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Focal to Share Leading-Edge Player Protection Research and Safer Gambling Insights at International Conference on Gambling & Risk-Taking

For Immediate Release

Halifax, NS: March 13^th, 2023– Focal will be sharing their latest research and insights on player protection for at-risk gamblers at the International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking in Las Vegas, on May 23rd-25th at the Park MGM.

Principal and President, Tracy Schrans, will present ‘RG Smart Gambling Machines: A prevention model to respond to risky play in real-time’.

“The future of player protection is reaching out to customers in real-time ideally before problems occur or become entrenched,” says Schrans, “In my session I will discuss our collaborative research with operators in three countries using anonymous machine data to identify risky sessions of play, so the right message can be delivered to the right person at the right time extending player safety to all those choosing to gamble.”

Currently a hot button issue with regulators in many jurisdictions worldwide, CEO, Dr. Tony Schellinck, will share Focal’s Affordability research.

“Our research has shown that how much someone spends is a poor predictor of gambling harms,” says Tony, “Everyone has different amounts they can afford to gamble. For some spending even modest amounts is too much while others have resources to support gambling at substantially higher levels. In my session, ‘Finding the Invisible At-Risk Player we show how technology can help identify those customers most likely to be spending beyond their affordable limits,’ detecting play behaviours that just can’t be observed using traditional methods.

Director of Safer Gambling and Stakeholder Engagement, Jay Robinson, will speak on ‘Responsible gambling interactions in a post-covid world’ and will also join Stacy Shaw from Oregon Lottery for a breakout session on, ‘The Critical but Overlooked Player Protection Tool: Self Care for Customer Facing Staff.’ Additionally, they will also be involved in a panel session called: “What we call it matters,” addressing stigma in the gambling industry and how we can make positive changes in this area.

The International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking happens once every three years and brings together a diverse array of researchers and industry professionals from across the globe to discuss wide-ranging topics in gambling studies, driving innovation and change.

About Focal Research Consultants Limited:

Focal Research, a Canadian data analytics company, uses data science and information technology for social policy, corporate social responsibility, and consumer protection purposes. For three decades, Focal has worked with stakeholders worldwide, setting responsible gambling standards for player protection with international recognition in developing algorithms to help operators identify and assist at-risk gamblers.

About ALeRT BETTOR Protection:

ALeRT™️ offers a powerful solution to fully manage safer gambling and customer interaction initiatives, including precise dashboard and player analytics, interaction reporting and management reporting. In addition, ALeRT provides broad coverage of a full suite of products, including pokies, video lottery, slots, electronic roulette, table games, sports betting, racing, etc.

The ALeRT™️ System is based on 20+ years of peer-reviewed research and industry testing. Developed in collaboration with operators, regulators and public health providers in Europe, Canada, NZ, and the UK, it helps gambling operators deliver consistent day-to-day customer care over all their properties.

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.

ALeRT™️ is an agile solution that can be easily adapted to product changes and compliance, protecting an operator’s return on investment.