So we now have the latest consultation document from the UK Gambling Commission, “Player protections on Category B gaming machines.”
We talk constantly about how the operator must try to define what “harm” a gambler is causing him or herself, which is in itself an important objective but is such a nebulous concept that I would challenge any psychologist to sit and watch an average player sitting quietly on a gaming machine and to then try to determine that the player was being harmed.
Yes, of course there are extreme markers of harm in gambling on gaming machines which those of us who have been in the business for many years can spot quickly. Button slapping, swearing at the machine, aggressive posture, emotional outbursts, increased visit frequency or dwell time - all these are signs that something isn’t right and that at the least the player should be encouraged to take some time out and by so doing give the local staff an opportunity to talk to them.
Of course there is always that chance that their behaviour has been caused by something entirely outside of the venue and which has nothing to do with gambling but even then the opportunity to talk to a member of staff will probably have a cathartic effect and hopefully will calm things down. So what needs to be done? I strongly believe that the introduction of messaging for players and limit setting of both time and expenditure is a good idea and should be relatively easy to implement. I believe that these are a good way of supporting players who might sometimes spend too much cash/time on a machine.
I do not, absolutely do not, think that individual player tracking is the right way to proceed. People do not like to think that anyone is tracking what they are doing in their lives. Imagine if you applied this concept to alcohol consumption in pubs? Picture the scene: you pull up to the bar at the Red Lion after a grueling management meeting and hand over your card to be “tracked.”
The barman does a double take and says: “Sir, I notice that this will be the fifth visit to a pub that you have made this week and your average dwell time has been 38 minutes. In addition, sir, I note that you have consumed 10 gin and tonics this week. Do you feel that this a responsible level of alcohol consumption? Perhaps you would like to have a word with one of our specially trained intervention team?”
Come on, really? How long before pubs became a thing of the past, alcohol sales in supermarkets go through the roof and everyone is seeking out the local “speakeasy” for their gin and tonics. They introduced player tracking in Austria about three years ago. What happened? Firstly the industry is a pale shadow of its former self and secondly players reacted in two different ways: regulars saw the tracking system as a challenge to be circumnavigated and they do that by cycling multiple cards in the gaming machines (they obtain additional cards from casual infrequent players).
Less frequent players simply voted with their feet, stopped playing in land-based venues and played online. The figures at the time clearly show a 20 per cent drop in land-based and an equal and opposite increase for the online sites where there is by definition far less opportunity for staff-player interaction. This is a good example of the law of unintended consequences.
Finally, last week the Labour party announced its latest policy statement on gambling in the UK. The main thrust of this seems to be a call for parity between online and land-based gaming in terms of stakes and prize limits. This is going to be interesting…
