SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
FTSE betting group GVC Holdings is today hosting a ‘symposium on research into safer gambling’ showcasing the academic progress of its partnership with the Cambridge Health Alliance – a Harvard Medical School.
A key directive of its ‘Changing for the Bettor’ social responsibility mandate at the start of 2019, GVC formed a $5.5 million multi-year partnership supporting Cambridge Health’s ‘Division of Addiction’ faculty.
Commenting on the symposium, GVC’s CEO Kenneth Alexander said: “As part of our Changing for the Bettor strategy, we at GVC are determined to advance the understanding of problem gambling so that we can more successfully intervene to minimize harm to potentially vulnerable individuals.
“Our partnership with Harvard Medical School’s Division on Addiction is vital to this process and we are delighted to be hosting today’s symposium to bring together so many people who share our ambition.”
Completing its first year of critical research, GVC will showcase the work of Professors Dr Debi LaPlante and Dr Sarah E. Nelson at the British Academy.
Cambridge Health has undertaken research on anonymised player data provided by GVC, which will see Professors LaPlante and Nelson disclose academic findings on a broad range of areas including:
- Patterns of normal internet gambling behaviour
- Behavioural markers of harm, evaluating the effectiveness of algorithms deployed by GVC
- Safer Gambling limits and the affordability of online gambling
- Adopting an evidence-based approach to product safety
- Review of responsible gambling training and its effectiveness
LaPlante said: “It is only by taking an evidence-based approach to examining gambling that we can develop better strategies and tools to limit its potential to cause harm. The collaboration with GVC that is at the heart of today’s symposium will play a significant role in advancing our knowledge about the issue of problem gambling and is warmly welcomed.”
GVC’s research symposium will also host a panel chaired by Sarah Hanratty, CEO of the Senet Group and featuring Paul Buck, CEO of EPIC Risk Management, Anna Hemmings, CEO of GamCare and Brigid Simmonds, Chair of the Betting and Gaming Council.
It will discuss the effectiveness of responsible gambling intervention messaging, the impact of operator RG tools and better detection of ‘at-risk behaviours’.
