September marks National Responsible Gaming Education Month (RGEM). With it comes a month’s worth of educational material supplied by the American Gaming Association (AGA), the industry’s lobbying arm. The AGA’s goal is to promote gaming literacy and consumer education to better understand the benefits of responsible gambling.
But as the industry continues to venture further into territories such as US online gaming and social media partnerships, the AGA must adapt to better educate this new generation of gamblers.
US online gaming brings challenges and benefits for responsible gambling outreach
Cait DeBaun, Vice President, Strategic Communications & Responsibility for the AGA, said that although online gambling brings several challenges, it has also brought new ways to reach individual players.
“Online gaming allows us to empower customers through self-limit tools while also providing better insight to identify and engage with players exhibiting unusual or risky behavior,” DeBaun said in an email.
“The online vertical has certainly spurred a new era for responsible gaming in the U.S. That said, it’s built upon a foundation of responsibility established over the last three decades in the retail setting.”
Weekly educational themes
Each week, the AGA will highlight notable themes tackling a variety of responsible gaming educational tools.
Weekly themes include:
- Empowering Customers to Play Responsibly (Sept. 1-10)
- Legal, Regulated Gaming Protects Players (Sept. 11-17)
- Employees: The R.G. Front Line (Sept. 18-24)
- Advancing Responsible Gaming with Technology (Sept. 25-30)
The AGA also encourages the use of #RGEM20222 from customers, operators, manufacturers, suppliers, media, leagues and advocates looking to join the conversation.
Understanding the value of gambling responsibility
DeBaun said the AGA is focusing on ensuring new entrants to the gaming world understand their “responsibility for responsibility.”
“Specific to our work at the AGA, we created Have A Game Plan.® —to amplify player education and unify the sports betting landscape in our shared commitments to responsibility. Today, we have more than 30 partners who are using the Have A Game Plan platform to connect with their audience on responsibility,” DeBaun said.
“I’m excited about what’s to come for responsible gaming in the U.S. Our members are deeply engaged in this space and sincerely committed to defining what’s next in player protection and building a sustainable marketplace.”
Speaking on the value of responsibility, Bally’s Corporation recently donated $600,000 to the International Center for Responsible Gaming (ICRG).
Robeson Reeves, the president of Interactive at Bally’s, said the company takes its responsibility to educate the public very seriously.
“Bally’s is committed to [educating the public, including young adult gamblers, and our employees about responsible gaming]. We look forward to working with ICRG on cutting-edge scientific research on gambling among young adults and the usage and effectiveness of responsible gambling tools.”
As online gaming becomes more prevalent whether through professional sports sponsorships, bus advertisements, or TikTok ads, it’s important to have the necessary tools available to identity and prevent problem gambling.
