A strong responsible-gaming program isn’t just another expense for casino operators. Instead, it’s an investment in their brands, said Declan Raines.
“RG isn’t a cost. It’s an investment. Weaving it into your brands is the way you treat customers,” said Raines, who oversees planning for TransUnion’s U.S. Gaming business.
Raines spoke Wednesday at a Global Gaming Expo panel discussion, “Building a Sustainable Industry: Evolving Responsible Gaming to Meet Today’s Customer Needs.” Also on the panel were Wendy Anderson, CEO of RG24seven, the industry’s only compliance-grade virtual platform for responsible-gaming and casino training, and Richard Taylor, responsible-gambling program manager for BetMGM. Cait DeBaun, vice president of strategic communications and responsibility for the American Gaming Association, moderated.
Raines said a commitment to responsible gaming has tangible benefits. “Go to the UK and ask if we should have invested in responsible gaming earlier, in light of some of the fines that were meted out by the UK Gambling Commission.”
In March, the Commission order a Malta-based operator to pay more than $8 million for violating problem-gambling and AML regulations. A few weeks later, the commission fined five other operators between $275,000 and $514,000 each for similar offenses.
Raines also said fraud and responsible gaming are linked, because problem gamblers often resort to credit-card theft or other criminal activity. A fraud team that remains separate from the RG team will focus on getting the player off the platform, rather than “actually addressing the issue,” he said.
Taylor said the industry’s RG efforts are in their “most critical time,” due to the rapid expansion of legal sports betting and online wagering in the United States. “We get one chance to do it right the first time. And we’re in that process right now,” he said.
Raines said casinos already collect data through Know Your Customer and player analytics that can be applied to the RG effort. That might hint at a “profile of someone that I need to keep an eye out for or interact with,” he said.
Anderson said companies need to embrace their RG responsibilities. “We should be talking about it as a positive way that we look after our people. People have to appreciate and enjoy their play.”
That involves education of players, as well as staff, the panel agreed.
“The vast majority of people are going to lose more than they win,” Taylor said. “Why are we afraid to talk about that?” He suggested that children could be taught that basic lesson in school and at home.
“If we’re not addressing responsible gambling and problem gambling, it’s going to be very difficult (for casinos) to operate and there is no sustainability of that,” Taylor said. “And then at the micro level, we’re going to hurt a lot of people if we don’t get this right.”
DeBaun said any organization that profits from sports betting, igaming, or casino gambling shares in the need to educate consumers about responsible gaming.
Raines identified a key challenge for the U.S. market: How to transfer the RG experience from traditional operation to the fast-growing digital market. “The industry needs to be very careful that it continues to build trust with consumers that they’re being protected … and ensure that the U.S. market doesn’t make the same mistakes that we see in other global markets.”
Anderson said commitment to RG programs must involve top executives and frontline staffers alike. The executives set the standard and employees, such as bartenders, parking valets, or dealers, can notice signs of problem gambling.
The common enemy, according to Raines, is the black market. “When it comes to responsible gaming, what are we doing to ensure that the industry is paying the tax for the social ills that it can create? That is crucial to us building a sustainable industry. I can tell you that in global markets, policy driven by negative public sentiment and politics does not typically solve the issue that we’re trying to address.”
Taylor concluded that the goal is that gaming customers enjoy their experience for years. “If they burn out, if they get into trouble, if they weren’t themselves through gambling, I lose them forever,” he said. “And I’ve created significant personal damage, damage to their families, damage to their communities, and then damage to the industry itself.”
