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Responsible gaming is broken and KYC is the fix

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Earle G. Hall, CEO of Axes Network shares his views about the importance of embracing modern technology for both responsible gaming and revenue generation. He argues that lapses in responsible gaming practices should not happen in today’s modern tech world. His views come after reading about the recent lapses in responsible gaming from Crown Resorts, which is currently undergoing a royal commission into its suitability to hold a gaming license in its state. 

Author: Earle G. Hall, [email protected] • Vice-Chairman, International Gaming Standards Association • 2xTEDx • Veteran

Responsible gaming is finally taking center stage in our industry. Politically, it is a good thing to talk about it, and it is always a priority to protect citizens from addiction. However, after reading an article about the Responsible Gaming Violations at Crown in Australia, it is clear that there is a serious disconnect between policy and patrons.

We are in 2021. Things are now easy from a technology point of view. So, why is Responsible Gaming still so hard? The answer is simple and easy.

Let’s be clear: Responsible gaming is a fallacy without Know Your Client (KYC) empowerment. Anonymous responsible gaming policies only lock the barn door once the horse has been stolen. They theoretically place rules and burdens on casinos with no empirical way to really protect and serve. They target clients that surrender on their own or are flagged far too late into their addiction and pressure for casino staff to see intangible signs.

Without KYC, responsible gaming is theory. 

With KYC, responsible gaming is real, quantifiable, and traceable. Think cashless smart cards. There are a number of modern jurisdictions that already require players to be verified against some form of national identification. Once the player or patron has been identified, they are issued a player’s card and then can play. Then the fun starts.

A multitude of parameters can be monitored such as time on device visitation frequency, cash-ins and outs, total spend, as well as many other metrics, to track and trace and create an enforceable policy. The Polish Government is a global leader in this field. The entire country’s arcades oblige KYC and real-time responsible gaming. The parameters are set and enforced by technology, not humans. Triggers are pre-set and black-outs and cool offs are system menu configurations for the whole country.

So, in a big data, blockchain and IoT empowered World, how can responsible gaming be so hard? Ignorance does play a part, but there are deeper roots of misconception that have to be debunked.

The main one is the misconception that real-time, quantitative responsible gaming will reduce gaming revenue. This is completely false. The marketing potential of KYC-empowered players is infinite. Smart Card KYC-enabled casinos have adopted deep tech, AI, and other technology-based approaches to mine player data to increase and enhance the gaming entertainment experience whilst protecting against addiction and crime.

Take Facebook for example. The platform thrives on publicity. Its KYC approach to learning subscriber patterns, trends and likes, tailors the experience for maximum relevance and enjoyment. In the casino world, our ability to do deep analysis on player trends and patterns would yield ground-breaking results for marketing as well as for jurisdictional regulations.

Here, big data is the answer. It can empower deep rich CRM experiences whilst safeguarding our societies against the illicit activities that are at risk of occurring.

Again, Poland has shown the way. Their IoT, Blockchain Security-based Big Data Cloud has thrown down all the barriers to a modern, traceable and transparent gaming experience. KYC empowers all aspects of the gaming experience to be integral, and all actors can enhance their needs to ensure the jurisdiction grows in an irreproachable manner.

Simply put, what happened at Crown should simply not occur in our modern world. It is time to embrace tech and eliminate the noise. 

Can you imagine if smart card cashless was virtualized inside a player’s app where responsible gaming declarations, responsible gaming scorecards, and many other player-centric applications could co-exist with real-time loyalty, rewards, and promotions? Well… the technology is already here, and it would be a quantum leap for the legitimacy of our Industry.

Lastly, and most importantly, I would like to thank and applaud the tremendous work that has been done in our industry to create and promote the principles and practices of responsible gaming. We have come a long way in a short time and so many dedicated people around the world deserve our sincerest gratitude for their hard work and dedication. Now it is time to empower these principles and policies with quantitative analytics and cutting edge technology to honor and respect the work done with the next generation of responsible gaming: KYC cashless gaming.

Disclaimer:

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of AXES.ai or the International Gaming Standards Association or any other Affiliation of the Author.  

Earle Hall
Earle Hall
Earle G. Hall, [email protected] • Vice-Chairman, International Gaming Standards Association • 2xTEDx • Veteran

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