Canada
Highlights from New Horizons in Responsible Gambling 2021: Player Health Reboot: Resetting the Future
More than 320 attendees gathered virtually for BCLC’s ninth-annual New Horizons in Responsible Gambling Conference on March 9 and 10, 2021. Delegates and speakers logged on from across British Columbia and Canada, the United States, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, England and Macau, among many other locations, to participate in 14 sessions addressing topics and findings around the theme: Player Health Reboot: Resetting the Future.
Keynote speaker Futurist Sanjay Khanna kicked off the conference with his address, Foresight in Gambling Innovation. Khanna detailed the converging-crisis era the globe is grappling with: large-scale environmental and societal changes and how this era will impact the future of the gambling industry. Khanna’s address intertwined how influences like climate change and the proliferation of smart phones and social media will affect player health, social resilience and the future concept of play. He offered suggestions for how operators, product designers and policy makers can use technology, innovation and diversity to ‘reset’ and prepare for a future that is positive, resilient and sustainable.
“Bringing together new creators and inclusive design to the context of disruption is hugely important,” Khanna said. “Player health needs to be player health by design and built in at the early inception of new products and services…What we might want to see out of all of this, is a vision for diverse and inclusive play in gambling.”
In her session, Is it Gambling? Breaking Down Esports, Video Games & Social Games, Dr. Brett Abarbanel, Director of Research at the International Gaming Institute at University of Nevada, Las Vegas examined the definition of gambling and how elements of gambling and chance appear in unexpected ways in video games, Esports, virtual reality and other applications.
“What do you think of when you think of the word, gambling?” she asked attendees. “A casino game, a slot machine, a poker game, the flipping of a coin at the start of a sports game, or when you role the dice in a board game?” Dr. Abarbanel examined how regulators in jurisdictions worldwide are examining these questions in determining the legality of emerging video-gaming elements like loot boxes.
“Game developers, toy designers, spectator-engagement tool creators who are putting these things together, may not even realize the potentially legal and certainly social ramifications of even just adding a simple random number generator to their games or other gambling-like elements.
“How we define gambling really starts to come into play,” she said.
In Breaking through the Sludge, Understanding Human Behaviour Bing Feng, Senior Research Associate at Behavioural Economics in Action at Rotman School of Management, discussed how gambling operators can address ‘sludge’: broadly described as any intervention that impedes positive-decision making, the opposite of a ‘nudge’.
“Reminding people of their goal, or making their goal more salient will increase their motivation to work towards it,” she said of one approach to encouraging healthy play.
Feng highlighted recent research drawing similarities between effective tools used to increase financial literacy and positive gambling behaviours, including: setting limits, tracking behaviours impulse control, risk perception and alternative activity-seeking.
“Key behaviours can help us design better interventions and solutions,” Feng said. “Sometimes we just need to pause, and take a moment to see what we can improve and how we can make things easier and better for our end user.”
In addition to these sessions, New Horizons offered participants sessions on the emerging risks associated with self-directed investing (day trading), a discussion around the regulatory practices of sports betting and how responsible gambling can catch up with the rise of cashless technology.
To stay connected with New Horizons and for information about future virtual sessions, please visit https://horizonsrg.bclc.com/
Bally’s Interactive, the digital and sports betting division of Bally’s Corporation, has launched the all-new Bally Bet Sportsbook & Casino app in Ontario, Canada. This latest release marks another significant milestone for the company, following the recent app update in New Jersey and a series of successful app launches in the past year, including the introduction of Bally Bet Sportsbook across multiple states and Bally Casino in Rhode Island.
The updated Bally Bet Sportsbook & Casino app represents a major step forward, as it combines the functionalities of the existing Bally Casino app and Bally Bet Sportsbook app into one comprehensive platform. Powered by White Hat Gaming, this new app allows players residing in or traveling to Ontario to conveniently place wagers on both sports and casino games using a single app, account, and universal wallet.
“We are thrilled to introduce the new Bally Bet Sportsbook & Casino app, marking a significant milestone for Bally’s. This integrated platform merges the features of our previous apps, providing players in Ontario with a seamless experience for both sports and casino betting. Our commitment to enhancing the player experience remains at the forefront as we strive to personalize the enjoyment of playing Bally Bet,” said Robeson Reeves, CEO of Bally’s Corporation.
BCLC reminds adults to gift responsibly this holiday season
With the holiday season in full swing, BCLC is reminding British Columbians to gift responsibly and scratch lottery products from their shopping lists for kids.
“Scratch & Win tickets can make great stocking stuffers for the adults in your life, but they’re not for kids,” said Ryan McCarthy, BCLC’s Director of Player Health. “The research shows that children who have early encounters with gambling are four times more likely to develop riskier gambling behaviour as they grow up. While people are out shopping for those last-minute gifts, BCLC wants adults to be aware of the potential risks associated with gifting lottery products to children and to consider safer alternatives.”
While Scratch & Win tickets are among the most common ways kids can be introduced to gambling, children are increasingly exposed to various online forms, such as gambling streams.
“With the convergence of gaming and gambling, youth are becoming more exposed to gambling content in online spaces like streaming sites, where creators are able to live-stream their own gambling, usually while playing online slots and instant games,” said Dr. Luke Clark, Director for Gambling Research at UBC. “Our research at the UBC Centre for Gambling shows that a higher frequency of watching online gambling streams is associated with a more positive attitude towards gambling and a high intention to gamble in the future.”
In B.C., it is illegal to sell lottery products to anyone under the age of 19 and BCLC encourages adults to have conversations with the kids in their lives about the risks associated with gambling.
“Open and honest conversations are crucial when it comes to navigating childhood exposure to gambling,” said McCarthy, who shared the following tips to adults:
- Monitor for gambling-related lifestyle changes. For example, developing a positive attitude towards gambling or a preoccupation with video games or streaming sites.
- Be a positive role model. Exhibit safer gambling behaviour and talk about the risks.
- Limit exposure. Monitor kids’ online activities and discourage engagement with gambling content. Explain how gambling is based on chance.
Jackpot Digital Inc., a leading provider of innovative dealerless electronic poker gaming solutions, has announced that the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has approved the Company to be licensed as a registered Gaming Related-Supplier (the “Supplier License”) under the Gaming Control Act in the Province of Ontario.
This significant achievement allows Jackpot Digital to enter one of the most dynamic and rapidly growing regulated gaming markets in North America. The Supplier License authorizes Jackpot Digital to supply its electronic table games to Ontario’s gaming venues, including casinos and other regulated gaming facilities.
Jackpot Digital’s flagship product, the Jackpot Blitz electronic table game system, offers a modern, dealerless, player-friendly solution that integrates traditional multiplayer poker games with cutting-edge digital technology. The Supplier License will enable the Company to offer its innovative gaming solutions to operators throughout Ontario, driving new revenue opportunities and enhancing player experiences.
“Receiving AGCO’s approval is a major milestone. This approval provides us with the opportunity to offer our top-tier electronic gaming systems to operators throughout all of Ontario, positioning us for further growth in one of the world’s most robust gaming markets. We are excited to bring our innovative products to Ontario’s gaming community and continue our commitment to providing exciting, technology-driven entertainment experiences,” said Jake Kalpakian, CEO of Jackpot Digital.
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