Entain, one of the world’s biggest gambling companies, has been awarded its Safer Gambling Standard by a UK charity thanks partly to how it uses artificial intelligence to help prevent problem gaming.
Entain (ENT:LON) is one of the UK’s “Big Four” gambling firms and has made big strides in the United States and Canada in recent years.
The group, which owns brands such as Ladbrokes, Coral and Party Poker, is also part of a venture with MGM to offer BetMGM online sports betting services to players in America.
Charity GamCare awarded Entain with an ‘Advanced Level Three’ certification for its online business practices, which are considered the “highest level of accreditation” for efforts to develop safer gambling.
“We are proud to be recognised by GamCare and its Safer Gambling Standard in this critically important area of responsible betting and gaming, and in particular with their highest accreditation,” said Robert Hoskin, Entain’s Chief Governance Officer. “Sustainability, and with that – responsibility, is at the heart of our strategy and is fundamental to the way we do business.
GamCare assessed Entain across 10 areas of its online operation, against 58 separate criteria. This looked into its safer gambling strategy, policies procedures and the controls installed to help tackle problem gambling.
And one of the core takeaways from the review was the success of artificial intelligence through Entain’s Advanced Responsibility and Care (ARC) initiative.
What Is ARC?
The ARC system Entain uses to improve its problem gambling initiatives has already turned heads in the industry. It was launched in the summer of 2021 with the purpose of personalizing player protection. Its initial trial showed that ARC was “successfully limiting potentially risky behaviours”.
The point of using artificial intelligence for safer gambling is to spot problematic practices before they arise. The company said ARC will “revolutionise conventional thinking around responsible gaming and usher in a new era of more personalised and proactive, technology-driven player protection, widely applicable across many forms of online sports betting and gaming entertainment”.
It forms part of Entain’s ‘Changing for the Bettor’ strategy, which includes pledges to educate stakeholders, funding treatment, championing responsible product design, and driving cultural change.
This last objective, coupled with the advances in AI, was well received by GamCare when assessing the business as a whole. Entain has also invested in its Ennovate environment, which it hopes will take the company into the metaverse.
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Use Of AI In Online Gambling
Of course, Entain isn’t the only firm using AI to improve its business and help protect players. FanDuel and Caesars both use computerized systems in their sports betting platforms.
Artificial Intelligence has been deployed for years as a means of helping to spot problem gamblers and prevent their situation from worsening. And it takes many forms. AI is used to inform game developers on how to provide more responsible games to the market. It can handle and process repetitive tasks much faster than humans, and make suggestions on what action to take from its analysis of playing data.
It is also being used in online casinos to improve safety. AI can detect threats to player accounts and move to protect data, flag up security breaches and interact with players directly. It can also ask security questions when big deposits and withdrawals are made, in order to ensure the identity of the player in question.
And, for players betting beyond their means, AI can provide the first level of protection to prevent them risking too much money in the casino.
Discussing security at Entain, GamCare’s head of industry standards Dan Whitlam said: “We are encouraged to see Entain achieve the Advanced level of the Safer Gambling Standard for its online and land-based activities, meaning they have adopted a wide range of safer gambling measures that go beyond the social responsibility provisions of their gambling licence.
“The Safer Gambling Standard is an independent quality standard, which incorporates the experience of our service users, the huge level of collected evidence and industry research across numerous fields and GamCare’s many years of experience working across the sector. These safer gambling measures can help protect people from experiencing gambling related harm.”
