The Benefits of Early Interactions for Gambling Harms
Interacting with people early on in their gambling journey can really help prevent a lot of problems from developing. We sometimes use the word “intervention” or “intervening with people,” but I prefer to think of it as simply interacting because many of these interactions are just casual conversations or encounters. For example, someone may offer friendly advice on how to gamble safely or where to get help if needed or discuss the risks of certain games.
Understanding the Risks: The Importance of Safe Gambling Practices for Parents and Young Adults:
When people begin gambling, they are participating in an age-restricted activity that involves risk. Like alcohol, gambling is intended for adults, and there are numerous regulations in place to protect people from potential harm. However, there is a cultural aspect that arises around these risky products, such as alcohol, where individuals learn through their family, friends, social media, and society as a whole how to use the product as safely as possible. With gambling, we have not yet reached that point, making it even more important for me as a parent to understand how to discuss safe gambling practices with my 20-year-old child. To do this effectively, I need to be aware of the risks involved and understand how the various games work.
Bridging the Cultural Gap: The Importance of Early Interaction and Safe Gambling Practices:
We have some catching up to do when comparing early intervention and interaction with gambling to that of alcohol consumption. Alcohol has been a significant part of our culture for thousands of years, whereas gambling has only been prevalent in North America for two generations, which is a significant difference. While gambling has always been around, it has not been used by such a large number of people until recently. As a result, there is a cultural gap that needs to be bridged, and this involves parents having conversations with their children, individuals communicating with each other, and providing good information to engage in early interactions around safe gambling practices.
Playing it Safe: Tips for First-Time Gamblers to Minimize Risks and Maximize Fun:
If I were to provide two tips for someone who is gambling for the first time, they would be as follows:
Firstly, set aside a specific amount of money that you are comfortable with and treat it as your entertainment budget. This will help you keep track of your spending and avoid getting carried away.
Secondly, if you happen to win, remember that you have beaten the odds, and it is unlikely that you will continue to win consistently. Enjoy your win and resist the urge to keep playing in an attempt to repeat it. It is essential to recognize that in any organized gambling activity, players will typically lose more than they win over time.
Learn more about Focal Research's Safer Gambling Solutions
ALeRT is a data-driven real-world solution to help prevent gambling risk and harm.
The system integrates corporate social responsibility best practices and technologies across a modern enterprise, helping move operators into an active prevention role. It does this by identifying at-risk players, supporting effective customer interactions, and evaluating the impact of such interactions in reducing customer risk and harm.
The ALeRT BETTOR Customer Care Training program is intended as an ancillary resource for gambling operators to use in addition to their own policies, practices and staff training.
This training program provides service staff with additional information and skill sets for undertaking effective customer interactions as part of normal customer care. This in turn helps gamblers make better decisions, making gambling safer for all those choosing to gamble.
Our Healthy Bottom Line brochures are helpful guides that provide insight into gambling risk, and harm and provide professional encouragement to safeguard your patrons from risky play patterns that may develop into long-term issues.
With six different brochures, each brochure is customized and branded for each operator to provide information that is relevant and meaningful to their customers. Materials are available in both print and digital formats.
