Responsible Gaming Q&A with Michael Auer
This article first appeared on IGB.
iGB Responsible Gaming Q&A
With Founder and Managing Director of OpenBet’s Neccton, Dr Michael Auer
1. A brief overview of your business and how it fits into the gambling industry.
OpenBet is an industry-leading sports betting content, platform and service provider, made up of five pillars: Bet, Trade, Transform, Protect, Elevate. Our Protect pillar offers four tiers of advanced technology which allow operators to comply, detect suspicious activity and protect players. Through a single-integration, we can provide a highly-customisable, real-time and AI-based analytical application, which is scalable and built for gaming providers.
Last year, OpenBet acquired Neccton, the market-leading responsible gaming, anti-money laundering (AML) and fraud detection technology provider. Neccton operates across 30 countries, including in North America, and provides its self-amplifying solution, fed by real-time data from players across the world, to more than 50 global brands. Through this acquisition, we’ve been able to enhance our player protection offering to customers across the global gaming industry.
2. What services do you offer in the responsible gambling space?
Our technology is informed by up-to-date industry data from real operators and engages with players in real time through pop-up messages, feedback and interventions. As part of the OpenBet Protect pillar, Neccton’s scientifically sound solution uses data to continually enhance its product. This leads to insights that measure player behaviour and allow operators to act - detecting risk early, minimising harm and offering highly useful player communications.
All of our services are underpinned by academic research, meaning we continually strive to improve for our customers. Recent findings show online players who set limits are 18% more loyal, while personalising responsible gaming messages to players improves their effectiveness by 100%. Research has also helped us develop pop-up messages to recommend cool-off periods.
Additionally, we have a dedicated 24/7 team to support our customers to detect and respond to cyber attacks. Every day of the year, our experienced professionals will provide a customised service that helps protect operators from data breaches and other security threats.
3. Does the industry as a whole do enough to promote responsible play?
The industry is getting better, but it needs to engage more with academic research. We would like to see the industry cooperate more frequently with researchers. Our approach has always been to assess reliable data and research responsible gaming to inform our new offerings, backed-up by the play patterns of real customers. This is the only way it can be done properly – by analysing player behaviour. Very few operators are working in collaboration with researchers to understand responsible gaming and this must be a key factor in expanding the industry’s capabilities in this area.
4. How can operators better connect players to problem gambling resources? Is there a pipeline for players who display concerning behaviour to specific programs and resources that help them?
It isn’t only about problem gaming and providing resources, but facilitating responsible play among all the players regardless of whether they show indications of problems or not. Technology can mitigate problems early on through information, feedback, statements, real-time interventions and responding, using these as instruments for healthy gaming.
There are organisations specialising in helping problem gamers and it’s important that the operators in various jurisdictions know where to direct players, as it differs across the UK, US, and Canada, for example. Studies also show that it helps if operators use specialised personnel to reach out to players and alert them about their behaviour. Players are said to subsequently gamble less if a trained responsible gaming individual reaches out to them.
5. How do regulations around responsible gambling look in various states? Are there any stand-out markets that are doing things right?
At the moment, regulation focuses on problem gaming and the financial aspects of this. It would make sense for it to also focus on regulating the promotion of healthy gaming, rather than only focusing on the small percentage of those with problematic behaviours. Spain is a stand-out market in Europe that has done a really good job. Players receive weekly deposit limits of €500, which can be changed by request after a period of time.
In the US, New Jersey is the first state to list a few behaviour indicators operators should monitor. It is the only state that requires them to monitor risk by behaviour markers, such as chasing losses, deposit frequency, and using multiple payment methods.
6. What’s the balance between preventive education and reactive assistance?
Relatedly, how can operators strike an approach that covers both sides?
I like to use the analogy that it is better to place a fence at the top of a cliff, than a net at the bottom. For me, a lot of regulation is similar to a net at the bottom of the cliff – someone has to fall over the edge before they can detect who the individual is and act. The fence represents a more proactive approach operators should take - it’s about educating players and providing feedback in real-time. I have published three studies which ask players what they think they won and lost and they will most often underestimate their losses and overestimate their winnings. Transparency is important and using tools such as Neccton’s Mentor Live to facilitate ongoing communication serves as preventative education.
Some operators have looked to strike an approach across both sides by forming industry panels which involve individuals who have historically struggled with problem play behaviours. The firsthand input is hugely impactful.