Bwin.Party has partnered with the Cambridge Health Alliance, providing the research group with valuable data about its players’ spending habits. The anonymous records have helped the researchers identify behavioural markers in problem gamblers, which could help online casino operators prevent players from overspending. The records are from 4222 players who wagered at bwin.party websites from 2005 to 2007.

In order to qualify for inclusion in the research data, the information had to be from players who wagered on casino games like roulette, blackjack and pokies for at least four days. According to the Wall Street Journal, the research data showed that the gamblers who spent the least amount of money were the biggest winners. 17% of these players made a profit, compared to just 5.4% of big spenders.

Of the entire group of players, only seven showed a profit of more than $5000 and 217 showed a loss of $5000. Less than 1% of players were big winners while 5% were big losers. This type of in-depth data provides researchers at the Cambridge Health Alliance with the information they need to develop monitoring and intervention systems for problem gamblers.

In one particular study, ‘Using Cross-game Behavioral Markers for Early Identification of High-risk Internet Gamblers’, the research team were able to identify characteristics of high-risk gamblers. “This analysis advances an ongoing research program to identify potentially problematic Internet gamblers during the earliest stages of their Internet gambling,” reads an excerpt from the abstract.

“Gambling providers and public policy makers can use these results to inform early intervention programs that target high-risk Internet gamblers”. Online gambling websites can provide valuable data to researchers and lawmakers around the world. The findings can help operators monitor player spending at both online and land-based casinos, to ensure that high-risk players do not become problem gamblers.

To view more studies from the Cambridge Health Alliance, visit: http://www.thetransparencyproject.org/Availabledataset.htm

About the Author

George Anderson
Author George, has over 25+ years’ experience in the Pokies and Casinos industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. Loves to research new Pokies games on the block and follows announcements from top industry providers about their upcoming releases. As soon as a new interesting pokie game appears on his radar, George is there to check it out and give you the scoop before anyone else and tell you about all casino sites where can play the latest game. Before this gig, George worked as Pokie game tester, making him an ideal candidate for this genre of work. He is also an animal lover and a proud owner of three dogs.