To coincide with Safer Gambling Week, GVC Holdings – the parent company behind the likes of Casino Club, Gala Spins and Foxy Casino alongside sports betting brands Coral and Ladbrokes – have appointed a leading psychologist as a special adviser in a number of related areas.
Dr Mark Griffiths, a Distinguished Professor of Behavioural Addiction and Psychology at Nottingham Trent University, has been brought in to advise on the company’s policies relating to player protection and safer gambling.
He will audit their current approach on the issues involved and suggest improvements based upon the psychological behaviours of problem gamblers and those with addictive personalities.
“I’m delighted to be joining GVC at this time because it gives me an unprecedented opportunity to help deliver innovative technological advances supported by evidential scientific research to improve player protection,” Dr Griffiths has said. “I plan to apply the understanding and specialist expertise built over a long career in psychology to reduce the risks of problem play.”
Griffiths was part of a working party led by the World Health Organisation that finally identified ‘gaming disorder’ as a psychological condition in 2019, and so he’s somebody with plenty of experience and insight in the field, and he will also have access to the work of Harvard Business School, with whom GVC are partnered on a five-year research study into addiction.
A recent corporate overview at GVC, who have now changed their name to Entain, has targeted sustainability and responsibility as two key areas of focus in the months and years ahead, and that includes an inherent commitment to promote and improve responsible gambling measures – of which Griffiths will be a hugely important contributor.
Using Science to Combat Problem Gambling
One of the methods that Entain plan to deploy in their work on responsible gaming is an innovative Advanced Responsibility & Care (ARC) programme. This will analyse player behaviour using a range of scientific tools in order to predict potential indicators of problematic behaviour before they occur.
All players within the Entain database of players will have a dynamic risk rating attached to them, and this will be modified during periods of high or low activity through real-time monitoring.
Speaking about the firm’s new Sustainability Charter, of which the ARC will form a key component, Entain chief executive Shay Segev said: “We know that the most responsible operator will also be the most successful operator, which is at the heart of Entain and our new strategy.
“Our investments in new technologies, and partnership with Dr Griffiths and Harvard, underpin our firm commitment to providing customers with the safest and most enjoyable player experience possible.”
Safer Gambling Week Proves a Huge Success
Today (Wednesday November 25) is the final day of Safer Gambling Week, a hugely successful initiative designed to promote awareness and deeper thinking about responsible gaming in the online casino and sports betting industry.
All of the key stakeholders in the sector have been involved, delivering a variety of advertising campaigns and promotional messages to stimulate conversation about problem gambling.
Ultimately, the aim of the week is to help individuals identify where they might have a problem, and provide solutions and the tools for them to seek further help when required. And that is something to be applauded….