Nipping problem gambling in the bud

Over the past few years, responsible gambling has moved from a largely unknown and seldom-used phrase to one of the online gambling industry’s most important buzzwords. Initiatives aimed at addressing the issue of problem gambling are replete at both operator and regulator level, but each tool or website retains a different interpretation of what problem gambling is and, more importantly, how it might be stopped.

With the UK Gambling Commission levying multimillion-pound fines against industry heavyweights such as 888 Holdings and William Hill, the need for online operators to be socially responsible and do more to tackle problem gambling is never more apparent. Founded in 2016, GameSecure is a platform that allows operators and regulators to have complete real-time visibility, analytics and player management to oversee their players in a way that enables them to do more to combat the spectre of gambling addition, as CEO Cameron Conn and president Yasmine Roulleau explain.

EGR Compliance: Can you tell us about the development and history behind GameSecure?

Cameron Conn (CC): Yasmine and I began working together in the Vancouver bricks-and-mortar market in 2014. At the time, the regulatory partners, British Columbia Lottery Corporation, were heavily focused on the implementation and success of their responsible gaming programmes, but were relying heavily on the operators to find the best way to make these programmes operational. We naturally gravitated towards each other to work together to positively implement the RG policies while ensuring we didn’t negatively impact the player experience on the floor.

In 2016, I had left the industry with the intention to start a technology company focused on improving the North American egaming market. I wasn’t completely sure what that technology was going to do but I was seeing gaps in performance between the US market and European market and the effect of grey markets on both, so I decided to begin focusing on KYC, AML and user onboarding. As I continued to explore the ability to strengthen the US market, the gap in responsible gaming technology continued to become apparent.

Yasmine Roulleau (YR): Through our collective deep dive of the industry and the support of our diverse think tank of active egaming operators, regulators, developers, etc., it became clear that a standardised solution for responsible gaming addressing both player access and industry liability was an area that our combined acumen could solve through technology.

EGR Compliance: In a nutshell, what does GameSecure do and what differentiates it from other self-exclusion methods?

CC: GameSecure is a real-time API that allows operators to cross-reference regulator, or third party-managed self-exclusion or barred databases to ensure a player should or should not be gaining access to egaming content and providing unique data points to be used to educate resource tools and RG programmes. The method of self-exclusion is simple: a patron can decide if they would like to exclude themselves from gaming activities for a set period. What isn’t simple is how that information goes from the point of signing up (either on an operator website, government website, or in person) to a collective database, then issued to all the various operators from a given jurisdiction.

The current process for disseminating barred or self-excluded patron information can take from 24 to 72 hours. That is a large enough timeframe for someone to sign up with new operator and log in some considerable playing time. This creates huge liabilities for both operators and regulators, and it prolongs the harm to the player. GameSecure is designed to streamline that transfer of information so that as soon as a player self-excludes, that information is instantly available to all operators. It is important to note that the process does not impact the player’s experience during onboarding or logging in.

EGR Compliance: What does having the support of the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) do to the effectiveness of GameSecure?

YR: Unfortunately, the problem gaming industry is fairly young, and a number of policies have been derived by a combination of anecdotal recommendations and parallel addictions strategies. What we have found from a clinical perspective is that this often does not hit the mark. The spectrum of a problem gambler is diverse and requires, in some cases, a harm reduction approach versus simply abstinence. GameSecure collects real-time, unanimous, unidentifiable data disaggregated by health metrics and impact indicators that uniquely positions regulators and researchers to roll out evidence-based public health education and programmes.

Working alongside Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council for the NPCG, I have understood him to be an incredible advocate for innovation that addresses responsible and problem gaming. Aligning our tool with the NCPG ensures we are always working within best practice guidelines and evidence-based solutions.

EGR Compliance: Which jurisdictions are you currently working with in the US?

CC: While we are having preliminary conversations with regulators, we are not live in any state. We have approached our implementation strategy by working directly with regulatory bodies. States that are currently live or about to go live with egaming content have fortunately invested considerable time into designing their responsible gaming programmes. We want to learn how they are progressing to highlight how GameSecure is a positive addition to their programming. Our conversation to date has certainly identified the need for a real-time solution in reducing player harm and industry liabilities.

EGR Compliance: What are your impressions of the New Jersey regulatory system?

CC: Our impression has been wonderful. They have been open, communicative and supportive throughout the iterations of GameSecure and of what we are trying to accomplish. New Jersey, in our opinion, has had to pave the way for US egaming regulation, which is no easy feat. The year-over-year growth in egaming revenue and its positive impact on the bricks-and-mortar sector is a testament to their desire to work with operators on growing the industry. New Jersey has certainly created a strong governing foundation that we believe other states will gain insights from.

EGR Compliance: Do you have any plans to roll out GameSecure in Europe? Have you had any discussions with interested jurisdictions?

YR: Yes, our intention is to scale to the UK and beyond. Earlier this year, we met with Sarah Harrison, the then-CEO of the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), followed by a meeting with new UKGC CEO Neil McArthur in which we discussed the opportunities that lie ahead. UK gaming has been very active in the areas of public health and holding operators accountable for player behaviour. As they move through redefining their policies and procedures in responsible gaming programming, specifically the operators’ accountability in this regard, we firmly believe GameSecure will have both uptake and success in addressing problem gaming and responsible gaming initiatives.

CC: Although Europe is much more established than the US market, we absolutely see a fit for GameSecure in the European market. As Yasmine stated, the UK Gaming Commission is heavily invested in strengthening their responsible gaming programmes. At the time of conducting this interview, the last two tweets from their twitter account were: “This is a call to action to the leaders of operators to set the tone from the top – to lead a culture of compliance that puts doing the right thing for your customers first.”

And McArthur wrote: “We want gambling businesses to focus on ways to make gambling fairer and safer for consumers in Great Britain.” We strongly feel GameSecure can be a valued addition to any jurisdiction’s existing responsible gaming and self-exclusion programmes.

EGR Compliance: Have any gambling operators expressed an interest in partnering with GameSecure?

CC: When speaking with an operator, it is no surprise their interest will always be how to get more customers and we get that being former operators. Followed a few points behind that will be liability. We are not naive enough to believe that responsible gaming will be the number one pressing issue for operators, but our ability to remove compliance and regulatory issues are always well received. If the regulators endorse it, and there is no negative impact to player experience or revenue, this should be a no-brainer for their business.

EGR Compliance: What for you is the most essential part of any good self-exclusion platform and why?

YR: The most essential part would be providing safety to the player to not gain access once a decision has been made to self-exclude. In a perfect state, I would like to see a regulatory public health approach to help players identify the right resource for them during a pre-contemplation or contemplation state of recovery to move them through to action.

EGR Compliance: What is the question you are most asked by jurisdictions considering self-exclusion schemes and how do you answer it?

YR: Most asked question is: ‘How does this help the player, the operator and the regulator?’ Our answer is simple – our solution to automatically turn off access to a self-identified player ensures the player is safe and is not putting himself/herself in harm. For the operator, we reduce liability without interrupting the business and for the regulator, and the ability to collect post self-exclusion behaviour to better inform responsible gaming messaging and problem gambling programme.

CC: We often also get asked how this impacts their current governing infrastructure. As I stated earlier, jurisdictions are investing in responsible gaming and there is this hesitation that a product like ours will take away some of that investment. Our response is that we want to be a positive addition to their existing infrastructure. We have built our technology to be agile, giving us the ability to grow within a jurisdiction, increasing its added value as we learn together.