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Technology moves responsible gaming efforts forward

Throughout the history of the gaming industry, innovation was always about improving the player experience through advanced technology such as casino management systems, cashless gaming and artificial intelligence.

At present, one of the areas where the industry is innovating has nothing to do with increased play, but rather with responsibility.

While responsible gaming is becoming one of the top priorities both on the regulatory and operational levels, more and more attention is being paid to the development of the corresponding technologies that would allow identifying and intervening in risky situations, enhancing compliance, and supporting employees whose role is protecting players from themselves.

While technology allows analyzing transactions, monitoring gaming and automating compliance processes, at the same time, the representatives of the industry acknowledge that the technology alone is not enough. Human intervention, employee training and good policy are still necessary parts of the responsible gaming strategy.

However, compared to a decade ago, when responsible gaming was limited to the creation of self-exclusion lists, distribution of informational brochures, and voluntary limit implementation, the current approach to the problem has become significantly more sophisticated. Responsible gaming technologies have become analytics, payment control systems, online monitoring, online identity verification, and virtual training that will help employees to spot and intervene in cases of problem gambling.

Today, while the regulations are important, it is even more important to be able to see problems earlier and make responsible decisions.

A Layer of Protection

There exist numerous approaches to responsible gambling technologies. There are solutions aimed at the analysis of player activity and access control to gambling funds, as well as education of employees who have daily contact with the gamblers.

For Marker Trax, responsible gaming is approached through the responsible management of digital casino credit and access to funds.

“Marker Trax enables responsible gaming through offering operators regulated and auditable solutions to manage credit and payment access, visibility, and player limits,” says Tina Robinson, senior vice president of compliance at Marker Trax.

Unlike other solutions aimed at the replacement of current casino management systems, the technology used by Marker Trax complements those systems, helping operators to manage casino credit by means of underwriting, operator-defined player limits, credit limit reductions, closed-loop financing, and detailed reporting.

This control has some important purposes besides the financial ones. According to Robinson, the control allows the identification of risk indicators and prevention of inappropriate access to casino credit as well as promotion of responsible gambling.

It is characteristic of the recent developments in the industry that casino operators opt for more than one responsible gambling solution.

Technology Supporting People

As data analytics and financial controls get all the attention, there is yet another type of responsible gaming technology targeting people responsible for executing responsible gaming policies.

Inspired by the BMM Innovation Group, RG24seven Virtual Training takes on responsible gaming technology from a completely different angle.

Whereas one technology monitors player behavior, the other equips casino employees to recognize concerning behavior, respond confidently, and guide patrons toward appropriate support.

“Our training addresses responsible gaming in depth,” notes Wendy Anderson, CEO of RG24seven Virtual Training. “We offer a technologically advanced way to deliver the right information about responsible gaming, anti-money laundering and human trafficking to gaming employees.”

The platform offers on-demand video-based training accessible at any time or place. Translated to more than 25 languages, it can be delivered through the RG24seven Learning Management System, single sign-on technology, or integrated into the operator’s existing learning management system.

In addition to content delivery, the platform offers real-time tracking, tests, certifications, and audit reporting features to allow operators to track the progress of their staff in completing the courses and detect weak spots in their training.

“HR or training managers can quickly find out which employees have finished the required training, which knowledge gaps exist, and where to pay extra attention,” says Anderson.

She says it is important to remember that responsible gaming technology can alert operators and provide analytical insight, but it is employees who interpret it in interactions with patrons.

Integrating With Existing Systems

One of the biggest hurdles for gaming technology vendors is how their products will work within an operator’s existing ecosystem.

Gambling operators have spent millions with their casino management system providers to track the activities of patrons, manage their loyalty programs, take care of the accounting, and meet the demands of regulators. Technology that integrates with the casino management system must fit in with these systems, not disrupt them, says Robinson at Marker Trax.

“That was our goal when we developed this platform,” Robinson says. “We wanted to design something that layers with an existing casino management system rather than replacing it. The CMS will still be the system of record for all gaming activity, and Marker Trax will exchange what it needs via APIs.”

This way, casinos will keep their current systems, audit processes and workflows, while enabling responsible gambling through digital casino credit management.

This is especially important since many operators are embracing cashless gaming, digital wallets, and omnichannel experiences.

A Careful Approach to Artificial Intelligence

AI has developed into one of the most talked-about technologies within the industry, with rising interest around its capabilities for detecting patterns of behavior and identifying players at increased risk.

However, gaming organizations are adopting AI technology very carefully, especially as responsible gambling decisions come with high levels of regulatory and ethical accountability.

Marker Trax clearly prioritizes compliance over automation.

“At the moment, the technology does not use autonomous AI decision-making for underwriting. However, it is used to analyze product performance through configurable and rule-based analytics,” Robinson explains.

All the automation of the analysis process is regulated by compliance, protects player privacy, undergoes independent testing, and is reviewed where necessary.

Such an approach shows the general thinking of the industry. Regardless of how capable the AI might become at detecting complicated patterns of behavior, the operator is responsible for proper, clear, and regulator-friendly intervention.

The new technology is becoming a tool for providing extra information to those who make decisions based on compliance requirements.

