GVC to Invest $5m in Harvard Responsible Gaming Study
Gambling operator GVC Holdings has pledged $5 million in a joint research project on responsible gaming in conjunction with Harvard Medical School’s Division on Addiction.
The study is a part of the firm’s responsible gambling campaign “Changing for the Bettor.” GVC, the owner of high-street bookmakers Coral and Ladbrokes, will be supplying researchers with anonymous data collected from across its range of gambling and betting offerings. The project will last for five years, focusing on investigating the reasons behind problem gambling behaviour.
The research will look into a couple of different areas, including normal online gaming patterns and markers of addiction in various forms of gambling. Researchers will also analyse the influence of expanding new gaming markets. GVC and Harvard Medical School expect the project to assess the effectiveness of current measures in identifying at-risk gambling behaviour.
“Whilst the vast majority of our customers enjoy playing with us in a safe and fun environment we are aware that for some players, gambling can impact their lives negatively,” said Grainne Hurst, Director of Responsible Gaming at GVC.
“That is why we are today launching Changing for the Bettor and have partnered with Harvard faculty at the Division on Addiction to help us to better understand and tackle the issues around problem gambling,”
Although the study is going to be time-consuming, Dr. Howard Shaffer, a director at Harvard’s Division on Addiction, believes that it is the only effective method of obtaining useful findings.
“It is only by taking an evidence-based approach to examining gambling that we can develop better strategies and tools to limit its potential to cause harm,” he said.
Shaffer welcomes the partnership with GVC, which he believes will significantly contribute to the general public’s knowledge about gambling.
The research project will be accompanied by education campaigns, including a youth educational programme in collaboration with GamCare as well as an in-school awareness-raising project in partnership with EPIC Risk Management.
Taking the Lead
GVC has been taking the lead in promoting responsible gaming within the gambling industry. It is the first gaming operator to have supported the ban on gambling advertisement broadcasted during live sports events. The also company plans to double its fundings towards combating gambling addiction, such as research projects and education, to 0.2% of its gross revenue.