Safer Gambling Innovations with Close In-Market Partnerships

As casino entertainment expands, experts begin realising that the problem participation framework has always been underdeveloped and not funded enough. Today, with even more activities on the board, it has started to show some cracks in this landscape.

This is a real opportunity for all the stakeholders and all gambling market participants to think about how to improve that journey and experience a little bit more.

Regulation Landscape: Differences in Norms

Modern tools for creating a healthy participation environment are abundant:

With the presence of such instruments for responsible gambling adherence, it may seem that the situation is getting better, but this strategy is not ideal. Due to multiple imposed regulations, problem participation programs are not consumer-friendly. They are jurisdictional specific or company oriented or state-based — there is hardly any harmony in their coexistence.

A lot of experts believe that technological improvements can help with this concern. At the same time, they consider it value-neutral for land-based and online directions. Both spheres try to find a balance between revenue maximisation and harm minimisation if such standards are specified in regulations or at least within organisational norms.

Challenges in Retail Market

In the United States, for example, Caesars uses self-exclusion technology across all their properties. There are no standards that specify the necessity to do this in the jurisdiction, but the brand focuses on responsible participation and earns its credit with the audience.

Yes, its competitors will earn on someone that Caesars excludes nationwide. The company will also invest millions of dollars in this endeavour. The lack of harmonisation of standards is currently the biggest challenge that collaboration can resolve.

Concerns in Online Market

The situation with iGaming direction is generally a bit more unique. The lack of physical borders and easy access to different jurisdictions allow players to quickly change their entertainment destination if they do not find something comfortable.

That is why the challenge of being responsive to the market concerns operators and local regulators the most. Better cooperation and harmonisation of all links in the chain would solve this problem and streamline operations for all market participants.

Obstacles on the Adoption Level

From the point of view of how all these regulations appear, a lot of research is conducted. However, raw results are not ready to be implemented in any type of change until all academic theory is translated into relevant notions.

And those also have to go into practice in numerous different ways because there are so many unique collaborators and stakeholders in the landscape. The way that this is translated to policy change from a government perspective is very different from changes at a corporate level and even more distinct from a public health perspective.

When experts differentiate, for example, the problem gambling and the need to access help and treatment versus the more responsible participation, it is necessary to focus additionally on the prevention efforts that exist here.

New Regulation Adoption: Overview from Different Perspectives

Responsible gambling market research is the most important factor for operators who enter the new working zone or adapt to innovative legal decrees. At the same time, not only managers are eager to find out about the state of the zone.

Importance of market research on responsible participation for regulators:

• The analysis allows legal bodies to show where jurisdiction is in their pain points as well as what their constituents are.
• They take the results to the problem gambling advisory board — a group made up of treatment and prevention specialists along with some operators and those who have experienced harm to work out helpful recovery and avoidance strategies.
• A thorough plan is developed with the numbers then taken to operators and inquired what they need from their communities and how they feel about the necessity to approach different results.
• The outcome is the development of a focus on the investment funds dedicated to problem gambling from a state perspective. This drives prevention forward with adequate community, operator, and stakeholder views.

Relevance of market research for gambling project managers:

• The key focus of responsible participation procedures is to ensure that all policies are modernised.
• Constant assessment and evaluation by third parties help understand what standards operators should uphold.
• Involvement with legislatures and educating their representatives about problem gaming facilitates their direction to new development areas.
• Collaboration with legal bodies helps explain what innovative programs entail, how operators engage with their customers, and even how they train their teams.

Stakeholders’ point of view on the significance of market research:

• For this side, all that is important is to help drive the gambling entertainment field further and improve it.
• While a lot of resources are directed towards responsible gambling adherence, it does not necessarily have to do with harm and can even touch policy implementation.
• At the same time, the funding for such non-profit organisations has always been an issue, and they have to consider primarily the most important bits.
• That is why the collaboration of all market participants will make the operation of such organisations more efficient, especially with new priorities and extra funding.

Strengthening the Relationship of Governments and Operators

If there is an open line of communication between legal entities and managers to have conversations on delivering safer gaming initiatives effectively, that is a great starting point.

With this in mind, there are also opposite scenarios within the area:

1. There are always operators that are the first to implement responsible gambling practices and are eager to provide the research and prove its relevance.
2. Conversely, some managers that are maybe new, with no proper knowledge, lack of experience, or unwillingness to drive this forward, will never come to the table unless regulators take them through rules and demands.

Balancing is always difficult for legal entities. The crucial aspect is that it is integral to treat all of them the same. The presence of responsive and willing operators and bad actors has always been a reality. So, unless regulators write it in black and white rules, they cannot take action on working permits. In this case, imposing requirements is a beneficial strategy, though, can be seen by some market participants as a bit aggressive.

From a willing operator’s standpoint, they have good intentions to help people who need their assistance in case of obsession problems. First and foremost, it is managers’ priority to follow regulations that are set in place. But once operators want to stand out, they go above and beyond the regulations. And if they do it, there will be challenges.

Regulators are happy to hear operators like to go above and beyond. The platform managers want to do this but will probably experience challenges, so it is integral to mention what obstacles might await them.

The intentions of willing operators enhance consumer participation and positive play promotion. But without proper aid from regulators, with no relevant feedback, collaboration is impossible.

The Main Things about the Collaboration of Gambling Market Participants around Responsible Practices

A common question asked by operators and regulators is about the most effective tool to guarantee a healthy participation environment. The answer here may be incredibly annoying for many — it depends.

What might work today may not be relevant in a few weeks (for example, mandatory self-limits). The only aspect here that is certain implies that the unified collaboration of all market participants will result in a more efficient working environment and healthy amusement activities for players.

The prerequisites for a strong partnership between operators, researchers, regulators, and stakeholders are as follows:

• With the presence of numerous instruments for responsible gambling adherence, it may seem that the improvement of safe interaction is getting better, but this strategy is not ideal due to the lack of harmony in their coexistence.
• Responsible gambling market research is the most important factor for managers, regulators, stakeholders, and other industry members to adapt to innovative legal decrees and streamline cooperation.
• The intentions of willing operators to enhance user participation, positive play promotion and proper aid from regulators will only contribute to fruitful collaboration.
• The future of gambling depends on how closely all market participants will work together. The positive tendency of tight cooperation indicates an excellent industry development direction.