As an industry, iGaming loves to talk about responsible gambling. Europe recently marked Safer Gambling Week, while in North America there are two whole dedicated months to talk shop on player protection initiatives. 

But when it comes to actually doing things, is the status quo enough?

In the view of Dr. Mary Donohue, the answer is a firm no. 

“No one’s using it. It’s not part of a business, it’s an add on. Operators are doing it to meet what regulators say, and the usage by players is even lower,” Donohue tells SBC News. 

Donohue is the founder of the Digital Wellness Center, a company that utilises micro breaks and stress relievers to gamify responsible gambling, reducing stress levels among players. 

Currently, around 1-5% of players interact with responsible gambling tools, but Donohue issues a startling warning from the World Health Organisation outlining that 66% of people suffer from stress – which can play a significant factor in the development of problem gambling. 

“We’re still thinking like we’re in a casino somewhere in the 1980s right now, and we’re not,” she adds. “We’re online. Our brains are processing information faster; we’re under more stress.”

Gaming is treated like 1920s America

Other stakeholders have posited that the relationship with regulators have been somewhat detrimental to player protection measures. 

While Donohue doesn’t go that far, she does acknowledge that regulators sometimes lack industry and technical expertise which can hinder their understanding of the technologies and measures available to operators for player protection. 

She says that because regulators work for politicians, who are at the behest of the electorate, who can be influenced by the media and other stakeholders, they are sometimes led by emotion rather than data and facts. 

In that regard, Donohue opines, it is reminiscent of 1920s America under the alcohol prohibition laws.

“It was a preacher who said ‘I believe that alcohol is causing all the problems in the world. We have to get rid of alcohol’.”

“That’s what we’re seeing with gambling, because it’s an easy win. People say, ‘Oh, I’m going to fight for the little guy’. In Ontario, I really respect what AGCO is doing. In Alberta, I like what they’re doing, they’re looking at thoughtful methodologies based on data and they’re working with the politicians to inform them based on data versus based on emotion.”

AI & Quantum Computing can unlock the door

Donohue argues that the responsible gambling sector needs to be fundamentally rewired. She has spoken at industry conferences and webinars around the world making this point. 

Now, with new technologies such as AI and the ‘underdiscussed’ development of quantum computing, there is no better time to conduct that rewirement.

Donohue discusses a recent example with a client in which the Digital Wellness Center’s tools using AI were particularly effective.

“What we were able to do in TikTok was to engage 243,000 young Gen Z males during a high betting period, and 11,000 of those took a break with us when they felt stressed during hockey playoffs for one of our clients. Now that’s a pretty good ratio on TikTok; we thought we’d get 2,000.”

This is because, Donohue opined, AI has the power to hyper-personalise experiences and quantum computing, which is experiencing several breakthroughs in development, can power AI on a huge scale. 

This can be a game-changer for operators looking to elevate impactful responsible gaming strategies. 

“We’ve seen a mood lift and value to customer acquisition. AI and quantum computing allows you to take the right proactive break, relieve some of the stress your players are feeling, and allow them to carry on and make better decisions. It allows responsible gaming to become the water between beers.”

Clearing the clouds

Player protection and responsible gambling is as much a psychological and neuroscientific issue as it is a technical one. As a social scientist of over 20 years, Donohue is passionate about the research involved in responsible gambling and the wider media ecosystem. 

Central to gambling is transient hyperfrontality, dopamine levels and the prefrontal cortex. 

Donohue explains: “Our brains aren’t designed to process information online, so whether you’re online betting, whether you’re online playing bingo, your brain is stressing because typically, over 1000s and 1000s of years, we’ve been in person and we’ve been able to read body language in experiences. Typically, your brain understands non-verbal communication, but online that’s not there now. 

“So the more that happens, the more your brain has had to rewire since 2007 and the introduction of the iPhone, the more clouds fill in your brain daily. So think about a storm building up, and you see the clouds layer and layer. That’s happening in your prefrontal cortex.”

The Digital Wellness Center aims to remove those clouds via its mini games and stress relievers. 

“We use humour, we use sound, we use physical experience. So visual, auditory and kinesthetic. I give examples of how we did that with Boomer women, examples of how we did that with Gen Z, examples of how we did it with Gen X. But we had to know the right medium in which to deliver the message, and the medium is based on how you processed information and technology coming in to work.”

Positive messaging wins hearts

It’s impossible to clear those clouds if more stress is loaded onto the player, which can happen through negative messaging. Deposit limits and time restrictions, etc, can be useful responsible gambling tools but Donohue outlines that limiting and restricting players can be punitive. 

Instead, operators should be more proactive and empowering to players. 

She remarks: “We know that positive behaviour modification works better than negative. When we look at rewiring positive behaviour modification, we know even doing that lowers or modulates the dopamine, and that’s across the board in all the sectors we work in like retail, transportation, gambling and hospitals. Even when you ask someone how they are, or how they’re feeling, you trigger a little something in the brain that causes people to pause and that’s so important.”

Donohue references one of the first uses of positive behaviour in Coca-Cola’s 1971 advert featuring The Hillside Singers’ “I’d like to Teach the World To Sing”, associating its products with terms such as ‘perfect harmony’, ‘standing hand in hand’ and love.

The Digital Wellness Center and iGaming operators can use similar techniques to help reduce stress amongst players and reduce the risks of problem gambling. 

“We use Tiktok as an infrastructure delivery to reduce stress,” Donohue notes. “It’s advertising for good. We use it in marketing emails and we use it in links on websites.”

Rewiring the future

So while Donohue laments some of the status quo in the responsible gambling world, she does have praise for some stakeholders, including Flutter UK & Ireland which is conducting research into positive behaviour modification in its Leeds office. 

Donohue also highlights the work of companies such as Mindway AI and Crucial Compliance who are utilising AI to further enhance player protection measures. 

The Digital Wellness Center continues to roll out its myStride Positive Play solution for operators who are interested in utilising positive behaviour modification.  

And for those who are hesitant, she outlines: “Try this transient hyper-frontality and see how it works. It worked for Coke!”