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BCLC

Highlights from New Horizons in Responsible Gambling 2021: Player Health Reboot: Resetting the Future

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More than 320 attendees gathered virtually for BCLC’s ninth-annual New Horizons in Responsible Gambling Conference on March 9 and 10, 2021. Delegates and speakers logged on from across British Columbia and Canada, the United States, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, England and Macau, among many other locations, to participate in 14 sessions addressing topics and findings around the theme: Player Health Reboot: Resetting the Future.

Keynote speaker Futurist Sanjay Khanna kicked off the conference with his address, Foresight in Gambling Innovation. Khanna detailed the converging-crisis era the globe is grappling with: large-scale environmental and societal changes and how this era will impact the future of the gambling industry. Khanna’s address intertwined how influences like climate change and the proliferation of smart phones and social media will affect player health, social resilience and the future concept of play. He offered suggestions for how operators, product designers and policy makers can use technology, innovation and diversity to ‘reset’ and prepare for a future that is positive, resilient and sustainable.

“Bringing together new creators and inclusive design to the context of disruption is hugely important,” Khanna said. “Player health needs to be player health by design and built in at the early inception of new products and services…What we might want to see out of all of this, is a vision for diverse and inclusive play in gambling.”

In her session, Is it Gambling? Breaking Down Esports, Video Games & Social Games, Dr. Brett Abarbanel, Director of Research at the International Gaming Institute at University of Nevada, Las Vegas examined the definition of gambling and how elements of gambling and chance appear in unexpected ways in video games, Esports, virtual reality and other applications.

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“What do you think of when you think of the word, gambling?” she asked attendees. “A casino game, a slot machine, a poker game, the flipping of a coin at the start of a sports game, or when you role the dice in a board game?” Dr. Abarbanel examined how regulators in jurisdictions worldwide are examining these questions in determining the legality of emerging video-gaming elements like loot boxes.

“Game developers, toy designers, spectator-engagement tool creators who are putting these things together, may not even realize the potentially legal and certainly social ramifications of even just adding a simple random number generator to their games or other gambling-like elements.

“How we define gambling really starts to come into play,” she said.

In Breaking through the Sludge, Understanding Human Behaviour Bing Feng, Senior Research Associate at Behavioural Economics in Action at Rotman School of Management, discussed how gambling operators can address ‘sludge’: broadly described as any intervention that impedes positive-decision making, the opposite of a ‘nudge’.

“Reminding people of their goal, or making their goal more salient will increase their motivation to work towards it,” she said of one approach to encouraging healthy play.

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Feng highlighted recent research drawing similarities between effective tools used to increase financial literacy and positive gambling behaviours, including: setting limits, tracking behaviours impulse control, risk perception and alternative activity-seeking.

“Key behaviours can help us design better interventions and solutions,” Feng said. “Sometimes we just need to pause, and take a moment to see what we can improve and how we can make things easier and better for our end user.”

In addition to these sessions, New Horizons offered participants sessions on the emerging risks associated with self-directed investing (day trading), a discussion around the regulatory practices of sports betting and how responsible gambling can catch up with the rise of cashless technology.

To stay connected with New Horizons and for information about future virtual sessions, please visit https://horizonsrg.bclc.com/

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BCLC

BCLC Receives Highest Level of Certification for Player Health Programs

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BCLC has received the World Lottery Association’s (WLA) Level 4 certification, the highest level granted by the WLA’s Independent Assessment Panel (IAP) for excellence in player health programming. This is the fifth consecutive time BCLC has earned the Level 4 certification through the WLA’s rigorous assessment process.

As part of the certification, the IAP recognized BCLC’s Player Education program with a “Best Practice” outcome, which is used to determine certain program elements as “clearly beyond the norm” and demonstrative of “innovative policies, practices or evaluation measures.” The IAP highlighted BCLC’s “various targeted initiatives and set of evaluation measures” as well as the organization’s “ambitious plans moving forward” in its evaluation report.

“Receiving re-certification at Level 4 and the ‘Best Practice’ distinction is a strong endorsement of BCLC’s player-centric approach and evidence of the continuous improvement of our player health programs,” said Marie-Noëlle Savoie, BCLC’s Chief Compliance Officer and Vice President, Legal, Compliance and Security. “The innovation and collaboration across the organization has enabled this significant achievement and is what will drive further advancements to these player health supports.”

