International Responsible Gaming Panel Calls for Cooperation, Information-Sharing
As gaming regulation and expansion continues to evolve at different speeds and in different directions across the globe, a panel of international responsible gaming experts recently determined that ongoing information sharing and coordination of research across international borders will be the keys to developing successful approaches to address problem gambling on a global scale.
The panel discussion, held on the final day of Global Gaming Expo (G2E) 2002, included representatives from industry, research and problem gambling treatment fields and allowed participants to share lessons from the recent past, evaluate the present state of gaming regulation in key gaming jurisdictions and map a future course for international cooperation in developing a global, science-based approach to pathological gambling. Phil Satre, chairman and CEO of Harrah's Entertainment, Inc., moderated the session.
Howard Shaffer, associate professor and director, Harvard Medical School Division on Addictions, began the discussion with a call for the global gaming community to move toward the development of science-based regulation. In an overview of his recent analysis of gaming regulations in the 11 casino states in the United States, Shaffer noted that research is not informing the state regulatory processes in this country, primarily because of the limited amount of scientific research that exists on problem gambling.
Shaffer noted that the lack of research makes it difficult to establish best practices, leaving regulators without a model from which to evaluate or measure state or industry programs. He also said not enough regulation is focused on the initiation phase of gambling, which is a key area of opportunity for prevention.
Des Randall, CEO of Aristocrat Technologies, Inc., followed Shaffer's comments with somewhat of a cautionary tale from his home country of Australia. According to Randall's discussion, media interpretations of a 1999 government report on the Australian gaming industry have generated an unprecedented level of regulations across the country.
Like the United States, the Australian gaming industry is regulated on a state-by-state basis. According to Randall, regulators in various jurisdictions have targeted everything from the equipment on the floor – removing bill acceptors, reducing bet limits, and slowing down machines – to capping machines, outlawing advertisements, limiting gambling venue hours and increasing levels of taxation on gaming establishments.
While initial operator response to the flood of regulations was quite spasmodic, Randall noted that the industry has begun to form a collective response that has been much more effective. Groups representing the various factions of the industry have been formed in each state and are working closely with government regulators. In addition, the Australian Gaming Council was recently formed, based on the successful model of the American Gaming Association. According to Randall, progress is being made and the situation in Australia is improving, but it is more important than ever for countries to work together to establish best practices for dealing with responsible gaming issues.
While gaming regulations in Australia have been on the rise, Paul Bellringer, director of London-based GamCare, presented a remarkably different picture of the outlook in his country. According to Bellringer, tight legislation from the 1960s is being loosened in response to the recent Budd Report, a comprehensive review of the gaming industry in the United Kingdom. GamCare, a charitable organization that works to improve understanding of the social impact of gambling, promote responsibility and address the needs of problem gamblers, contributed to the review by spearheading the 2000 national gambling prevalence study, which established a benchmark regarding national gambling habits.
The regulatory proposals emerging in the U.K. since the Budd report have "crossed the Rubicon" in Bellringer's eyes. Social responsibility has been brought within the regulatory framework, a new development in Britain that Bellringer says must be imitated across the globe.
Bellringer also highlighted the cooperation in Britain between GamCare and other treatment providers and the gaming industry. GamCare is in the process of working with gaming equipment manufacturers to adopt a formal code of social responsibility for the industry that would be regulated by the soon-to-be-formed Gambling Commission. Similar plans are being formulated with the betting and casino industries and e-gaming platforms, he said. It remains to be seen whether these codes will be accepted by the new commission, but, according to Bellringer, regulators have been impressed by the cooperative efforts thus far.
Judy Patterson, senior vice president and executive director of the American Gaming Association, summed up the value of the panel discussion following her summary of the steps the U.S. casino industry has taken to develop responsible gaming programs.
"If you look at the data, the prevalence rates of problem gambling around the world are the same," she said. "A problem gambler is a problem gambler is a problem gambler. Obviously, if we pool our resources, we will learn a lot more a lot sooner."
