Gaming Education Month CoverageWell, September’s Responsible Gaming Education Month (RGEM) is a wrap.
For the second straight year, GGB solicited articles from experts in the responsible gaming field to chime in on subjects in that discipline they believe are important. Responsible gaming is an important topic in our industry because there is a dedication from most everyone to eliminate any harm that our products can possibly cause.
For many years, we’ve believed that responsible gaming was simply dependent upon the will power of the players. If you think you have a problem with gambling, just don’t gamble.
But of course, it’s much more complicated than that. Problem gambling and the more devastating compulsive gambling or pathological gambling cannot be just willed away. It’s a disease similar to drug or alcohol addiction. But since there are no substances involved, it’s harder to pinpoint. And when you add the complicating factor that those afflicted with problem gambling also often have comorbidity with another addiction, the mystery only deepens.
And with the mystery comes hope as research advances and treatment options expand. That’s why we were so pleased to be able to bring you the views and opinions of all those experts. And the authors didn’t shy away from controversy when there was valid criticism of how the industry is approaching RG.
We started the month with an article from Cait DeBaun from the American Gaming Association explaining the full schedule for RGEM and why it was expanded from a week to a month.
The first week of RGEM was packed with great features, starting with Art Paikowsky, the president of the International Center for Responsible Gaming (ICRG), who revealed how research at his organization is now focusing on treatment. Then AXES.ai CEO Earle Hall correctly pointed out that online gambling is much more adept at discovering problem gamblers than are land-based casinos.
That was followed up by Pavilion Payments CEO Christopher Justice, who explained how there must be increased collaboration with payment providers, which can quickly identify potential problem gamblers. Then our first of two pieces by Sally Gainsbury, the noted researcher at the University of Sydney, who explained the costs of not addressing the issue and why small changes can make big differences.
Later in the month, she took issue with the term “responsible gaming” and suggested that it be replaced by a more comprehensive term. And to wrap up that momentous first week, ICRG Chairman Emeritus Alan Feldman talked about why researchers must be held to a higher standard to make their work more legitimate and important.
Week two kept up the quality established to open RGEM and started with a bang. Kahlil Philander, a gaming researcher from Washington State University, stated flatly that problem gambling regulation is not working and insists institutional changes are necessary to make it work. Felicia Grondin, executive director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, also believed something is missing and suggested ways to fix it. AGEM’s Connie Jones remembered when only a handful of people were following responsible gaming but now believes the field is burgeoning.
The irascible Richard Schuetz took the industry to task for being hypocritical in saying that it’s concerned about responsible gaming but could care less whether you’re killing yourself and employees with second-hand smoke. And RG expert Brianne Doura-Schawohl asserted that it doesn’t matter what we call it, but responsible gaming needs to be front-of-mind for everyone involved in the industry.
Sightline CEO Omer Sattar kicked off week three with a thoughtful essay on why we can start protecting problem gamblers right from the start by recognizing them when the payment process begins. Attorney Susan Hensel, of the Hensel & Grad law firm, explained why companies hoping to enter the U.S. sports betting and/or online gaming space need to understand the importance of RG to regulators.
Stephanie Goodman, executive director of the Dr. Robert Hunter International Problem Gambling Center, offered her experience in the trenches when treating problem gamblers. Jane Bokunewicz and Sarah R. Grady of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality & Tourism (LIGHT), School of Business, Stockton University, urged more institutions of higher learning to get involved in problem gambling research.
The final week of September started with an entrepreneur, iProtekt co-founder and co-CEO Mike Borukhov, who turned his attention to RG and ways to help gamblers. Ted Hartwell, recently appointed to lead the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling, gave a heartbreaking account of his own personal journey with problem gambling. MGM Resorts Chief Compliance Officer Stephen Martino talked about his company’s commitment to RG while battling last month’s cyberattacks.
And wrapping up the month was Valerie Spicer, Founding Partner & CEO, Trilogy Group Partners, who explained why problem gambling hits at the heart of tribal gaming because it not only affects customers of Indian casinos, but also the citizens of the reservations.
We hope that our readers took these viewpoints to heart and that the thoughtful articles will spur discussion and debate in the future with the goal of making RG a cornerstone of every casino company in the world. We’d like to thank all the authors and make sure that RG is not just the focus for one month, but for all 365 days every year.
