From Vegas Inc
Critics of online gaming say a new generation of problem gamblers is likely to emerge with Internet poker being so readily available.
But two presenters at this week’s 15th International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking at Caesars Palace say computer programs are being used to educate online gamblers and force them to think twice before making wagers they can’t afford.
In a session on responsible gambling and new technologies, Mark Griffiths, a professor of gambling studies at Nottingham Trent University in Great Britain, and Andreas Holmstrom, CEO of Sweden-based Playscan, discussed strategies to communicate with players that make them aware of how much they’re gambling.
Griffiths said Mentor, a software program introduced in August, can be used by players to assess their total gaming behavior by providing data that compares a player’s time played and money spent compared with systemwide averages.
“It’s a behavioral tracking software that can be used to develop social responsibility tools to help players gamble more responsibly,” Griffiths said.
The software, developed by London-based Neccton, currently is being used in Germany and sends messages to players when they reach pre-set levels of time or money wagered.
Griffiths said the messages contain no value judgments or confrontational material but are just a reminders and educational tools.
Playscan is a similar program developed in a partnership with a Swedish government-owned gaming operator.
Using data acquired when a player signs up, the program, first introduced in 2007, presents color-coded graphics that are green, yellow and red to indicate elevated risk levels and behaviors by a player.
