It’s important, as an operator, to ensure that responsible gambling is at the forefront of your operations – and the reasons why might interest you. Of course, there are ethical reasons and looking after the customer’s best interests, but there are also other consequences for not enforcing responsible gambling measures. They come from your customers, from your brand audience and from gambling authorities and more. Read on to find out why it makes business sense to put tools for gambling harm prevention front and foremost of your gambling business.
The Financial Costs
There are a lot of different ways that problem gambling can affect your company’s finances. The upfront issue is fines from regulatory bodies, as we have seen examples of this span from hundreds to millions across different jurisdictions. Gambling authorities impose substantial fines on new and repeat offender operators who do not have the necessary tools and policies to avoid gambling harm to their customers.
These fines are purposefully large enough, in a very lucrative industry, so the numbers are staggering. For instance, in January of this year, operator Gamesys was fined £6 million for “social responsibility and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) failings” and in April bet365 was hit with over a £0.5m fine for similar failings.
Additionally, regulators aren’t the only ones who will look for financial compensation. Players might file lawsuits due to suffering gambling harm, leading to potentially costly settlements. For example, in 2010, punter Simon Rose argued in court that Ladbrokes should have prevented him from gambling away nearly £2 million by spotting his erratic behaviour on the site.
And then there is the loss of income from customers suffering from gambling harm. If a customer’s bad gambling habits get to the point where they have to self-exclude or permanently remove themselves from your site, you’ll lose another source of revenue. And we don’t need to point out that if it happens often enough, you’ll lose more and more customers, eating into operator profits.
With GameScanner, Mindway AI has created software that will prevent gambling harm early before it gets to a point of self-exclusion. Customers can play as normal, with indicators of gambling harm flagged up to the operator giving a complete view of the player’s behaviour. With intervention early enough, the customer can keep playing safely, giving the operator a more sustainable player base.
The Reputational Damage
And there’s not just one customer at stake here. Realistically, iGaming is an industry with a shaky public reputation. The fun of the game is one discussion but the other side of it is the harm gambling inflicts. If operators are reported to be fined for lacking responsible gambling tools, that will create a negative reputation of that operator being an unsafe place to play. Current customers may avoid that operator and potential customers might be put off by the idea of signing up with that operator or playing in general.
This, in turn, leads to negative media coverage and public reputation damage that can reach stakeholders. Investors might be concerned about an operator’s ethical practices and lose confidence in the business, leading to problems in long-term profitability and less brand loyalty.
With consistent monitoring, operators can ensure that reputational damage is limited by demonstrating the use of a tested and award-winning third-party solution.
Operational Disruptions
Then, there are more internal problems caused by the aftermath of external scrutiny. With the cold eye of regulators on the company, disruption will come from more frequent audits and investigations. In turn, this might lead to more administrative costs. For instance, employees disturbed by the tarnished reputation of the brand might become demoralised and leave, creating high turnover, which means more administrative costs in rehiring.
Additionally, your company might see a strain on customer service resources due to a lack of processes to avoid gambling harm. It’s a common understanding that customer service teams are often lacking in the industry to begin with. The consequences of gambling harm are initially reported to them, putting pressure on the team to handle complaints, put through refunds, and manage responsible gambling tools like self-exclusion. All of this will lead to higher operational costs as you hire more team members or assign longer hours to deal with the rising gambling harm enquiries.
The most useful aspect of GameScanner is that it takes the pressure off responsible gambling teams and is fully automated, which means there is no need for a separate team to handle the software. Players are constantly monitored by the GameScanner software and do the heavy lifting helping operators meet and exceed player protection requirements.
Conclusion
It’s clear the cost of gambling harm isn’t limited to the player, but that isn’t to be forgotten either. Gambling operators are becoming more wise to adopt safer gambling software as it serves a dual purpose: protecting players from harm while safeguarding the long-term sustainability of their business. By proactively addressing problem gambling, operators can enhance their reputation, build trust with regulators and customers, and reduce the risk of legal and financial penalties. Additionally, incorporating responsible gambling measures helps ensure the integrity of operations and promotes a healthier gambling environment, ultimately fostering customer loyalty and business growth in a highly competitive market.
