did Playtech and Toluna conduct this survey?
The survey, which was conducted by online gaming tech company Playtech with help from the expert research firm Toluna, gets to the heart of the responsible gaming issue in several countries. For this edition of their report, the companies surveyed 2,500 people through Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Chile.
Though data about what they found in Argentina was previously available, new data pertaining to Colombia has just been released. These findings are part of Playtech’s ongoing “Report on Responsible Gaming in Latin America.”
The report aims to highlight players’ experience when it comes to playing online and how responsible gaming messaging — including warnings — affect their behavior. Ultimately, if used well, this information could assist government agencies — like Coljuegos in Colombia — to better serve their customer base.
What did Playtech uncover about Colombian gamers?
Playtech’s reporting on Colombian gaming behavior was slightly less in depth than its findings in Argentina, though still provides important insights. For example, Playtech discovered that 70% of Colombians surveyed had never seen any kind of gambling warning to indicate that they might be engaging in risky behavior or overspending.
Those who had received such messages were able to answer further questions, like whether the messages had an effect on their subsequent gambling. 32% of this group said it did cause them to alter their gambling habits by taking a break. However, 31% shared that it did not cause any change.
A further 11% were not sure if these messages had an obvious effect. 9% answered that they had immediately stopped their playing when they received a warning message. A much smaller number, 2%, said messages like this enticed them to bet even more.
Assessing Colombia in comparison to Argentina
These figures can be compared to Argentina’s numbers. In Argentina, an even bigger percentage of those surveyed said they had not received warning messages: 84%. Only 21% found the messages effective, while 31% found no effect from them.
Similarly, 2% said they were compelled to bet more after receiving such a message. Instead of 9% stopping immediately, as in Colombia, only 2% answered that they were motivated to stop their behavior after receiving a warning. Overall, Argentina’s surveyed gamers responded similarly to the Colombian group, though fewer had seen warnings and fewer made an immediate change to their behavior.
How does responsible gambling messaging make Colombians feel?
Another big focus of the survey was how gamblers felt about these types of warning messages. In Colombia, 30% said that the messages did have an effect on how they perceived their time betting or playing games online. 5% shared that they adamantly did not like the messages and would rather they not appear at all.
Then players were asked how they would prefer to receive these messages. Most (43%) would rather have pop-up messages during game play, as opposed to 32% of Argentinians would opt for this choice. A live chat messaging option was also popular in Colombia (27%) though only 14% of Argentinians asked for this. Probably most telling is that 6% of Colombian players said they think these messages should be removed completely, whereas 15% of Argentinians chose this answer.
