BETTER CHANGE
customer journeys and safeguarding the operator from regulatory action. This unique tripartite alignment is only going to become even more watertight in the future, considering the increased impetus on sustainability through Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG), as well as the impending gambling law reforms. This applies to several jurisdictions, a prime example being the UK where the Gambling Act Review (now at the consultation stage) proposes a suite of changes to bring UK gambling law and regulation into the digital age. It is bespoke to the gambling sector that, internationally, there is a clear and multifaceted incentive mechanism (Ethics, Regulation, Commercial) which motivates operators to do the right thing. Why is this important? It is important because to the extent that safer gambling failures arise from time to time, causing a relatively small proportion of the gambling population to be affected, a lack of motivation from the operator to do the right thing is unlikely to ever be the issue in the regulated market. Likewise, Better Change is motivated to harness and improve operators’ existing safer gambling processes, with a view to protecting both customers and the commercial sustainability of the industry by promoting positive play. A key way in which we do this is through developing innovative products to fill gaps in the current archetypal toolkit of safer gambling products. Take our Gamblewise product as an example, a free consumer app that allows a player to set their
22 MAY 2024
pre-set parameters with an automated telephone call should they exceed any. This is further supported by the venue as they will have visibility of the customer through a manager app which promotes early interactions and the promotion of positive play, as opposed to interventions which happen once an indicator of harmful play has been observed. In clinical terms, we would refer to this as control as opposed to abstinence; through Gamblewise, we provide a control tool for players which comes before blocking, banning, limiting and stigmatising gambling – we consider that the prohibitionist approach is currently the function of the majority of safer gambling tools in the market. As Sheryl Sandberg (former Chief Operating Officer of Facebook) once said, “Motivation comes from working on things we care about.” Operators fundamentally do care about getting safer gambling right – in my view, the extent to which this motivation arises from intrinsically doing the right thing versus pursuing commercial metrics is somewhat irrelevant. Instead, it is important that key stakeholders channel their energy into the matter of whether operators are equipped with the necessary tools and information to double down on positive play, especially in the UK where we are entering a post-Gambling Act Review era. This is where Better Change comes in. We look forward to working with you.
Adam Russell
gambling limits in a land-based arena, much like they would online. Players can set a time limit on gambling sessions, control access by selecting days to opt out of gambling and track their money by keeping a log of spend. Should a Gamblewise customer enter premises supported by our product, a pre-installed beacon is calibrated to pick this up and notify the player through the app that they are in a Gamblewise- supported venue. Messages will then be sent to the player with updates against their
Adam Russell joined Better Change in April 2024 as a Positive Play Ambassador. He wholeheartedly believes in the mission of the company to promote Positive Play; this means focussing on the customer experience and the early prevention of gambling harm through educating and empowering those working in the industry, as well as those who consume gambling. He is a future solicitor with over two years of legal experience in the gambling sector across regulatory and commercial matters, spanning roles at the regulator, in private practice and at an operator. Prior to that, he undertook a Law degree at the University of Birmingham, during which he wrote an editorial and dissertation submitting that UK gambling law and regulation is currently unfit to protect the young
population from gambling harms.
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