DraftKings Wednesday announced it’s entered a strategic consulting agreement with the Division on Addiction at Cambridge Health Alliance to address and promote responsible gaming.
In coordination with DraftKings Responsible Gaming team, The Division (affiliated with Harvard Medical School) will create a systems-based safer play approach to train employees across the business in responsible gaming. The approach will include a logic model, conceptual map, needs assessment schedule, and evaluation plan.
“We look forward to continuing our relationship with the Division on Addiction at Cambridge Health Alliance to expand our research-driven approach to responsible gaming,” said DraftKings’ CEO and Chairman of the Board Jason Robins in a statement. “Evidence-based and data-driven strategies, created in coordination with CHA’s premier researchers, will enhance our player safety policies, product tools and employee training.”
Systems-based safer play includes approaches to training, business practices, and player resources that recognize and respond to the larger context of the gaming environment and its interacting elements.
In 2016, DraftKings gave the Division access to anonymized customer data to research responsible play. The findings were presented at international conferences and published in peer-reviewed articles in publications including Journal of Gambling Studies, Journal of Sport & Social Issues, and Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. Results also were shared with DraftKings to help the company provide safe environments for its players.
“Sharing scientific knowledge with DraftKings to advance new responsible business processes will help players at risk of gaming-related problems,” said Principal Investigator, Director of the Division, and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School Debi LaPlante, PhD., in a statement. “With the rapid expansion of sports betting across the United States, this is the perfect time to build actionable and evidence-based strategies for DraftKings.”
DraftKings provides responsible gaming tools for customers including limit setting, cooling-off periods, and self-exclusion. The company is a contributor to the International Center for Responsible Gaming’s Fund to Support Research on Sports Wagering, and promotes the American Gaming Association’s Have A Game Plan. Bet Responsibly public service campaign at its retail sportsbooks.
