Greetings from the Aland Islands! I was invited to the Paf Summit
on Responsible Gaming to discuss online gambling. This was the first time
I participated in a seminar organized by a single gambling operator.
The seminar was a combination of different perspectives: representatives
of different gambling operators, researchers and professionals presented
their visions of responsible gambling operation.
When I started in the gambling research field, responsible gambling was a hot
topic. In Slovenia, where the European Association for Gambling Studies'
(EASG) conference was held, I heard about responsible gambling tools,
loyalty cards and loyal customer programs with many incentives. Slowly
responsible gambling was replaced by sustainable gambling. Paf's re-introduction
of responsibility in gambling operation is a good thing.
Dr. Per Binde (associate professor, University of Göteborg, SWE) reviewed
the world-wide history of gambling. Across time, individuals have been involved
in gambling in various communities and cultures. Instead of looking at the
availability of games or how somebody learned to gamble, Binde showed
the importance of motivations. In the beginning, motivations can look
alike from a social gambler's and a problem gambler's point of view,
but the outcome is very different. A certain knowledge of these motivations
should be included in responsible gambling programs of gambling
operators.
Then Anders Wiklund (director, Paf, FIN), Peter Alling (public affairs
manager, Unibet) and Tuula Sundström (lawyer, Veikkaus Oy, FIN)
talked about responsible gambling from a business perspective. What was
new to me was the gambling companies' interest to build long lasting
customer relations. Customer relation is the core element of sustainable
gambling operation.
Problem gambling is still an important issue. How to make sure that
gambling stays a harmless pastime when individuals play online? How
can professionals (or even operators) help gamblers who are in denial?
Jakob Jonsson (clinical psychologist, SiLabs, SWE) talked about
gambling disorder (according to DSM-V) and suggested that
responsible gambling should mirror individuals' behaviour.
Dr. Anna-Karin Rybeck (researcher, Mazelab, SWE) showed
that there is a gap between health care knowledge and information
on gamblers. Also, research is slow when gambling industry moves
fast forward. She is currently doing a study on the early signs of
problem gambling with the Paf data. Good work!
I also found interesting Tex Reese's presentation on responsible
gambling in practice, which included an overview of eCOGRA.
The CEN workshop agreement aims to protect customers and
ensure responsible online gambling operation in the EU. Hopefully
one day responsibility will be written into EU legislation and
it will become a mandatory action.
Pieter Remmers (director, Assissa Consultancy Europe) was the
moderator of this summit: he held everything together and made
everybody willing to participate in the discussion. Pieter, you are the best!
The day changed into evening and we had dinner at the Indigo restaurant.
I wish to thank Daniela Johansson, Anders Wiklund and Inger Holmström
for organizing this summit and making Paf more transparent. Being
transparent and sharing data make research move forward.
If you want to know more about the summit:
https://www.paf.com/rgsummit/?locale=fi_FI
RG Summit article in Nya Åland:
http://www.nyan.ax/nyheter/?news_id=79697
on Responsible Gaming to discuss online gambling. This was the first time
I participated in a seminar organized by a single gambling operator.
The seminar was a combination of different perspectives: representatives
of different gambling operators, researchers and professionals presented
their visions of responsible gambling operation.
When I started in the gambling research field, responsible gambling was a hot
topic. In Slovenia, where the European Association for Gambling Studies'
(EASG) conference was held, I heard about responsible gambling tools,
loyalty cards and loyal customer programs with many incentives. Slowly
responsible gambling was replaced by sustainable gambling. Paf's re-introduction
of responsibility in gambling operation is a good thing.
Dr. Per Binde (associate professor, University of Göteborg, SWE) reviewed
the world-wide history of gambling. Across time, individuals have been involved
in gambling in various communities and cultures. Instead of looking at the
availability of games or how somebody learned to gamble, Binde showed
the importance of motivations. In the beginning, motivations can look
alike from a social gambler's and a problem gambler's point of view,
but the outcome is very different. A certain knowledge of these motivations
should be included in responsible gambling programs of gambling
operators.
Then Anders Wiklund (director, Paf, FIN), Peter Alling (public affairs
manager, Unibet) and Tuula Sundström (lawyer, Veikkaus Oy, FIN)
talked about responsible gambling from a business perspective. What was
new to me was the gambling companies' interest to build long lasting
customer relations. Customer relation is the core element of sustainable
gambling operation.
Problem gambling is still an important issue. How to make sure that
gambling stays a harmless pastime when individuals play online? How
can professionals (or even operators) help gamblers who are in denial?
Jakob Jonsson (clinical psychologist, SiLabs, SWE) talked about
gambling disorder (according to DSM-V) and suggested that
responsible gambling should mirror individuals' behaviour.
Dr. Anna-Karin Rybeck (researcher, Mazelab, SWE) showed
that there is a gap between health care knowledge and information
on gamblers. Also, research is slow when gambling industry moves
fast forward. She is currently doing a study on the early signs of
problem gambling with the Paf data. Good work!
I also found interesting Tex Reese's presentation on responsible
gambling in practice, which included an overview of eCOGRA.
The CEN workshop agreement aims to protect customers and
ensure responsible online gambling operation in the EU. Hopefully
one day responsibility will be written into EU legislation and
it will become a mandatory action.
Pieter Remmers (director, Assissa Consultancy Europe) was the
moderator of this summit: he held everything together and made
everybody willing to participate in the discussion. Pieter, you are the best!
The day changed into evening and we had dinner at the Indigo restaurant.
I wish to thank Daniela Johansson, Anders Wiklund and Inger Holmström
for organizing this summit and making Paf more transparent. Being
transparent and sharing data make research move forward.
If you want to know more about the summit:
https://www.paf.com/rgsummit/?locale=fi_FI
RG Summit article in Nya Åland:
http://www.nyan.ax/nyheter/?news_id=79697
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