Dr Charles Livingstone of Monash University is a well-known gaming researcher. He provides plenty of insight and commentary on problem gambling in Australia, and he has recently set his sights on the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB). This week, Dr Livingstone criticised the ABB for its problem gambling measures and player protection code.
He stated that the association is not doing enough to help problem gamblers across the United Kingdom. The ABB’s player protection code was introduced in 2013 to help curb spending on fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs). These gaming machines have seen huge proliferation in recent years, and local responsible gambling advocates have expressed concerns about the games being potentially addictive and dangerous.
The protection code was presented as a solution to this problem, but Dr Livingstone has doubts about its efficacy. The protection includes a wide range of measures to help players control their spending. The ABB has started providing players with more accessible information about gambling responsibly and offering assistance to at-risk players.
New responsible gambling tools include budget reminders and voluntary pre-commitment, and staff are being trained to identify the signs of problem gambling. While all of these measures seem as though they can help to curb problem gambling rates, Dr. Livingstone is dubious.
“Such systems of self-regulation are not likely to achieve significant reductions in harm, and in any event are largely if not entirely unsupported by evidence,” Dr Livingstone writes. He has criticised the ABB for making it seem as though its new player protection methods are making a significant difference in problem gambling rates across the country.
Dr. Livingstone has suggested that, instead of padding the evidence in support of safe gambling measures, researchers should be looking for gaming measures that are actually effective. “Effective reform in pursuit of harm minimisation requires the activity of a chain of independent actors at multiple levels – not the least of whom are researchers,” he writes.
Read his full report at: http://www.stopthefobts.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Review-of-of-ABB-code-and-Griffiths-evaluation-incl-refs-and-summary1.pdf.
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