Mobile gaming is here, with tools to address problem gambling
Mobile and digital gambling has been a godsend for the gaming industry. With the influx of online sports betting and to a lesser extent igaming, it’s easier to bet via a cellphone than ever before.
However, it also opens up a Pandora’s box of issues for those in the problem-gaming space.
“I think the challenge we face on the problem gaming side is how we develop awareness of these types of solutions, to be as sophisticated as the marketing that’s targeted at communities,” said Kevin Winters, the founder of Almond Health Digital, the provider of an app that gives customers “the space, tools and information to keep gambling habits under control or to take a break from gambling.”
Winters spoke during the “Problem Gambling in the Age of Mobile Betting: New Challenges, New Solutions” session at the Indian Gaming Association Tradeshow & Conference at the San Diego Convention Center.
According to Soojin Ha, a professor at Cornell University’s SC Johnson College of Business, online gambling may lead to financial difficulties. Ha stated that the “intangibility of money within the online environment” can be problematic.
“At a casino, there’s a lot of cash flow. You can count the cash and you’re aware of how much you’re spending,” Ha said. “With online gambling, people often lose track of how much they’re spending.”
Moderator Keith Whyte, president and Chief Executive of Safer Gambling Strategies, noted that another issue is the ways in which kids learn about gambling via technology. He said that his children have cited rapper Drake and other social influencers as part of how they approach gambling.
College students also have preconceived notions about gambling. IC360 Managing Director, Education and Fair Play Dan Trolaro says that on college campuses, students often say they don’t gamble, but they do wager on sports.
“Think about that. They don’t see it as (betting) and that goes back to marketing,” Trolaro said. “It comes back to perception and a whole host of other issues, which is why having a conversation with them is important.”
Trolaro admits he had a “problematic relationship” with gambling, falling prey to addictive behavior.
“What I went through, like so many others, started to impact my relationships, my time, my finances, you name it,” Trolaro said. “I started having a negative relationship with gambling. One of the things we encourage folks to do is explore their relationship with gambling, just like you would with alcohol. In school systems, our kids are taught to explore relationships with alcohol, cannabis, stranger danger, et cetera. We need to have that same conversation about gambling from an education standpoint.”
Robert Jacobson, Executive Director for the California Council on Problem Gambling, says the increased presence of AI at every level of society doesn’t take into account that other technological solutions are available. Jacobson spoke of Interactive Data, a program in California used to identify peripheral health concerns culled from 15 years of data.
“We were able to filter and look through all the data we collected and analyze the way spreadsheets or last-generation technology would not allow,” Jacobson said. “We have been able to utilize information from that report to determine when programs we’ve implemented with casinos yield results.
“Even though AI is here and it’s part of society, we don’t want to lose sight of the fact that other technologies exist. They’re much more fruitful and developed. AI still a little bit of a wild card and it’s going be a huge part of everything you do going forward, but it may not help right now.”
