Martin Lycka’s Safe Bet Show: Digital health integral to keeping players from harm – Shelley White

Shelley White, CEO of Responsible Gambling Council, explained that operators should utilise cutting-edge technology such as AI and machine learning to prevent players from falling into problem gambling.
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Technological innovation is a key tool for the development of the gambling industry as operators streamline operations, develop new products and create new hardware and software. 

However, Shelley White, CEO of Responsible Gambling Council, explained that operators should utilize cutting-edge technology such as AI and machine learning to prevent players from falling into problem gambling. 

Speaking on the latest episode of Martin Lycka’s Safe Bet Show titled The Power of Collaboration, White spoke candidly about “digital health”, helping to prevent problems before they arise on gambling apps by using tools that operators cannot in physical outlets. 

“As the industry uses data, as the industry uses artificial intelligence and machine learning,” White remarked. “There are a number of different tools that can be used in online gambling and we need to optimize that.“People need to be able to go into their accounts and set money limits, time limits, their wallet size, and the number of times they upgrade their wallets.

“The potential that operators have in terms of being able to identify when a player is moving from their regular play into high-risk play and being able to modulate the kind of messages they send can be very powerful.”

On the topic of the future, White was keen to share her passion from learning about leadership from the next generation of leaders, who are digital natives and have the potential to grow companies with a social conscience. 

White values the symbiotic relationship younger people have with technology and, with a ‘strong social conscience’, young people can have a reciprocal relationship with current leaders in the online gambling space. 

White added: “I think we have a tremendous amount to learn from the next generation of leaders. Listen, they’ve grown up on technology and even perhaps gaming, so they have a tremendous perspective and points of view that we would benefit from. “In addition, they’ve grown up with a very strong social conscience as well. If you combine their expertise, their knowledge of technology, and their social conscience, we have a lot to learn.”

Globalization has rapidly increased the number of ideas shared across the industry globally over the last 20 years and, as the gambling sector continues to mature in North America, White believes it is integral to collaborate and learn from operators and regulators in other territories.

With North America and Europe having different market maturities, using the same responsible gambling messaging in each market is unhelpful, White notes.

“We have learned so much from our expansion into Asia, the UK, the US, Europe, the Caribbean, and Australia over the last few years,” she declared.

“You cannot take a cookie-cutter approach to responsible gambling. You have to take into consideration the cultures, values, and beliefs of each of those countries and create responsible gambling solutions that are going to be meaningful and relevant to individuals.”

To see more of Martin Lycka and the Safe Bet Show, check out the previous podcasts on YouTubeiTunesSpotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.