Responsible Gambling: Joining Up The Approach

Lead Participant: EQ-CONNECT LIMITED

Abstract

Gambling is a past time regularly enjoyed by almost half the adult UK population. A small but nevertheless significant number of participants are at risk of becoming 'problem gamblers' (someone who suffers negative consequences as a result of their gambling). In extreme cases this has lead to suicide and otherwise broken lives.

Many gambling companies - under pressure (and the threat of fines) from politicians, regulators and the media - are taking steps to more effectively identify their players who are 'at risk' and intervene to protect them.

Whilst certainly desirable, the steps they are taking are fundamentally limited with regard to how effective they can actually be. Every gambling company is entirely blind to the level of a player's activity with every other gambling company. There is unequivocal evidence from the UK Gambling Commission that on average players hold 3 online accounts, but in many cases can hold 5+ accounts. So however well intentioned any individual company may be, they cannot possibly design effective detection or intervention strategies as they only ever see a fraction of the whole picture of a players activity.

EQ-Connect have designed an approach - based on behavioural analytics - that will create an aggregated view of a players activity across multiple gambling companies and create a true risk profile for each player, thus allowing, for the first time, properly effective intervention strategies to be designed and deployed; for the first time really protecting the vulnerable and at risk players.

Lead Participant

Project Cost

Grant Offer

EQ-CONNECT LIMITED £481,700 £ 216,765

Publications

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