The Responsible Gambling Trust (RGT) is working with the Remote Gambling Associate (RGA) on a new research project. The two gaming associations will be teaming up with online gambling operators to determine new ways to help online casinos identify gambling addiction among their players.
“Simply put the Responsible Gambling Trust’s research remit is to understand how to prevent people getting into trouble and how best to help them out of it,” says Marc Etches, Chief Executive of the Responsible Gambling Trust. The study will begin in June, and the RGT is putting £500 000 towards the funding of the project.
At the moment, the groups involved have yet to finalise the scope of the research – but they have a general idea. According to an interview with eGaming Review, Clive Hawkswood of the RGA states that the research team aims to find an effective and consistent method of identifying problem gambling at at-risk players at online casinos.
“Many companies already do this kind of analysis with the aim of interacting at an early stage to help the player keep their gambling under control,” he says. “However, some of this has been developed in-house or is a service provided by a third party [and] this means there is inconsistency across the industry”. In the land-based gaming industry, operators are bound by a particular method of identifying and intervening with problem gamblers.
For example, in clubs and pubs across Australia, staff members are required to keep an eye on players, and encourage them to take breaks. In extreme cases, they must suggest self-exclusion or offer them resources about counselling. The research project aims to apply this type of wide-reaching gambling harm process that is available to the land-based gambling market.
Online gambling operators like William Hill, Bet365 and Ladbrokes will also lend their expertise to the research, offering player data to help the research team reach their goal.
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