Researchers at UNLV’s International Gaming Institute are working to launch a new initiative exploring responsible gambling.

The initiative’s founders hope to better define the lines between safe and unsafe gambling, identify potential policy gaps and apply their research to real-world settings.

The program is spearheaded by former Caesars Entertainment Inc. executive Jennifer Shatley, who created the company’s responsible gaming program and is now a doctoral student at UNLV.

The International Gaming Institute’s multidisciplinary team of gaming industry experts and academics combine to form what Shatley called “the world’s first truly applied academic center dedicated to problem and responsible gambling.” She and fellow initiative member Alan Feldman, who previously oversaw MGM Resorts International’s responsible gaming program, have more than a half-century of gaming operator experience between them.