PGAM ends, but the scale of our prevention services continues to expand

Cory Brown, Gaming Policy & Consumer Protection Manager, North America, EPIC Global Solutions, shares an assessment of how the organization’s problem gambling awareness programs have landed with major operators throughout March, as well as looking ahead to an increasing prevalence of digital-based delivery later in the year…

As the curtain falls on another Problem Gambling Awareness Month, EPIC Global Solutions  can reflect on another successful March while also planting the seed for an ongoing digital expansion of our services that scales prevention without diluting quality.

We have continued to serve existing client relationships or partnerships that are now well-established with some of the most significant gambling brands in the US.

During March, this has included BetMGM, with whom we have now delivered six consecutive years of training during PGAM; this year presenting our Gambling Harm Awareness program twice to different staff. The evaluation figures have been very strong and staff have demonstrated very clear understanding of the issues and improvements in confidence to deal with incidents of problem gambling that they may encounter in their line of work.

I also had the personal privilege of collaborating with our Senior US Consultant, Patrick Chester, to engage with VIP teams at a major fantasy operator in California. We came away with a similar sense of reassurance that the core messages have left their teams in a better place to offer the safest and highest-possible standards of service to their customers, and have further engagement planned with them to expand the reach of the key messaging.

This complements another now-regular feature of PGAM, where we extend our reach via virtual sessions to FanDuel teams over the course of March, highlighting lived experience and the importance of problem gambling awareness.

Today we have also helped Bally’s Corporation’s to wrap up the awareness month by formally announcing the return of the Rhode Island Game Changer Challenge. Working with Bally’s and other key partners within Rhode Island, we’re delving into the creative talents of college or university students in the state, and the best example of a digital problem gambling awareness campaign will secure a $3,000 prize towards their tuition costs and the Nancy Murray Award, in memory of the former president of the Rhode Island Council On Problem Gambling who sadly passed last year.

These concepts reinforce what we say before, during and after every Problem Gambling Awareness Month: March provides a focus for greater attention on the work that takes place for 12 months of every year at EPIC Global Solutions, and we’re firmly established as leaders in the provision of gambling harm prevention in the US.

A perennial challenge – and opportunity – lies in the scale of the need for such support in a nation of nearly 350m people. EPIC continues to rise to both challenge and opportunity through relationships with the foremost names in gambling, which has traditionally been met through face-to-face training, education and consultancy, but is increasingly available digitally to respond to the needs of organizations working in diverse locations and often to unusual working patterns in our 24/7 lifestyle.

Consequently, North American clients are already embedding digital products into a broader training program to compliment our existing face-to-face delivery, and are reporting strong outcomes over the receipt and dissemination of information delivered in this fashion, as well as strong confidence to apply this knowledge to everyday interactions with clients.

Far from being a replacement for our long-standing personal approach, these governance-led digital programs compliment in-person delivery and are being used by clients as refreshers for previous course attendees as prevalently as they are being used to introduce safer gambling concepts to first-time delegates.

It’s part of a growing move towards hybrid safeguarding models that blend digital reach with human expertise, molding our offer to the needs of our client base.

You’ll be hearing a lot more about EPIC’s digital programs (and their outcomes) this year, as we – and our partners – prove that preventing gambling-related harm is a year-round priority, not just for March.