Using real-time identification of at-risk play to deliver the right message at the right time

By Tracy Schrans, Principal and President, Focal Research Consultants & Tony Schellinck, CEO, Focal Research Consultants

Current systems for delivering responsible gaming (RG) actions during the play of electronic gambling machines (EGMS) are relatively simplistic. Most are activated when a player reaches a certain time or money threshold during a session of play. Regardless of risk or affordability, all players that reach these pre-set thresholds for session length or turnover are uniformly exposed to pop-up messaging or staff interactions.

The use of these broad rule-based triggers for RG messaging and customer support tends to be ineffective in leading to improved outcomes for players; players either ignore the messaging because it is not relevant to their play or simply change machines before the threshold is reached to avoid detection.

However, if targeted RG actions can be linked to the occurrence of relevant behaviours this means that the right players can be exposed to the right support at the right time, making it more likely the messaging will be meaningful and acted upon.

Focal Research is conducting an international, multi-operator research project with co-funding through the National Research Council of Canada to identify more sophisticated approaches to identifying at-risk players using real-time machine data.

Early results from Phase One of the research were presented at the IAGR Conference in Melbourne in 2022.

We will discuss Phase Two in Botswana in October. We’ll cover the types of automated interactions that can be identified by the Smart RG EGM, including targeted promotion of pre-commitment tools, self-administration of prescriptive risk assessment screens such as FLAGS or alerting staff that a personal interaction may be required, expanding player protection coverage to all those gambling on the machines.

Here’s a sneak peek of what to expect in this session at IAGR2023:

• Buy your tickets to IAGR2023, taking place in Botswana from 16 to 19 October