Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, Vol 40(6), Sep 2026, 660-671; doi:10.1037/adb0001163
Objective: Duty-of-care customer “care calls” are increasingly used by gambling operators, but it is unclear how triggering criteria affect engagement and impact in routine practice. We compared response, actions, and pre–post gambling changes across criteria. Method: Account data from Norsk Tipping were analyzed for customers targeted for care calls in 2022–2024 (N = 4,752). Triggering criteria were high losses by age (18–25, 26–30, 30+), high losses among new customers, persistent high-risk classification or recent escalation in a player tracking system, and self-initiated contacts via customer service or the real-time intervention “Spillepuls.” Gambling outcomes and responsible gambling actions were summarized for 12 weeks pre- and postcall. Paired t tests estimated intention to treat and per protocol effects (Cohen’s d); logistic regression predicted call completion. Results: A total of 68.2% answered and 57.3% completed a successful call. Completion rates varied systematically by selection criteria and customer characteristics. Across all criteria, gambling engagement decreased from pre- to postperiods. The largest reductions were observed for frequency of gambling and net losses. Customers who lowered loss limits during calls showed larger reductions than those who did not. Reductions were generally larger among customers identified through self-initiated contact or recent risk escalation and smaller among customers with persistent high-risk classification and older high-loss customers. Conclusions: Routine care calls were associated with reduced gambling and substantial responsible gambling uptake, supporting scalability beyond random controlled trials. Criteria-specific differences suggest that early-risk triggers may lead to stronger engagement and behavioral change, while individuals with more persistent high-risk patterns may require additional measures. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)