Protection in a Digital Age: How Technology Can Help Combat Gambling Related Harm Jack Symons
Overview —> gamban® blocks access to online gambling Founding team —> Personal Experience Existing landscape —> gamban® / gamblock / betfilter Blocking software —> Compatibility / Infantilising / Intrusive
Ultimately, online is easier to self-exclude than offline Casinos Skins gaming Free-play & micro-billing Casual trading Poker Bingo Sports Offline Casinos Bookmakers Sports Scratchcards & Lotto Thousands of outlets Thousands of mediums Unavoidable Thousands of outlets 2-3 mediums (owned) Avoidable Ultimately, online is easier to self-exclude than offline
Non-technical coping strategies Online & Offline Offline ‘cooling off’ period
Existing Landscape for Detecting Gambling Addiction: Algorithms Surveillance Access Control
Financial Sector —> Risk Reduction Algorithms Financial Sector —> Risk Reduction Focus on Detection —> not prevention
Surveillance Detection of ‘cheats’ —> the ‘eye in the sky’ Protects ‘at risk’ gamblers in some offline venues
Player-defined limits Access Control ID checks Turnstiles Player-defined limits Blocking software
Future Landscape for Detecting Gambling Addiction: Biometrics Artificial Intelligence
Fingerprint-scanning Biometrics Eye-tracking Fingerprint-scanning Online/Offline Online/Offline
Artificial Intelligence Detection > Artificial Intelligence > Detection Therapy / Diagnosis
What Next? Good ideas vs. practically flawed National Operator Self Exclusion Scheme Multi-Operator Self Exclusion Scheme Good ideas vs. practically flawed << More regulatory ‘box-ticking’ >> Innovation in graphic-rich gaming
Future – Recommended Routes Ongoing independent cross-review of Gambling Commission (and Financial Services Authority) Biometric account-based play without card requirement Opt-in solution where player must demonstrate ability to gamble Effective Safety Nets funded by industry and enforced by regulators
A final (philosophical) thought… Society has not been able to keep up with technology. Immediate gratification > Consequence of harm Gambling, Porn, Social Media, Food Delivery, Drugs, Delivery-on-Demand, Movies-on-Demand