Playsponsible Academy 2024 highlights aspects of responsibility in gaming
Over 250 Casinos Austria & Austrian Lotteries Group employees and managers met with representatives of advice centres and supervisory authorities at the Casino Baden to discuss their experiences with international experts.
The Playsponsible Academy’s motto stands for the Group’s social responsibility and covers all related topics, though the relevant activities in this regard go far beyond the classic understanding of “Responsible Gaming” and legal requirements.
Erwin van Lambaart, Director General of the Casinos Austria and Austrian Lotteries: “For us, gaming first and foremost goes hand in hand with a responsibility that we take very seriously, a responsibility from which we also derive our aim to finding answers to the challenges in our industry. We already provide these answers in all areas of our work on a daily basis, but which we also want to be able to provide 100% in the future, in line with our responsibility as a licensed gaming provider. It’s in our best interest for gaming to remain a positive, enjoyable experience. For us, that means that we see professionalism in game management and player protection as top priorities. That is why the Playsponsible Academy – in line with our responsibility towards Austria – is a part of our continuous investment and innovation in the context of optimal protection for all customers and guests.”
The Academy’s programme was correspondingly diverse, focusing on numerous different aspects of responsibility. The experts highlighted best practices from the field of responsible gaming and, thanks to their expertise, also presented parallels from similar industries in terms of understanding and dealing with responsibility.
Arno Nagelschmied, Managing Director Responsible Gaming in the Group and responsible for the Playsponsible Academy, had this to add: “In our industry – especially when it comes to responsible gaming – we still often only talk about focusing on the legal framework. As the Casinos Austria & Austrian Lotteries Group, however, we want to focus on what is best for our customers and guests. This is why we promote responsible behaviour in all areas of the Group – be it in the area of AI, for example in data processing, the company-wide focus on sustainability, but of course especially when it comes to player protection.”
In their presentation at the start of the day, Sylvia Brenzel and Alfred Strigl, plenum sustainability consultants, explicitly outlined the comprehensive current challenges of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, 80% of which already lie behind the necessary developments. They also pointed out that companies today can only be successful in all these areas if they first and foremost exemplify sustainability internally instead of just acting sustainably externally.
In the subsequent expert talk, Maris Catania (SG:certified), Rasmus Kjaergaard (Mindway AI), Alexander Rabas (win2day) and Savvas Illiopoulos (OPAP) presented the current uses and applications of AI. What opportunities and challenges will this present for player protection in the future? This was also discussed, as was the generally responsible use of technology, for example with regard to data protection.
Harald Lechner, an international football referee since 2010, then went on to talk about how to deal responsibly with split-second decisions away from the gaming industry – after all, a blow of his whistle can end up deciding millions of euros. For him, the key to this is respectful decision-making and responsible use of his own powers.
After the break, Maris Catania started off with a presentation of best practices from the international gaming industry. She explained that for responsible providers, it is not only crucial which offers and services are not permitted or offered, but also the form in which information about the games on offer can be found. She concluded by saying that responsible gaming and any related operations are the distinguishing feature in the gaming industry in order to be successful in the long term.
Oliver Scheibenbogen from the Institute for Social Aesthetics and Mental Health, Sigmund Freud Private University / Anton Proksch Institute, presented the results of a prevalence study commissioned by Austrian Lotteries on gambling behaviour in lottery games in Austria. In a study of over 3,000 respondents conducted by the Gallup Institute, particular attention was paid to behavioural patterns such as “sensation seeking” and “magical thinking”.
Katerina Giannakakou-Razelou, OPAP Legal Manager and Pavel Gernt, Player Protection Manager Saska and Arno Nagelschmied then spoke about the dialogue within the Allwyn Group and the importance of cross-border and international exchanges on the topic of responsible gaming. This means that decisions and new player protection strategies within the Group can always be compared with the findings from several markets and the needs of different target groups and adapted accordingly.
The Playsponsible Academy of the Casinos Austria and Austrian Lotteries Group has been fulfilling two important functions simultaneously for the past 20 years. An opportunity for training and an international exchange for all employees and as food for thought, not only to assume a pioneering role in the industry when it comes to responsible gaming, but also to be aware of our social responsibility as a company.