Applying imagination to the drive towards responsible gambling

If the conversations at the EGR UK Summit during Responsible Gambling Week in November are anything to go by, the major brands are taking the issue of responsibility towards their players seriously. The industry is responding to the demands from regulators to make gambling safer and reduce harm. Many operators now have dedicated teams to focus on implementing tools and techniques to monitor, intercede and support customers to maintain sustainable levels of gambling rather than harmful habits. This, coupled with some decisive strides forward in the way the industry markets itself, demonstrates that at least, in pockets, a more mature and long-term approach is being taken towards preventing gambling addiction and identifying it when it does happen. Less attention is given however to what happens to those players who are already experiencing difficulty.

Most operators in my experience close the account, apply an exclusion and send the player on their way while signposting to the help that can be obtained via helplines or the multi-operator self-exclusion scheme. Most also use various in-house or third-party tools to track IP, device IDs or machine learning to thwart attempts by players to subvert exclusion. But let’s take a moment to recognise that gambling addiction is a compulsive disorder, recognised by the World Health Organization as a disease in its International Statistical Classification of Diseases. The compulsion to gamble can certainly be reduced with the lack of opportunity provided by exclusions but addictive behaviour is rarely eradicated without external intervention.

Out of sight, out of mind

We must accept that no matter what safeguards are in place there will be players for whom gambling becomes compulsive. There are considerable barriers to accessing or obtaining help with controlling this behaviour. Reported numbers of compulsive gamblers in the UK is estimated to be over 400,000 and is almost certainly under-reported. Compare this to the reported numbers of people who have received intervention treatment through GamCare in 2018 for example, of 8,310* and it becomes clear that there is a void between those needing help and those receiving it. Of course, GamCare is not the only way that people receive treatment, but it is one of the largest intervention services currently operating in the UK.

There is a myriad of reasons for such low numbers of sufferers receiving treatment and this is not a reflection on the various bodies and charities providing valuable support to compulsive and at-risk gamblers. Often people hide their struggle for a long time due to social stigma, shame, religion, financial instabilities or feelings of moral weakness. These feelings make it not only difficult to ask for help but due to socio-economic reasons difficult to even attend meetings or counselling in a geographical area.  Add to this NHS waiting times** for mental health referrals as reported by the BBC recently and you have a situation where people often fall through the cracks and do not receive timely treatment, even when they’ve asked for it.

A technological solution for a technological problem

A number of encouraging studies regarding the provision of counselling and therapy services online have shown positive results. Technology innovations associated with 3D virtual immersive environments (VIEs) are producing dramatic results already in the field of life sciences and shows promise for the gaming industry.  Three dimensional immersive environments provide an opportunity for enhanced research, collaboration, training and social support systems to be conducted and delivered across distances, effectively and in a realistic, more personal way ***.  Virtual immersive environments provide an opportunity for industry collaboration across the globe; social networking between operators, key opinion-leaders, regulators, healthcare providers and others can interact with each other just as they would in a physical space. It also makes a great deal of sense to deliver support services in a way which might be more familiar and appealing to younger more tech-savvy generations.

I have talked to several operators who are taking steps to ensure customers obtain treatment directly and considering how they can spend their problem gambling contributions effectively.  Clearly there is room for all channels to provide treatment for those suffering from compulsive gambling and to support those at risk, but it makes sense to look further than analogue solutions in a digital world. Taking measures to ensure that their customers can access treatment services in a timely manner may be a way in which the industry can really meet political and regulatory expectations to do ‘more’.

Lisa Karran, COO at Habet Addiction Healthcare and Creative 3D Web, has recently joined the group following a 12-year career in gaming. Having had responsibility for corporate and regulatory affairs for several UK and Asian facing brands, she has experienced the challenges of responsible gambling first hand.

References:

*GamCare Consolidated Report and Financial Statements year ending 31 March 2018.

**https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-50658007

***Yee and Bailenson (2006)