Unibet Leads The Way On Proactive Responsible Gambling Measures – OnlinePokerReport.com

Online gambling industry insiders and watchers have been saying for years that operators need to use tech to up their responsible gambling (RG) acumen. That is, spotting problems, flagging them and taking measures to solve them. Kindred Group may be ahead of much of its competition in this regard, using its proprietary technology to do all three.

Kindreds PS-EDS (Player Safety Early Detection System) is now active for its US products, operating under theUnibet brand. This is only a recent addition for US customers, however. Most of Malta-based Kindreds nearly 2 million global customers have been benefiting from the technology for a while.

Maris Catania, Kindreds head of RG and research, spoke with Online Poker Report about her companys efforts to reachzero percentrevenue from harmful gambling behaviors by 2023. At the moment, Kindred says it estimates that 2% of its revenue comes from such behavior.

Not all US online gambling operators are taking such proactiveresponsible gambling measures. Theres growing concern that if the industry doesnt rein itself in of its own accord, the backlash could ultimately lead to a regulatory crackdown. Such is the situation facing the industry in the UK at the moment.

Heres how Kindred is using PS-EDS to help accomplish that goal. OPRs questions and Catanias responses are taken verbatim from an email conversation, save for minor grammatical edits.

Catania: It takes into account myriad indicators of harm. PS-EDS is based on several research papers that have looked into markers of harm, and also through discussions with treatment centers and experts with experience. What we have also additionally done is that we translated the DSM-5* criteria for a gambling disorder and applied this to our algorithms. The logic behind the thinking of PS-EDS is currently being peer reviewed, with the aim of being published.

* The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, now in its fifth edition, is the core handbook of the American Psychiatric Association.

This is a reflection of prevalence studies and of what we see of gamblers that are detected.

We take into account every customer that discloses that they have an issue with gambling; and in cases where this is disclosed, we do not welcome the customer to play with us anymore. We still look into self-exclusions, but we understand that it is not enough to use this as a proxy measure for problem gambling.

Yes, but this would be as a result of the intervention. For example, someone is detected on PS-EDS, we call them and then they disclose that gambling is causing too much stress or other issues. If we see that this is the issue, it is our commitment to harm minimization for us to suspend the account and advise the consumer to seek professional advice.

We launched the PS-EDS methodology for the first US states in May/June this year, and are closely monitoring the output. Since we operate on a third-party platform, the overall process is slightly more manual. We aim to introduce PS-EDS in other states as we go live, and continuously apply learnings from our vast experience over the years.

Not really. Most US states require a common set of responsible gaming tools (deposit limits, spending limits, session limits) and operate a state-wide self-exclusion registry. We comply fully with these state-by-state rules. Our PS-EDS tool is something we do in addition to whats required, so we can support our customers in a more targeted manner, based on the behaviors we actually see.

It is not necessarily breaks, but there are different responsible gambling tools that are presented. The interventions that result from higher levels of gambling harm detection require a more intrusive approach to limiting harm. We also employ a stepped-care approach, where the intervention may change if the customer is contacted more than once.

Since weve just introduced PS-EDS in the US, were not yet able to reach a conclusion on the absolute numbers. However, we have no reason to assume that the US number would be substantially higher than in Europe. We will continue to monitor the US numbers and will include them in our group reporting shortly.

We would not have this information, but we are aware that this may be an issue. That is why we pay for everyone to have Gamban, a software which allows you to block access to online gambling on all your devices, for free.

Due to data protection, we do not know this. But we do keep in touch and collaborate with treatment centers not only to learn from them about their interventions, but also for them to evaluate our practices.

Here are two examples:

This is an example of an onsite message that we sent to customers detected on PS-EDS:

Subject: Temporary deposit block

Hi,

Your recent gambling activity was detected by our system and reviewed by a member of our Responsible Gaming team.

Weve decided to temporarily block your deposits as a precautionary measure.

Its our job to create a safe, secure and supportive environment for all our players, and to also make sure we comply with gambling regulations.

Whats next?

Well get in touch with you soon to give you more details and talk about this deposit block thank you for your patience!

In the meantime, you could check out our Responsible Gaming tools. Theyve helped many of our players keep their gambling fun and sustainable.

Best wishes,

The Responsible Gaming Team

This is another example of an onsite message, which includes information about different responsible gambling tools that we offer.

Subject: Tools for Responsible Gambling

Dear ,

Unibet provides a safe, secure and supportive gaming environment for our customers and would like to share information about our responsible gaming tools with you.

Responsible Gaming limits

Deposit and Loss limits mean that you can still enjoy playing, and that you will be notified if you exceed your limit. They therefore ensure that you can easily and conveniently control your preferences.

If you feel that your Deposit or Loss Limit option will work for you, visit our responsible gaming page for more information: https://www.unibet.eu/general-info/whentostop.

Reality Check

We also offer the option for you to activate the Reality Check tool on your account. When this limit is activated, after 30/60/90 minutes it will show you a reminder of how long you have been playing on the website. It will also give you an overview of how much you have been winning/losing within that specific time frame.

This reality check can be activated via: Go to my account> Responsible Gaming> Reality Check and then tick the relevant box in the Settings tab.

Product Block

If youd like to take a break from one of our products, you can easily restrict your access for a set period of time (Go to my account Responsible Gaming Restrict my gambling).

Canceled withdrawals

When you request a withdrawal, you will always need to take a processing time of 24 hours into account. During this period, a player can still cancel the requested withdrawal and have the amount returned into the gaming account.

Should you wish, we can disable this option for you. You will then no longer be able to cancel a withdrawal request that was made.

If you wish to speak to someone about your gambling, you can also access http://www.gamblingtherapy.org.

You can choose your own language and speak with a counselor through live chat, email or phone.

Best Regards,

Responsible Gaming team

As previously stated, since weve just introduced PS-EDS in the US, were not yet able to reach a conclusion on the absolute numbers. We will continue to monitor the US numbers and include them in our group reporting shortly.

I would like to bring awareness of the [Oct. 5, Kindred-hosted] Sustainable Gambling Conference which is free to attend. The conference aims to facilitate a broad discussion on how we can ensure a sustainable, long-term industry and the theme of this years conference is Safer gambling: a shared responsibility.

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Unibet Leads The Way On Proactive Responsible Gambling Measures - OnlinePokerReport.com