It is no exaggeration to say that since legalization, online gaming has exploded in popularity. The industry keeps posting strong growth year after year, and there is every reason to expect this will continue in 2025. Yet, with that increased interest comes heightened accountability.
The industry is seeking to further support players in a constantly changing environment with new technologies, innovations, and greater access to gaming. This is a challenge but also an opportunity to design and implement innovative and collective responsible gaming resources.

Dr. Jennifer Shatley
At its core, sports betting and iGaming are a hub of innovation, entertainment, and social interaction, and increased engagement with responsible gaming practices and tools helps ensure these remain platforms for fun and recreation for all players. To do this, we must address the misinterpretation many hold that responsible gaming programs are only for those who have experienced problems, when, in reality, these programs and tools are intended to be utilized by the entire customer base to foster positive gaming experiences. Education and improved integration into the overall gaming experience can help change this perception and increase engagement with these resources. This is especially true for those engaging with legal sports betting for the first time.
We are gearing up to launch a national college responsible gaming education campaign to meet this challenge. In partnership with EPIC Global Solutions, Kindbridge Behavioral Health, and the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC), ROGA will develop and implement a comprehensive, evidence-based program specifically tailored to the unique needs of university-aged students.
The initiative will leverage digital delivery tools to provide responsible gaming and financial literacy education to students across diverse campuses and demographics throughout the U.S. This age group has newfound freedom and independence, including financial independence, making it crucial to equip them with essential skills to help build and maintain good financial habits – whether they engage in gaming or not.
In addition, there has been an ongoing debate about how online gaming effectively navigates this rapidly evolving landscape, especially as technology advances.
To help the industry tackle these challenges, ROGA is working on several research-focused initiatives to navigate this changing landscape. Research and data will provide an evidence-based approach to developing and implementing responsible gaming best practices tailored for the online space.
At ROGA, we strongly believe we can help evolve the industry’s approach to responsible gaming through collective action, and data will play a fundamental role. We recently announced the creation of a data clearinghouse, an RG-related database that provides a more holistic view of players – allowing a mechanism for industry-wide protection of consumers. This platform will contribute to the industry’s efforts to prioritize the wellbeing of players with more valuable insights and efficient and actionable solutions.
The first iteration of the data clearinghouse will take the form of a national shared self-exclusion list across all ROGA members. Through this clearinghouse, when a player self-excludes through a member operator’s responsible gaming program via their online gaming site, that player will be self-excluded across all ROGA member online gaming sites.
Self-exclusion measures extending beyond individual operators are fundamental in ensuring players who express the need to take a break from gaming are supported across the online gaming industry.
While online gaming continues to grow, at ROGA, we are creating a solid foundation to help provide resources and mechanisms that can raise awareness, educate, and empower players to make healthy online gaming decisions, and create environments that can be fun and entertaining for generations to come.
Dr. Jennifer Shatley serves as Executive Director of the Responsible Online Gaming Association (ROGA). She is an insightful and experienced executive with a 25-year career background involving extensive leadership progressing responsible gaming policy.