As regulated single-game sports betting settles more across the country, the chief executive officer of the Responsible Gambling Council says the organization has made it their priority to focus on prevention programming specific to that industry.
That’s according to a statement by CEO Shelley White in the RGC’s just-released annual report for 2022-23. The RGC is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to problem gambling prevention.
“As the gambling industry grows, there’s a need to increase the investment that we’re making in responsible gambling, prevention education, research in ongoing adaptation, and development of standards,” she told an audience at the recent Canadian Gaming Summit in Toronto. “We have to remain innovative with respect to this.”
The report details how RGC took on a global advertising and marketing research study to look at leading practices and developed new public-information and education programs for youth, young adults, and ethno-cultural communities to stress why it’s important to use igaming RG tools.
The RGC’s “Know the Risks” ad campaign, in collaboration with ThinkTV, generated 99 million impressions from TV and radio.
RGC PlaySmart Centres operate in 67 land-based gambling venues across Ontario, designated places where players can go to get facts, tools, and advice about gambling. RGC says 141,742 visitors accessed PSCs to learn more about gambling and games and 5,236 visitors received support from PSC staff.
The RG Check Accreditation Program has been embedded into the requirements for all igaming operators entering the regulated Ontario marketplace by iGaming Ontario, a subsidiary of the provincial regulator. The RG Check accreditation process helps gambling venues and igaming sites evaluate, monitor, and manage all aspects of their RG strategy and operations.
The annual report indicated that the RGC received $3.6 million in funding from the Ontario government.
“Canada has a very proud history of being committed to responsible gambling,” White said. “Robust regulations exist in each province. Strong operators, whether it’s a crown or independent commercial entities, operate gambling and there’s a strong commitment to research. There’s a number of gambling studies in each province across the country. So we have a real commitment to research. There are a lot of great things happening that we can build upon. We’ve got to remain innovative with respect to this.”
