SBC Barcelona: Forget "risk groups," think "personal" when dealing with problem gambling

The idea that artificial intelligence can have profound effects on the gambling industry is not new, but it’s through the work of companies such as Mindway AI that we see how this can happen in reality. Casino Guru News attended the SBC Summit Barcelona hosted by Mindway AI CEO Rasmus Kjaergaard and entitled "Can AI Help Casinos Cut Down on Problem Gambling?"

The panel featured a detailed presentation that examined consumer habits and two distinct tools used by Mindway to garner better understanding into problem gambling and what prevention techniques work to protect consumers. These techniques are based not only in data but also on a deeper understanding of neuroscience and psychology, which help identify problem gambling in consumers.

The tools used by Mindway AI include GameScanner and gamalyze. According to Kjaergaard there are several important things that stakeholders need to understand about how AI can be leveraged to protect consumers.

Using AI to create responsible gambling opportunities is tricky, he argued, because problem gambling is a particularly complex issue. And it’s not just about the complexity of the issue, but also how problem gambling manifests in a unique way in each individual.

For example, even the definition of a "risk group," Rasmus Kjaergaard said, is difficult because once such a group is defined the question inevitably becomes if this group is indeed experiencing problem gambling.

Kjaergaard approach is therefore more personal. "Because of that, we think we definitely need to focus on individual players, or as we call it the virtual psychologist approach. In fact, we need to focus on individual player’s individual behavior," he explained. Thanks to this, Mindway can help treat individuals rather than groups, and added that treating groups is itself not an efficient way to move past the problem.

Mindway AI also uses five different risk score categories to better assess the level of intervention individuals need. Recommendations are then issued based on a special chart that is created to treat individuals rather than risk groups. The company uses a historic risk score assessment and compares how consumers progress over a period of time, juxtaposing data entries.

But ultimately, Mindway AI advises that the way to address problem gambling is not by looking for risk groups, but rather by ensuring that early intervention is carried out in a meaningful way. One way to do that is to create tools that allow for personalized content based on risk factors, real-time alerts that focus on informing rather than prohibiting or restriction, and more.

Mindway’s biggest strength, though, comes from the fact that it leverages an AI tech that allows it to offer personalized prevention and that checks out as accurate when subject to manual review. In slide shows shared during the presentation, at least 87% of the subjects detected by Mindway AI as potential problem gamblers turned out to be such.

The success of the company’s GameScanner tool is also independently validated by Gaming LaboratoriesInternational. Ultimately, Mindway AI argues a strong case in favor of leveraging powerful technology to offer a far more streamlined and individualized approach to tackling problem gambling.

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