Evaluation of a Brief Online Self‐help Prevention Program for Concerned Gamblers

The purpose of this presentation is to describe the feasibility of a brief online self‐help prevention program for concerned gamblers, i.e., gamblers who perceived a need to change their gambling habits, in the context of the Swedish gambling helpline. The program consisted of four modules based on Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), covering motivation to change, logging gambling behaviors, planning and implementing gambling‐free activities, and managing risk situations. Gambling expenditures were also logged in the program, and their development over time were analyzed as longitudinal data using marginalized two‐part models.

The results showed that out of 4655 gamblers recruited via the helpline’s webpage, 92% completed content in at least one module, and 23% were active in all four modules. Attrition was in general high, with only 10% retention in the gambling log for longer than 14 days. Gambling expenditures decreased for those who logged them for a shorter time period, whereas it increased for those who logged expenditures fora longer time period. The study showed that it was relatively easy to recruit participants to the online program. Given the low retention, some recommendations for future programs will be presented.