Industry Experts Gather at the University of Gibraltar for Customer Interaction Event

The session brought industry leaders and regulators together with researchers to launch a multi-stage research project that will inform industry practices for safer gambling communications throughout the customers’ player journey.

The event opened with a collaborative update outlining research priorities and evidence gaps, followed by presentations on challenges facing the industry. A very lively open mic discussion provided a forum to share operational experiences and raise practical considerations in land-based and online settings. Participants identified the range of communication channels operators can use, the harm prevention and early intervention objectives of messages at different points in the journey, the delicacy of knowing when to provide a warm transfer to professional help, and challenges in evaluating the impact of their interactions when customers can change behaviour on one site while simultaneously moving to a competitor’s or an unlicensed site to continue risky play. This fed into a broader roundtable featuring industry, regulatory, and research experts who further explored these issues; discussed the emerging role of data, technology, and especially AI in customer communications; and identified research needs to inform interactions that will motivate and support customers to engage with safer gambling tools and practices.

The afternoon concluded with a brief keynote address from Andrew Lyman, Gambling Commissioner and Executive Director of Gibraltar’s Gambling Division, who emphasized the value of industry collaborating with researchers to conduct much-needed applied research.

This event forms part of an ongoing collaboration between GBGA and CERG to identify evidence gaps, conduct applied research, and inform social responsibility practices in the gambling sector.