Services
Research
Analytical studies and reviews, feasibility studies, quantitative and qualitative research, evaluation of programmes and projects.
Consultancy Services
Consultancy services - economic, legal, psychological counselling on a wide range of risk management issues.
Events, Assistance with Publications
Alea Research Hub has experience in organising conferences and similar events, as well as providing information for books and scientific and representative publications.
Econometrics combines mathematical and statistical methods to analyse economic phenomena, build models of economic activity and forecast economic performance.
Decisions to regulate gambling and gambling services in Lithuania are poorly based on scientific research that would allow for the assessment of the cumulative benefits and harms to society of these leisure activities.
Alea Research Hub employees have participated in the drafting and evaluation of laws and regulations of the Republic of Lithuania, and have carried out analyses of the laws of EU countries regulating lotteries, betting and gambling. They are prepared to work in a team of researchers from several different disciplines and to carry out socio-legal research, combining systematic, teleological (purpose of the law), precedential, legislative intent, and comparative methods of interpreting legislation.
Experience in analysing EU and Lithuanian legislation allows Alea Research Hub staff to carry out ex- and post-legislative evaluations, provide reviews, feedback, fact sheets and suggestions for improvement.
Alea Research Hub employees have participated in the drafting and evaluation of laws and regulations of the Republic of Lithuania, and have carried out analyses of the laws of EU countries regulating lotteries, betting and gambling. They are prepared to work in a team of researchers from several different disciplines and to carry out socio-legal research, combining systematic, teleological (purpose of the law), precedential, legislative intent, and comparative methods of interpreting legislation.
Experience in analysing EU and Lithuanian legislation allows Alea Research Hub staff to carry out ex- and post-legislative evaluations, provide reviews, feedback, fact sheets and suggestions for improvement.
The questionnaire used for this research. It is a standardised instrument for collecting data, where each participant in the survey has the opportunity to answer questions under the same conditions. The data collected in this way can be compared and the results of the analysis can be applied to the population as a whole using statistical calculations.
The questionnaires were based on the UK Gambling Commission, which has one of the most extensive experience in gambling services research.
The use of a single methodology helps to assess the prevalence of gambling services, to compare data internationally and to identify changes in attitudes towards gambling services. The surveys were carried out in cooperation with Vilmorus, an independent public opinion and market research institution.
The sampling method is multi-stage probability sampling. The selection of respondents was designed to ensure that every resident of Lithuania has an equal probability of being interviewed. The probability sampling was carried out in proportion to age, sex and place of residence. The surveys were carried out in the following municipalities of the Republic of Lithuania: Vilnius City, Kaunas City, Klaipėda City, Šiauliai City, Panevėžys City, Alytus R., Šakiai R., Utena R., Tauragė R., Švenčionys R., Raseiniai R, Kupiškis, Molėtai, Akmenė, Rokiškis, Telšiai, Mažeikiai, Marijampolė, Trakai, Varėna, Kretinga, Vilnius, Prienai and Ukmergė – 21 towns and 26 villages.
The surveys were carried out in accordance with the basic ethical requirements of the research – the safety of the respondents and the voluntariness of participation.
All quantitative surveys are representative of the Lithuanian population.
– Focus groups,
“Focus groups are organised to assess the attitudinal reactions of target group participants to an issue, product or advertisement. It involves a discussion that elicits a wide range of emotional reactions and attitudes. These can then be used in problem solving or product launches.
A professional and expert psychologist works with the focus group. The optimum number of group members is 8-10 people. “The result of the focus group is summarised in a report and supplemented by expert suggestions.
– The “secret” customer,
This is a survey that allows for an effective assessment of the quality of customer service. It involves the Centre’s researchers contacting the employees of the organisation to be evaluated directly, by telephone or in writing, and assessing the service provided by the employees according to a set of pre-defined indicators.
The possible measures include customer service environment, confidentiality of information, attention to the customer, working environment, conflict management, etc.
– surveys of exceptional groups (e.g. winners of large prizes in lotteries), in-depth interviews of representatives of exceptional groups,
The aim of such surveys and in-depth interviews is to obtain the views of the respondents. Their results can be used to make representative surveys more valid.
Surveys and interviews are carried out during individual interviews. Typically, 30-50 members of the target group are interviewed.
– Usage data and user surveys for mobile apps to better manage gambling,
– analysis of psychological counselling data.
The qualitative research was carried out in accordance with the principles of confidentiality and voluntary participation in the research. As part of the structuring of their data, each participant in the qualitative research has been assigned a code which has no connection with the personal data of the participants. Written consent was obtained from all participants in the qualitative research to the publication of the information provided, without mentioning the name and contact details of the person who provided it.
The distinctive feature of the Alea Research Hub’s training courses is the close link between science, consultancy, surveys and practice.
The training is aimed at professional and demographic groups – medical professionals, educators, gambling service workers, young people and schoolchildren – as well as the general public.
Training is provided on stress management, addiction prevention and mobbing.
The Centre’s specialists have organised international scientific conferences and scientific and practical seminars
The Centre assists in organising publications when needed.
F.A.Q.
Research on risk and risk management is Alea’s strength. The Hub’s staff has exceptional experience in lottery, betting and gambling research in the economic, legal, social and psychological spheres. Such research has been carried out since 2016 and has led to a rich collection of statistics.
The distinctive feature of the Alea Research Hub’s training is the close link between science, consultancy, surveys and practice.
The training is aimed at professional and demographic groups – medical professionals, educators, gambling service workers, young people and schoolchildren – as well as the general public.
Training is provided on stress management, addiction prevention and mobbing. The Hub’s specialists have organised international scientific conferences and scientific and practical seminars
The Hube assists in organising publications when needed.
Modern society, by giving people more free time, is increasingly becoming a “playing society”, in which games have not only traditional – educational, compensatory – but also new purposes, becoming a way of constructing social reality, a way of spending leisure time and a form of entertainment, helping to overcome exclusion and alienation, developing personal identity and promoting self-realisation.
Caillois points out that play is a free choice, limited in space and time, with an unknown outcome, not usually producing material goods, and with its own rules that model reality. Within the plethora of games, he identifies the ‘alea’ type of game, in which the player controls only the decision to participate and relies entirely on chance. Inherent in this type of game is the excitement, the immersion in the game or gambling. In order to emphasise the unique importance of gambling in the way games are played, where the outcome is random and almost independent of the ability of the participants, they are referred to as games of chance.
There is often a value opposition in the description of gaming in general and gambling in particular, which, as Brenner and Brenner point out, can be seen as two approaches to gaming and its social control. The principles of Protestantism and capitalist ethics (austerity, discipline, precaution and rational foresight) lead to the classification of gambling as an evil that should be banned. Decision-making principles based on hedonism, reliance on chance, fate or intuition classify gambling as a form of freedom and entertainment that should be both legalised and regulated. P. V. Piaza points out that such a juxtaposition is part of the debate over a more general conception of the essence of the human being and his goals. For a long time, economic circumstances have favoured survival values. However, the need to entertain is just as strong as the need to survive, and modern society devotes a large part of its resources to entertainment, which is inseparable from the experience of freedom.
In EU countries, gambling is considered an acceptable pastime and is defined as the act of playing for monetary gain. In a study commissioned by the EC, the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law divided the gambling services market into the following segments: (1) lotteries; (2) betting; (3) gambling offered in casinos; (4) gambling on gaming machines placed in places other than licensed casinos; (5) bingo; (6) gambling in the media; (7) promotional services – promotional games with a prize exceeding €100 000 or where participation is exclusively linked to a purchase; (8) gambling services provided by and for the benefit of recognised charitable or non-profit organisations.