The social distancing measures introduced in the UK and many other key markets in February and March 2020 has created a landscape unlike any seen before. With millions suddenly restricted to their homes for the majority of the time, players suddenly have more time and opportunity to gamble than ever.
Players potentially at risk are no longer spending their money on pubs, restaurants, cinemas and the theatre, and as such may find themselves with more disposable income.
On 30 March, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) announced a 10-point pledge action plan to protect vulnerable players in this unprecedented situation, with new standards to come into immediate force. Key pledges on which BGC members will be expected to take action include:
- Increase safer gambling messages across all sites and direct to all customers
- Step up interventions if customers increase time and spend beyond normal pre-crisis patterns
- Actively promote deposit limits
How does an operator fulfil their responsibilities to players with so little precedent to guide them? While site messaging on safer gambling may be relatively easy to add, knowing when and how to intervene effectively is the real challenge. So how do we effectively identify and communicate with players whose circumstances and behaviour patterns change to indicate a greater potential risk of harm? More pertinently, what happens when every player’s circumstances may have changed since their risk level was previously assessed?
The powerful risk data and play pattern monitoring capabilities delivered by our AI-driven safer gambling platform allow for a highly detailed level of player profiling, giving operators the power to act at key intervention points based on the most relevant data.
Just as importantly, regulators are demanding that operators show evidence that Responsible Gambling interactions have been effective. Previously it would have been enough for an operator to state it has communicated a deposit limit campaign to its players via email. Today, operators are expected to show how many players are completing these journeys and actually setting deposit limits, as well as measuring if they stick to affordable limits. By evaluating the effectiveness of a campaign, improvements can be made to drive greater uptake and reduce risk.