Responsible Gambling Duties & Signs of Harms
Common signs of gambling harm are when someone is developing some sort of risky play behaviour or experiencing some sort of harm related to gambling. Those indicators are quite common and well-documented.
Gambling Harms
These are things like changes in personality related to gambling in particular.
There are a lot of issues that people experience in relationships. They might be missing family events to gamble, preoccupied, there but not there. They might be at the dinner table, but really their mind is on the sporting event and the bet they have on it.
So, there’s a lot of preoccupation, there can be hot behaviours that are hiding what they’re doing. A lot of shame and isolation and stigma come with having high-harm gambling involvement.
Evolution of Gambling Phraseology
As the field has evolved, we’ve moved from the language of addiction or pathological or disordered gambling, which are all the words we used to describe a person addicted to gambling or a problem gambler.
Now we use the language around harms and risks. When someone is playing in a way that’s risky or harmful, we can describe the behaviours as opposed to labelling the person, and that’s been a really important evolution.
Providing Safer Gambling Experiences
The other thing that is important to say when thinking about issues related to addiction or harmful or risky behaviours related to gambling is that gambling itself as an activity needs to be provided safely. It’s not only the responsibility of the person who’s gambling to ensure that it’s a safe experience.
The responsibility is also on the gaming manufacturer and designer and the regulator to ensure that the games are offered in an environment that has some sort of circle of care for customers should they start experiencing some sort of problems. Operators should also provide gaming in a way that doesn’t misrepresent or mislead people who choose to play about the odds of winning and encourage them to think that their chances are better than they are.
So, it’s the responsibility of the person who gambles to make an informed choice for sure, but they need good information to make that choice. That’s where the regulators and operators have an equally important responsibility and duty of care for people who gamble.
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.
