The next frontier for Responsible Gaming involves using casino technology to identify and help at-risk patrons before they develop a gambling problem.
“Operators have the ability now to leverage all the data they’re collecting,” Afshien Lashkari of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement said Thursday during an American Gaming Association webinar. “We want to take advantage of that and utilize that information to essentially try to develop an early-warning system for these operators.”
Lashkari, who helped establish New Jersey’s regulatory framework for sports betting, was one of three panelists for a Responsible Gaming Education Month discussion titled “The State of Responsibility and Player Protection.” Anika Howard, CEO and president of WONDR NATION, the online-gaming division for Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, and Mark Vander Linden, director of research and responsible gaming for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission were also on the panel. Cait DeBaun, vice president for strategic communications and responsibility for the American Gaming Association, moderated.
Howard said the Responsible Gaming effort involves a broad range of suppliers, operators, regulators, nonprofit organizations, and researchers. Changes in consumer behavior, especially the increasing use of mobile devices for accessing media, require a shifting approach to RG, she said. “We need to align the messaging and the tools that we give players with how those behaviors are changing,” she said. “Make sure that we meet people where they are.”
Vander Linden said the industry’s Responsible Gaming efforts are shifting from reactive – focusing on the one to two percent of the population with a gambling problem – to being more proactive. “How do we promote positive play?” he asked. “What does safer gambling look like? What information do people need in order to stay in a safe recreational zone?”
He cited a collaboration by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission and the state’s three casinos in launching PlayMyWay, a voluntary method for players to track how much they spend on gambling. Players can insert their rewards card into a slot or other electronic device and set a daily, weekly, or monthly budget for gaming. They get notifications upon reaching 50 percent, 75 percent, and 100 percent of their allotment, but can choose whether to keep playing. They can also adjust their budget or unenroll. First-time enrollees receive a one-time casino food credit.
Massachusetts, which has legalized sports betting, but not yet finalized regulations, is studying potential requirements or limits on sportsbook advertising. Nine percent of the state tax revenue from legal sports betting will go to a public fund for prevention and treatment of”¯problem gambling.
Vander Linden said the gaming industry recognizes that the advertising issue is “really complicated,” partially because the state has no control over national advertising and partially because it doesn’t want to give an advantage to illegal operators. “It would be great if Responsible Gaming advertising stood alone to kind of balance out the advertising that exists for sports wagering and other forms of gambling,” he said.
Lashkari said online gaming eliminates the anonymous play possible in a land-based casino. “It makes it easier to reach out to the appropriate people who need the additional information as far as education is concerned. The operators have the ability to say, ‘Wait a minute; we know who this is, we know what we have to do, we put the right tools in the right peoples’ hands, and they just need to do their due diligence.”
Howard said casino staffers benefit from online tools and training in identifying potential problems. “We’ve learned a lot about what the structure of a Responsible Gaming program needs to be from the retail (operation) and we’ve been able to really streamline it with the use of technology,” she said.
Vander Linden cautioned that the evolving state of Responsible Gaming “is not easy.”
“It’s not about just providing information anymore. It’s driving ahead and anticipating what customers need and how we can move toward sustaining Responsible Gaming, sustaining recreational play, and how we modify gambling behaviors in a way that reduces gambling-related harm. … There’s an enormous potential in that space.”
The next RG Education Month event will be a Sept. 27 webinar, “Advancing Responsible Gaming through Collaboration and Technology.” Registration is available through the AGA website.
DeBaun also noted that RG discussions are scheduled for Oct. 11 at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas.
