Why player protection remains essential beyond Safer Gambling Week
Our Sustainability Manager, Liesbeth Oost, highlights why Aspire Global is eager to build momentum in promoting safer gambling to players worldwide f...
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Providing a safe user experience in terms of responsible gambling is Aspire Global’s single most important responsibility. It is the source of long-term growth and aligns with Aspire Global’s mission. The company can significantly influence the players who consume our products whether by visiting any of Aspire Global’s proprietary brands or any of our partner operators. Security is also a critical issue for our partners who rely on Aspire Global’s platform solution and the authorities who grant licenses to the company.
Aspire Global believes that the future lies with those companies that can generate long-term profit while promoting sustainable user behavior. Aspire Global has chosen to focus on regulated markets as it enables serious companies to compete on equal terms in offering a safe iGaming experience in terms of responsible gaming and create a better iGaming market for everyone: players, the people around them or anyone unintentionally exposed to the industry, such as minors or those trying to avoid playing. In the area of responsible gambling, Aspire Global promotes healthy gambling behavior and tries to proactively identify and approach players who show signs of negative gaming behavior and/or are unsatisfied with their gaming habits. To be a leader in player sustainability, the company is committed to using innovative technology based on AI and machine learning to identify player accounts that might be at risk of developing negative playing patterns. With this information, we can better target preventative actions and increase the chances of positive changes in player behavior, with the goal to minimize harm done to end users who are seeking entertainment by gambling. Aspire Global works with researchers to continuously improve and optimize our tools.
coming from taxed, regulated or soon to be regulated markets
Aspire Global has a clear focus on regulated markets, with 79% of revenues coming from taxed, regulated or soon to be regulated markets. Aspire Global is licensed and certified by a number of recognized organizations, including the UK Gambling Commission, Spelmyndigheten in Sweden, Danish Spillemyndigheden, Malta Gaming Authority and SRIJ in Portugal. Obtaining, retaining and renewing licenses is a constant challenge, requiring expertise and efficient routines for quick adjustments to new or revised requirements. The platform is continuously updated with new features relating to regulation and compliance. The in-house regulation and compliance team monitors all operations, conducts ongoing training and provides partners with regulatory updates
We continued to strengthen our operational compliance team, which consists of dedicated responsible gambling and anti-money laundering specialists who are focused on detecting at-risk players and proactively interacting with them to encourage positive playing behavior of the end user, putting them at the heart of the operation.
Collaborate with universities on research into responsible gambling
Internal and external staff training to promote responsible gaming.
Support our partners with responsible advertising, marketing and promoting safer gambling week UK.
Roll out a framework across the business to predict triggers among at-risk players.
Continue to donate to research, education and treatment towards safer gambling.
Develop our platform to have responsible measures at the forefront of player activity, making sure all player information has a clear responsible gambling audit trail and visual. Create bespoke responsible gaming tools.
Refreshed mandatory training for all staff, the Loyalty and Wellbeing Team monitors player retention in relation to responsible gaming, and partnerships with suppliers to communicate more effectively with players and quickly identify signs of harmful behavior.
Machine learning and AI technology will be an important part of the responsible gaming identification process, with customized automation for each player. All rules will be configurable to suit the needs of the partner and the markets they work in.
Aspire Global offers a variety of tools to help players monitor and limit their gaming sessions and deposit levels. The general principle is that Aspire Global’s iGaming services should be consumed just like any other form of entertainment – over a longer period of time, at a reasonable level and a reasonable cost. Players are encouraged to set reasonable limits upon registration and to maintain a user pattern in line with these intentions. Aspire Global is also connected to national voluntary self-exclusion services, such as Spelpaus.se in Sweden, GAMSTOP in the UK and ROFUS in Denmark, enabling players to block themselves from all iGaming platforms in the locally regulated markets.
The dedicated responsible gaming team, together with the customer service department, actively identifies, monitors and approaches players who show signs of losing control or addiction. A real-time internal system has been implemented, notifying the team of players at risk through automatic alerts. This can mean players who repeatedly adjust their limits or dramatically change their user pattern, players with high deposits or losses, players who play at night or players who constantly cancel their withdrawals. A strict protocol ensures that these players are handled according to established procedures and that progress is evaluated based on relevant KPIs. Interference starts with a call and email, informing the player of recent activity, useful tools or other assistance. If needed, the player can be limited, blocked and/or referred to professional help. All employees who interact with customers complete regular training on responsible gaming, and prior to becoming an agent in customer support, responsible gaming or AML, an assessment has to be made of the knowledge needed to provide players with relevant support. The responsible gaming department receives continuous internal and external training, including by Gamcare, the leading UK provider of information, advice and support for anyone affected by gambling harms, developing skills on motivational interactions and conversations with at-risk customers.
During the last year, we focused on strengthening our collaboration with higher education and charities to promote research, education and treatment (RET).
Aspire Global aims to support academic research while simultaneously increasing our knowledge of the research findings on harm minimization and ways to improve the company’s communications to increase their effectiveness vis-à-vis end users.
Aspire Global and Bournemouth University have formalized intention for Aspire Global to be an official collaborator in the Bournemouth University’s Erogamb II project, contributing to this research project with anonymized data. The project focuses on developing and evaluating the approach of sending feedback to end-users, focused on the effect of the use of different design patterns for information transparency around games in order to keep players in control. The project is hosted by the Engineering and Social Informatics research group (ESOTICS) in the Department of Computing and Informatics and the Department of Psychology, along with input from other academic departments, funded jointly by Bournemouth University and other collaborators.
Aspire Global was an official supporter of Safer Gambling Week (SGW) UK, November 1-7, showcasing responsible gambling banners and messages throughout the week on the homepage of our UK facing partners’ sites and B2C sites. Our participation is part of a commitment to promote a responsible culture and support players to make informed choices, so they gamble more safely and have a positive overall gaming experience. While we provide information and assistance every day of the year, during SG Week we are even more visible to players by displaying official SG Week material (banner/image) on the website. This year, we hosted a YouTube LIVE talk form Aspire Global headquarters during SGW with Bournemouth University on research in safer gambling.
Ethical marketing is about advertising: phrasing, layout, frequency, target Groups, channels and location of campaigns. This applies to B2C marketing as well as B2B brands managed by partner operators. In addition to complying with local regulations and codes, Aspire Global has a strict marketing policy to avoid public exposure and minimize the influence on minors and other vulnerable groups. For instance, marketing material should not appeal to children. For this reason, the use of popular characters and personalities is forbidden. For the same reason, campaigns are not allowed to be displayed or distributed in public spaces, including public transportation.
Aspire Global uses an affiliate monitoring compliance tool to enable better oversight and detect publishers linking to our brands. The software scans tens of millions of pages each month and follows every link to detect how the brand is being marketed. It analyses links, text and images, reporting potentially non-compliant content, outdated offers, incorrect marketing assets and harmful vocabulary. One of the main tasks of the account manager and compliance manager is to actively dialogue with partners, providing them with routines, tools and support to manage marketing activities according to the Company’s corporate policy for
responsible marketing and advertising.
Use innovative technology like machine learning and AI to increase efficiency and optimize tools as part of the responsible gaming identification process.
Continue and set up new RET collaborations in research, education and treatment, contributing to safer gambling.
Be a leader in player sustainability by using smart technology in combination with proactive interaction to minimise any harm done to endusers the seek entertainment by gambling via our operations