Research topic

As regulated by the State Treaty on Gaming (GlüStV) in 2008, a legal framework for player protection concepts was created in Germany for the first time. Since then, state-licensed gambling providers have been obligated pursuant to § 6 GlüStV to develop concepts and delineate measures taken to prevent the socially harmful effects of gambling.

Since 2008, we have been developing and researching prevention- and intervention-oriented player protection concepts at the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy. Our interdisciplinary team consisting of psychologists, medical doctors and health communication scientists advises and supports state-licensed gambling providers in the development, implementation and evaluation of player protection concepts. The Competence Center for Gamer Protection & Prevention is the only institution in Germany to have developed a court-approved procedure for carrying out diagnostics in connection with the lifting of player suspension.
As part of the accompanying scientific research, we conduct employee and player surveys on the perception of player protection measures.

Recent publications

• Aster, R., Quack, A., Wejbera, M., Beutel, M. E. (2018). Telefonische Beratung für Glücksspielsüchtige - der heiße Draht ins Hilfesystem? Akzeptanz und Nutzung der Mainzer Hotline Verhaltenssucht. Gesundheitswesen, DOI doi.org/10.1055/a-0592-7006.
• Quack, A. (2020). Spielerschutz im staatlichen Glücksspielwesen - Was kommt beim Verbraucher an? Schriftenreihe zur Glücksspielforschung, Band 23, Peter Lang Verlag, Berlin.
• Wejbera, M., Müller, K. W., Becker, J., Beutel. M. E. (2017). The Berlin Inventory of Gambling behavior – Screening (BIG-S): Validation using a clinical sample. BMC Psychiatry, 17, 188.