Rank Group unveils new gambling monitoring “Hawkeye” desk
High-velocity players the main focus for new safer-gambling initiative
The Rank Group has upgraded its efforts to ensure customer protection with a new innovative real-time safer gambling monitoring desk called Hawkeye.
Its an initiative that focuses on high-velocity players who might display sudden changes in online gambling behaviour that might not be flagged up by the existing safer gambling controls and thresholds that are in place.
The inspiration for the monitoring desk springs from how trading desks operate, where information can be delivered over transactions as they happen.
Liam Smith, director of customer services at Rank, said: “We’ve made significant strides using artificial intelligence to power our propensity model which looks to identify potential gambling-related harm, and we’ve also refined our digital affordability framework to assess customers at every stage of their time with us, from registration, through to deposit and withdrawal.
“We’re well aware that this work will never be complete, but we’ve upped the pace of our innovation and deployment in terms of safe gambling, and that can only be good for players in terms of delivering the optimal levels of protection.
“We’re very aware that high-velocity play is an area of concern, and that’s why we stepped up our focus on addressing this issue over the course of the last year.”
The group, which owns Grosvenor Casinos and Mecca Bingo, has already significantly invested in the firm’s customer support hub, and this new development builds on real-time player monitoring that has been in progress for a number of years.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the group made concerted efforts to protect its customers, at a time where they might be most vulnerable.
Most notably the group implemented customer affordability checks at an early stage of the consumer business relationship.
The group had also designed data-led “triggers” to identify players who are most at risk.