Why responsible gaming models are the new industry must

We all understand gaming is a business, and as such, should play by certain rules and regulations to rise above the competition. That said, should the industry regulate itself? The short answer is yes. The long answer involves Responsible Gaming models and how to build them properly, for both players’ and operators’ best interest.

Problem Gambling is the talk of the town in the last few years. I recently read about a man who stole money from his mother to place online bets. According to the article, he had self-excluded, but kept receiving offers from gaming brands. This kind of blunder is just one more example of why the online gaming industry should be proactive about responsible gaming or risk the intervention of regulators. Already, there are some new policies in place. For example, the one preventing players from betting before clearing the KYC background check in the UK, initiated as recently as last week, and the slightly more veteran Swedish policy prohibiting the use of bonuses for players’ retention.

Thinking strategically, by placing some guidelines and exercising judgement can help operators keep the policy makers and government regulators out.  But how? The first sore spot many operators turn to, and rightfully so, is the problem gamblers. Sounds obvious, but it’s far from easy. Identifying at-risk gamblers, especially at an early stage, is quite a task, and operators struggle with a few challenges in particular:

With hundreds of possible behaviour patterns to consider, identifying which combinations of factors effectively pinpoint problem players is very difficult.

Because risky behaviours can seem eerily similar to VIP behaviours, differentiating between the two groups and treating each type of player appropriately is crucial. You wouldn’t want to exclude a legitimate and loyal customer, right?

The financial and reputation implications of limiting the activity of non-problem players inhibits operators from proactive identification of at-risk players.

That said, creating an automated model isn’t impossible. It just takes some thought and effort, and the use of both human and artificial intelligence. Using advanced predictive analytics, operators can rely on their collected data, including behavioural patterns and preferences, to help automatically detect problematic gambling behaviour and alert them to any at-risk players.

The key to building a successful model is finding the attributes and variables that identify problem behaviour correctly, at scale. By focusing on variables that have the highest correlation to eventual self-exclusion, model builders can identify vulnerable players earlier than otherwise possible. It may not be easy, but it is possible. The model we built for one of our clients, a major European online gaming brand, was able to obtain accuracy, as 95% of players were correctly predicted to self-exclude or not; Precision, as 82% of players predicted to self-exclude actually self-excluded; And recall, as 86% of players who actually self-excluded, were correctly predicted to do so.

By creating responsible gambling models, socially responsible operators can intervene sooner by contacting these players and taking action such as limiting activity, presenting them with statistics about their spend or placing them on watchlist. Some operators go as far as getting problem players professional help to control their habit. This means that in all likelihood, the problem-player from the first paragraph would have been identified, excluded, and even gotten assistance.

These actions not only ensure a safer environment for all players, but also build trust in the gaming industry’s motivation and ability to address its issues head-on. Taking ownership and responsibility is at the root of the responsible gaming discussion and creating the predictive model should be at the top of every operator’s to-do list.

Author: Asaf Cohen, VP revenue, Optimove

Bio: Asaf Cohen is the VP revenue at Optimove, specialising in the gaming industry. Previously, he served as the commercial director for e-Gaming growth at Playtech, heading its London-based account management division. Asaf has also held senior product management and business development roles in various start-ups, as well as blue-chip listed corporations in the telecom, e-commerce and media industries.