Time Out: Prediction of Self-Exclusion From Daily Fantasy Sports

• Published in: Psychology of addictive behaviors 2022-06, Vol.36 (4), p.318-332
• Main Authors: Nelson, Sarah E., Edson, Timothy C., Grossman, Alessandra, Louderback, Eric R., Gray, Heather M., LaPlante, Debi A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Digital Gaming; Fantasy; Fees & charges; Gambling; Games; Human; Internet; Online gambling; Prediction; Risk Factors; Sports; Test Construction; Time Out
• ISSN: 0893-164X; 1939-1501
• DOI: 10.1037/adb0000829

Objective: Responsible gambling (RG) tools that include play management software, self-limit features, and self-exclusion are relatively common offerings on major online gambling platforms. However, how online gaming and daily fantasy sports (DFS) players use such tools is less clear. The goals of this article were to understand how players use self-exclusion at a major DFS platform and to identify DFS activity-related predictors of self-exclusion. Method: During November 2015, DraftKings, a major DFS provider, rolled out a self-exclusion feature that allows players to self-exclude from the platform for a specified amount of time, up to 5 years. We used player records from DraftKings, examining play patterns and self-exclusion across 3+ years of data. Results: We found that less than 0.5% of subscribers in our sample self-excluded during the study period and almost one third of those who self-excluded did so more than once. In general, self-excluders engaged with a greater variety of contests and sports and entered contests with higher entry fees than those who did not self-exclude. Repeat self-excluders selected shorter initial self-exclusion terms and also engaged with a greater variety of game types and sports than one-time self-excluders. However, self-excluders did not engage in riskier contests or experience higher percent losses. Conclusion: Our findings have implications for our understanding of RG feature use among DFS subscribers and markers of risk for experiencing problems with DFS and gambling more generally. Public Health Significance Statement This study found that while self-exclusion from a daily fantasy sports (DFS) platform was a rare behavior, those who self-excluded displayed distinguishable patterns of activity prior to self-exclusion. These findings contribute to a body of literature identifying potential risk factors for experiencing problems with DFS play and gambling.