Technology's Role in Identifying & Addressing Gambling Risk and Harm
Transforming Risky Play Identification
Using technology to identify risky play patterns is so easy now in so many ways and Focal Research is world-leading and led from the front 25 years ago in developing algorithms and approaches that were validated imperially to support the accurate identification of risky play sessions, risky play behaviours. You’ll note that I’m talking about risky play sessions or behaviours as opposed to risky people because people themselves are not risky – the product is risky and the way it can be played can be risky.
Tech & Humans - Reducing Gambling Harm
Technology is also great at pushing out messages in real time to people about anything. I get messages on my phone all the time for various needs, various consumer goods, so the technology is really strong for those sorts of normative pieces of feedback or consumer driven interactions that take place. Technology really needs to be complemented with human interaction when it comes to gambling risk and harm. Gambling is an emotional activity, it’s very sensitive in nature and people feel very strongly about what they believe and about their activities and there’s a lot of stigma and shame around gambling, especially around gambling when it becomes harmful to people.
ALeRT BETTOR Customer Care Helping with Gambling Harms
It’s important to point out that technology can’t really interact with somebody around stigma in a way that’s sensitive and empathic and supportive in a way that a human can. The good thing about the technology in those moments is that it’s natural where it can provide you with a neutral response. On the other side it can’t show you real empathy in human connection. For a lot of people who gamble and develop some sort of harms are really craving connection.
So, that tandem is what the ALeRT BETTOR Customer Care Program is built on. The technology alerts a human, and the human interacts with the human around very human activity with empathy and good training.
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.