Turning Information into Action

Identifying potential problem areas is only one component of responsible gaming. The next step consists of determining the appropriate response.

Upon triggering pre-established thresholds, Marker Trax delivers secure dashboards, reports, alerts, and audit trails that enable authorized individuals to review relevant information and take action.

Instead of automatically limiting the activities of individual users, this technology enables operator decisions. Authorized personnel can check credit activity, analyze transaction records, limit credit amounts, or take any other necessary actions based on company guidelines and legislation.

The importance of human intervention reflects the understanding that responsible gaming sometimes requires information beyond statistics.

Beyond Self-Exclusion

Self-exclusion programs form one of the most essential elements in responsible gaming, as they enable people to exclude themselves from participation in gambling activities.

The use of technology in implementing self-exclusion is on the rise, although its use is still carefully regulated by dividing responsibilities among operators, regulators and solution providers.

The Marker Trax technology allows for enforcement of exclusion controls at the time a player applies for the digital credit, based on the information provided by operators.

As Robinson explains, Marker Trax works with operators and regulators to support exclusion-related controls; however, identifying physically present excluded patrons who attempt to gamble remains the responsibility of the operator and applicable regulatory processes.

Training the Front Line

Even with advances in analytical technology, many experts in responsible gaming suggest that frontline staff continue to be some of the most valuable assets in the industry.

From dealers to slot attendants, cage staff, security staff, hospitality staff, and hosts, all of them work face-to-face with customers at the property and on the casino floor.

This fact allowed RG24seven to create a solution that would address this need.

“More than seven years ago, I started going to responsible gaming conferences where I saw lots of amazing work being done around clinical research, treatment resources, and technology to detect problem gambling,” Anderson explains.

“It was obvious at those conferences that there was a huge gap when it comes to training casino employees who have to deal with players on a daily basis.”

RG24seven developed a comprehensive training program aimed at helping casino workers to identify problematic behaviors and act appropriately. Instead of being limited to responsible gaming only, RG24seven defines its mission as “Gaming Responsibly.”

And this approach goes beyond responsible gaming to cover anti-money laundering, cybersecurity, human trafficking awareness, and other issues important for a safer gaming environment.

More Than Compliance

The use of technology has been just as significant in changing how employee training is conducted.

Classroom training would require workers to stop working to attend class on pre-arranged schedules and offered limited ways of measuring their progress. In the digital age, there are better chances of flexibility in training and data collected to help operators assess the preparedness of their workforce.

 “For operators, both land-based and online, training isn’t only about compliance or ticking boxes,” says Anderson. “When it is done right, it will protect operators from both reputational and regulatory risks, shape the workplace culture, and help casinos attract people who care about the contributions they make in the workplace.”

Anderson believes that the present-day workforce seeks a place where they can add value and be part of ensuring that patron welfare is guaranteed. “Today’s employees need to make a positive difference. They want to help protect patrons, improve their properties, serve their communities, and have pride in the work they do.”

Her view represents a general understanding by the gaming industry that responsible gaming depends on organizational culture as much as technological capability.

Same RG Framework for All Channels

As the popularity of online casinos and mobile sportsbooks continues to increase, operators are becoming interested in having responsible gaming standards that apply wherever customers are playing.

According to Robinson, Marker Trax uses the same responsible gaming framework in land-based casinos, online casinos, and sportsbooks.

The principles of underwriting, player limits, monitoring, reporting, and responsible access to funds apply but vary based on the gaming channel. In online gaming, digital identification and real-time authorization and settlement are some of the main requirements, as are casino management system integration and cashless betting technologies in land-based gaming environments.

Looking Ahead

Technological development within the realm of responsible gaming also remains continuous and follows developments in analytics, artificial intelligence, digital identity, and employee training.

According to Marker Trax, future innovations in this sphere will involve enhanced dashboards, system integrations, smarter analytics, reporting, increased online functionality, and responsible use of emerging technologies as regulatory demands keep changing.

RG24seven is enriching its training offerings with specialized initiatives including RG-ONE for onboarding and RG-CERTIFIED for compliance training, with more role-specific operational training coming soon.

Other innovations the company is working on include multilingual content, improved analytics, customization features, and immersive learning technologies.

“Our goal is to support the complete employee journey,” says Anderson, “from a person’s first day in gaming through advanced role-specific and leadership development, while helping operators protect their patrons, properties, employees, and communities.”

This statement represents one of the visions of the future of responsible gaming technology.

The future of responsible gaming technology seems to be about combining advanced analytics and highly skilled personnel with comprehensive integration of compliance systems and digital tools that can help operators without taking any decision-making from them.

As the technology becomes more capable of spotting potentially problematic situations, it will become increasingly important to ensure the transparency, ethics, and customer-protection focus of these capabilities.

In general, responsible gaming technology becomes more about ecosystems rather than individual solutions that can help the operators spot problems earlier, deal with them better, address the expectations of regulators, and provide a safe environment for all parties involved in the process of gambling.

Whereas technological progress in the industry used to be mostly about enhancing the entertainment experience, now it might come to creating tools that will protect people making this experience possible.