Sports Betting Apps as Void Objects: Opacity, Engagement Engineering, and Problem Gambling Rates — A Within-Domain Spearman Convergence

Key Points

• The research examines the relationship between sports betting app features and documented problem gambling rates.
• Scored twelve major sports betting platforms on O (algorithmic odds opacity), R (real-time engagement), and C (promotional lock-in)
• Calculated Spearman ρ correlation between the Void Index and problem gambling rates from various sources
• Analyzed convergence of gambling metrics within the mobile sports betting domain
• Identified significant correlations between app features and higher problem gambling rates
• Documented issues related to engagement strategies leading to increased gambling risks
• Highlighted the relevance of these findings for EU Gambling Act reforms and Dutch KSA enforcement

Abstract