The Level 4 certification and “Best Practice” recognition validates BCLC as a continuing leader in player health across the industry. Various elements of BCLC’s player health program, including its ongoing research initiatives, employee training, player safeguards and stakeholder engagement activities, were determined to meet or exceed industry standards. BCLC is one of just 13 lottery jurisdictions in North America to achieve Level 4 certification.

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In its submission, BCLC was proud to highlight successes such as its virtual GameSense Advisor (GSA) program, the introduction of an active reinstatement requirement to its Game Break voluntary self-exclusion program and the implementation of enhanced identification requirements at B.C. casinos to support those enrolled in Game Break. BCLC’s GameSense brand, which is made available to other commercial gambling entities through its licensing program, was also celebrated in the report.

The WLA is a global professional association of state lottery and gaming organizations from more than 80 countries. BCLC’s WLA certification is valid for three years.

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BCLC

BCLC Announces New Chief Social Purpose Officer and Vice President, Marketing

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BCLC has appointed Natasha Questel as its new Chief Social Purpose Officer and Vice President, Marketing, effective January 22, 2024.

Questel joins BCLC with significant experience in the non-profit and consumer-packaged goods sectors underpinned by her commitment to help create a better world. Most recently, she was the CEO of One Girl Can, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to breaking down poverty and gender inequality among the world’s most vulnerable girls. Prior, she was the President of Happy Planet Foods, a Vancouver-based, sustainable-food company focused on doing right by people and the planet.

“As BCLC continues to mature as a social purpose company working to generate win-wins for the greater good, it’s integral that we continue to embed our ‘reason for being’ into all that we do. We are thrilled to welcome Natasha to BCLC, where I know that her passion for making a difference, combined with her demonstrated business success, will enable us to innovate and iterate on how we can further improve our business – and influence others to do the same – for the betterment of society,” said Pat Davis, President and CEO, BCLC.

Questel’s recent volunteer efforts include serving as the board chair and working board member of Basket Brigade Canada, a not for profit dedicated to spreading love by delivering food baskets to single moms and under-represented Canadians in need. She is also board member of Aisle, the B Corp period-care brand, focused on sustainability and inclusivity. In the last year, she has been featured in the Globe and Mail and Vancouver Sun, speaking about the importance of breaking down barriers for women and driving inclusivity in the Canadian workplace.

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A graduate of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive LEAD program, she was a finalist in the Stanford Venture Capital Boot camp. She is a member of YPO, the global community of CEOs. She is currently pursuing the YPO Gold President’s program at Harvard and holds an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario.

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BCLC

It’s Okay to be a Grinch: Be #GiftSmart and Snatch Scratch & Win Tickets from Kids’ Stockings

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With the holiday season in full swing, BCLC is reminding adults that it’s okay to be a Grinch when it comes to removing lottery products from kids’ shopping lists and stockings.

Early participation or exposure to gambling in childhood can increase the risk of developing a gambling problem later in life,” said Ryan McCarthy, Director of Player Health at BCLC. “Adults may be unaware of these associated risks so, as part of our commitment to healthy play, it’s a priority for us to share the message that lottery products should never be gifted to kids.”

Research shows that 10 to 14 per cent of adolescents are at risk for developing a problem with gambling, while four to six per cent of youth ages 12-17 are presently impacted by problem gambling. Studies conducted worldwide have found the average problem gambler started gambling at age 10.

It’s never too early to start the conversation. While kids and gambling don’t mix, many teenagers are already doing it by betting on things like a card game, or by purchasing a virtual loot box,” said McCarthy, who offered the following tips to parents:

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    • Tailor the conversation to your child. For example, if they like video games, talk to them about loot boxes and how the outcome is random, and the risks posed.
    • Tell them about the hidden signs of a problem, like hiding debt or skipping classes.
    • Lead by example; kids learn from their parents.

As part of a partnership with the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) and McGill University’s International Centre for Youth Gambling, BCLC is also sharing its #GiftSmart message through reminders at its 3,400 lottery retailers in B.C. as well as on social media. Learn more about how to be #GiftSmart on gamesense .com, which includes resources for families, with tools, ideas and further information for parents.

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