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CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
…problem gambling continued
needs to be served because these folks are coming to also potential to tackle other CSR issues. For
A study of adults based on Las Vegas, and we want them to stay here.” example, tracking of individual players, a major
the British Gambling Survey It’s a perfect example of how social and business promise of the trend toward server-based gaming,
and recently presented to the objectives can be aligned in a way that can make a could make it easier to spot the signs of problem
British Psychological Society real difference to a casino and its customers. gambling and offer help.
found that five percent of And the sector's vendors have themselves not been
people who have used the It’s the law slow to embrace CSR throughout their operations.
Internet to gamble are problem However, sometimes – although usually to an Novomatic, for example, supports cultural and
gamblers, against just 0.5 extent less than most campaigners on CSR-related sporting events; charities with concerns including
percent of people who have issues would like – a certain amount of “responsible Third World children, HIV/AIDS and cancer; and an
not played online. behaviour” is mandated by legislation. annual Austrian prize for scientific achievement. It is
Compared with gamblers in In Britain, for example, the Gambling Act 2005 also renovating a historic Vienna building.
general, they are relatively requires casinos to make information on responsible IGT not only makes financial contributions to
likely to be young, single and gambling easily available to customers, watch out for charities, but also donates computers and other used
well-educated males, in signs of problem gambling, and set up and police self- equipment, and allows use of the company's facilities
professional or managerial jobs. exclusion agreements for people who recognise they for meetings and public events. It has policies
Author Mark Griffiths, have a problem. Other jurisdictions have similar rules. pursuing diversity not just among its employees but
Professor of Gambling Studies And that could increase. As Nanette L. Horner, also among its suppliers, including “those owned by
at Nottingham Trent University, Director of the Office of Compulsive and Problem minorities, women, the physically and mentally
said: “It is clear that gaming Gambling at the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, challenged, and service-disabled veterans”.
companies need to wrote in Casino Lawyer magazine: “It now appears And with a recent commitment of $1m to the US
acknowledge they will need to that the industry is at the beginning of a [new] wave National Center for Responsible Gambling for
provide even better social- of regulation, one which addresses and requires research and education, it emphasised that
responsibility infrastructures corporate social responsibility and which will likely addressing problem gambling is not an issue only for
online than offline to minimise cause regulatory bodies to call upon and utilise the the operators. Indeed, IGT claims it is the world's
the harm to problem gamblers.” knowledge possessed by experts in social science, only gaming equipment manufacturer with a full-time
He added: “There is also the public health and the environment. director of responsible gaming.
issue of how Internet problem “It is becoming more apparent that US regulators Its green projects include recycling, energy
gamblers can be helped.. have begun… by promulgating regulations that reduction, and meeting the requirements of the
Recent research suggests that take into consideration the environmental European Union's Restriction of Hazardous
online problem gamblers impact of the development and operation of Substances Directive even in machines that are
appear to prefer to seek help gaming facilities and by instituting regulatory manufactured for non-EU markets, where compliance
online – therefore online help, safeguards to address problem gambling.” isn't required.
guidance and treatment may Although planning authorities and other Approaches to CSR differ around the world, of
be a potential way forward to government bodies also have input on the sites and course, in part because of varying assessments of what
help those who may feel too types of casino developments that are allowed, and social and environmental considerations are most
stigmatised to seek traditional may have their own environmentally-friendly agendas, urgent. For example, Sun International's GrandWest in
face-to-face help for their Horner notes that the final word often goes to South Africa takes a strong interest in the local
gambling problems.” gaming regulators, implying that they might have the community, promoting employee involvement and
In a separate study, greatest power to spread CSR to those parts of the working with charities and NGOs. It contributes to
researchers at Ipsos Mori and American industry that it hasn’t reached. projects ranging from from child and adult education
the University of Salford found “With the explosion of legalised gaming to sports, assistance for substance abusers, job
that pocket money, parental opportunities in the United States, the demand for creation, and the empowerment of women.
example and online experiences ethicism within the US gaming industry is also Some of those causes are common to most of the
are all factors leading to increasing,” she observes. developed world; others might take more of a back
gambling and associated seat in countries where employment or the role of
problems among children. High-tech help women are not seen as such significant issues. But a
Those with more pocket money Technology improvements can play a part, too. Not common thread joins every firm in the casino sector
are “much more likely to only are many environmentally-friendly initiatives that has taken up the challenge of CSR: a recognition
gamble” than others, and are made possible by the development of new that by respecting the environment and the
also more likely than other technologies – from reducing power consumption to community they respect the consumer too, and that
children who gamble to exhibit minimising the use of harmful chemicals – there is with respect comes business.
traits suggesting problems.
Children without siblings
living at home are more likely Professor David Forrest of the University of Salford address child gambling and to target gambling education
both to gamble and to show said: “The number of under-age gamblers is on the at groups of children who are at the highest risk.”
signs of problem gambling than decline but society still has to be alert to problem The 2008-09 British Survey of Children and
those with brothers or sisters in gambling among children. The identification of risk Gambling, carried out for Britain's National Lottery
the house, while the presence factors for problem gambling will help people working Commission by research group Ipsos Mori and the
of parents who gamble also with children to assess how likely a child is to become Centre for the Study of Gambling at the University of
makes children more likely to a problem gambler. Salford, examined nearly 9000 children between the
indulge themselves. “The research can also be used by policy-makers to ages of 12 and 15 in England and Wales.
36 OCTOBER 2009
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