Free bets increase risky gambling behaviour, ESRI study finds

Typically, operators offer sign-up bonuses to customers such as free bets. While Ireland passed new gambling laws last year after years of delaying, it stopped short of banning free bets altogether. File photo

Offering free bets leads gamblers to spend more, lose more, and pushes them into making bad decisions, a new study has found.

The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) said that those at risk of problem gambling are more susceptible to the inducements offered by gambling companies, such as free bets and moneyback guarantees, and experience significantly more harm from their exposure to them.