Responsible Gambling

This volume reflects the perspectives of a diverse group of primary stakeholders interested in responsible gambling activities and programs. It also marks a watershed moment in the activities of the International Group on Responsible Gambling. The Reno Model, introduced by Blaszczynski, Ladouceur, and Shaffer in 2004, has provided the seminal architecture for understanding, creating, and implementing responsible gambling activities and programs. This model stimulated considerable interest and growth of responsible gambling activities around the world. This development contributed to the establishment of the editors’ international working group on responsible gambling—and the need to bring together a variety of divergent perspectives associated with responsible gambling. Stakeholders often overlook these viewpoints, protect a narrow view of responsible gambling, and avoid the scientific evidence associated with responsible gambling. Consequently, the primary purpose of this book is to discuss and formulate guidelines, elaborate principles, and stimulate discussion related to responsible gambling policies and activities. In addition, this book emphasizes the continuing need to empirically evaluate the efficacy, reach, and influence of responsible gambling activities. The contents of this volume represent the viewpoints of key stakeholders who are vested with the obligation to minimize harm and protect consumers (e.g., regulators, governments, academics, clinicians, individuals, gamblers, and the general community). This first-of-its-kind book provides an overall summary of the respective viewpoints, insights, and critical but constructive suggestions relevant to advancing the aims and objectives of responsible gambling.

Responsible Gambling and Its Stakeholders

Robert Ladouceur and Alex Blaszczynski convened this working group and established the early agenda and direction for the International Group on Responsible Gambling and our scholarly publications. The Reno Model provided the seminal architecture for understanding, creating, and implementing responsible gambling activities and programs. This model stimulated considerable growth and interest in responsible gambling activities around the world. From this growth, the authors’ international working group on responsible gambling emerged. The primary purpose of this group and this book is to discuss and formulate guidelines, elaborate principles, and stimulate discussion related to responsible gambling policies and their evaluation. The group considered the views of a variety of key stakeholders who are obligated to minimize harm and protect consumers, such as regulators, governments, academics, clinicians, individuals, gamblers, and the general community). This chapter provides an overview about their viewpoints and insights about responsible gambling.

A Gambling Lawyers’ Perspective on Responsible Gambling

From the backgrounds of an external counsel and an in-house lawyer, this chapter offers a legal perspective on responsible gambling (RG). The primary tool of lawyers is law and not empirical sciences. Accordingly, these legal scholars explain how their normative perspective differs from other scholarly perspectives and how it affects the concept, theory, and objectives of RG. These stakeholders describe aspects that hamper the effectiveness of RG policies, such as hidden agendas and RG rules that are not empirically based. They then revisit the Reno Model, comparing its strengths and weaknesses; they observe alternative models of regulatory practice. The analytical exercise feeds into discussions of the legal and practical implications of the RG rules, in particular as regards the scope of duty of care and the compliance burden of regulated gambling operators. The authors make suggestions on how to improve RG programs and the Reno Model itself, using insights from behavioral studies and promoting bottom up-initiatives.

The Status of Responsible Gaming

The authors, two senior policymakers at the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, trace the development of responsible gambling policy in Massachusetts, from its enabling legislation and the seminal Reno Model, to the expansive and comprehensive program that is in place in Massachusetts today. The “Massachusetts model” included three important directions: (1) Look beyond the US borders for model programs that would closely align with the expectations in Massachusetts; (2) Adopt new and promising practices and emerging technology with a precautionary approach, but leverage research funding to closely evaluate their effectiveness; and (3) Implement an enduring and comprehensive research agenda that feeds data-driven strategies to advance responsible gambling and mitigate problem gambling. In this chapter the authors discuss issues related to responsible gambling programs nationally and internationally. They offer a critical reflection about the sufficiency of the Reno Model, which remains widely perceived as the preeminent responsible gaming program standard, and provide recommendations for what constitutes a minimum responsible gambling program.