British Columbia Lottery Corporation. Case Study. Player-Focused Responsible Gambling Programming

Transcription

1 British Columbia Lottery Corporation Case Study Player-Focused Responsible Gambling Programming August 2009

2 Introduction 2005 marked the beginning of BCLC s journey to promote informed choice among gaming facility patrons with a new type of interaction and personal approach. The first two Responsible Gambling Information Centres, now called GameSense Info Centres, opened in two of British Columbia s busiest casinos as a pilot. Based on its success, the program quickly grew to incorporate every casino and community gaming centre in the province, with 29 dedicated staff. By 2009, BCLC introduced the GameSense brand -- representing the sum of our most successful player-focused initiatives, further prompting players to participate in defining their own concept of responsible play. Facilitating the public s understanding of gambling issues what it means, how it affects us, and why it shapes one s responsible gambling habits individuals now finds themselves able to fully engage with their own playing experiences. The aggressive expansion of the GameSense Info Centres laid the foundation for BCLC s serious commitment to demonstrating its social responsibility through innovative playerfocused programs, policies, support and education. The program also promoted a more in depth partnership and collaboration with the Government of British Columbia through a unique co-management model, and with gaming service partners by becoming synonymous with their day-to-day operations. Throughout this case study, BCLC examines its operations of the GameSense Info Centres and how the GameSense brand is brought to life through real life interactions with players and gaming facility staff. Background Since inception over 30 years ago, BCLC has evolved from a lottery company to an organization that conducts, manages and operates lottery, casino, Chances and community gaming and egaming in British Columbia. Our employees and private sector business partners are proud of the gaming experience we provide and the resulting net income generated for public, charitable and community programs. Everything we do is done with consideration of its impact on and for the people and communities of British Columbia. Demonstrating socially responsible practices and developing and operating responsible gambling programming is one of BCLC s four corporate goals. In 2005, BCLC heard that a Responsible Gambling Information Centre was successfully being piloted in Ontario. Initial reviews of the program were positive, resulting in joint BCLC and BC Government discussions about a made-in-bc version of the program. A partnership between BCLC and the provincial government s Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch was established to create the first two centres at River Rock Casino in Richmond and Edgewater Casino in Vancouver. The pilot solidified the main objective of the program: to communicate with customers in a meaningful way for the purpose of responsible and problem gambling education and support. The centres had humble beginnings with two small booths slightly obscured from the main view on the gaming floors. Two professional contractors with backgrounds in addictions counselling regularly staffed the booths and competed with other exciting entertainment options to provide education to those who requested it. Despite the challenges, the program 2

3 gained interest from both players and staff recording more than 6,500 interactions in the first year. Since the pilot, centres have expanded and evolved in design and approach. Currently, all 17 casinos operate full time staffed centres, and all 14 community gaming centres operate selfserve interactive booths. GameSense Info Centres (GSIC) provide information and education to players in an open, approachable environment, in order to foster healthy choices with regards to gaming entertainment. Ultimately, our goal is to take a proactive approach by preventing problem gambling behaviours from developing. Professional contractors, known as GameSense Advisors (GSA), staff the centres and provide education on gaming and responsible play strategies. They also provide support to casino staff to reinforce Appropriate Response Training principles, assistance in addressing issues related to problem gambling and support for completion of the voluntary self-exclusion process and referrals to assistance. With all GameSense Info Centres in operation, they are also fully complemented with 25 GameSense Advisors and five Team Leaders who oversee day-to-day management by region. Development and Implementation With the plan to introduce GameSense Info Centres to every casino and community gaming centre, BCLC took a standardized and phased approach to development. Casino locations were custom-built with an array of furniture and equipment options, while the community gaming centre versions were built as standardized free-standing booths. Development at casinos began with choosing a location on or near the gaming floor, with good visibility from entrances and the cash cage. Many gaming service partners accommodated the installation by relocating gaming machines and other equipment to ensure there was the required space. Each casino location is equipped with comfortable furniture, including leather armchairs and stools, and standing height counters. Interactive tools include a self-serve touch screen kiosk, a computer preset with a variety of specialized web sites, and a slot machine tutorial. A variety of brochures and posters can also be found. For the community gaming centre, BCLC hired a third-party designer to build a self-serve model that could be easily displayed at any facility. The result was a 6 x 8 oval booth that could hold several posters and brochures, the preset computer and self-serve touch screen kiosk. All community gaming centre booths were pre-assembled and delivered to each facility for easy installation. 3

4 Operations With the opening of each new GameSense Info Centre, BCLC, through its partnership with the BC Government s Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch (GPE), was tasked with establishing a co-management model for day-to-day operations and maintaining appropriate staffing levels for each site. BCLC is responsible for day-to-day GameSense Info Centre management and operations, while GPE is responsible for GameSense Advisor (GSA) contract management and administration. In partnership, the two organizations manage: - GSA operational matters (i.e., scheduling, staffing issues) - Onsite GSA promotional programming - Gaming staff training delivery (i.e., Appropriate Response Training and Making a Difference: Voluntary Self-Exclusion Training) - Professional development for GSAs - Program reporting/evaluation - Recruitment Co-Management: Overview of roles & responsibilities Role BCLC Director of Corporate Social Responsibility & GPE Director of Responsible Gambling Strategy BCLC Manager, Responsible Gambling GPE Program Coordinator, RG Strategy Responsibilities Overall strategic program decisions Day-to-day management Gaming staff training delivery GSIC technical requirements/operations BCLC and GameSense communication Program reporting/evaluation GSA recruitment and placement GSA contract management Program reporting/evaluation GSA recruitment and placement BCLC Regional Team Leaders Delivery of BCLC s onsite RG programs Gaming staff training facilitation GSA mentorship and onsite supervision Coordinates GSA schedules with gaming facility management Primary liaison between onsite management, BCLC and GPE regarding centre s day-to-day operations GameSense Advisors Facility-based responsible gambling education (BCLC) Training and support for gaming staff (co-facilitation of ART, VSE) Referral for problem gambling related issues VSE support 4

5 Player Focus Five Regional Team Leaders and 25 GameSense Advisors (GSAs) work to build and maintain key relationships with gaming service partner management staff at each venue. The GSAs staff the GameSense Info Centres in a flexible manner to reach as broad a base of regular players at the facility as possible. While staffing the centres, each GSA strives to: 1. Facilitate balanced and informed participation in gaming activities by: - Interacting with customers to provide information on how games of chance work (randomness, house advantage, odds, payouts, etc.) - Providing information on responsible gambling strategies and promoting safe gambling practices. - Providing information, support and referrals to customers who may be experiencing problems. 2. Enhance responsible gambling knowledge and skills within the gambling industry by: - Providing assistance to Security personnel during the Voluntary Self-Exclusion program enrollment process. - Consulting with casino staff to resolve situations where customers may be in distress. - Facilitating Appropriate Response Training and VSE Training for gaming facility staff. - Tracking and reporting customer interactions. 3. Increase public awareness of gambling issues, services, and risk management strategies by providing responsible gambling information in the community. Customer Interactions Keeping track of the meaningful conversations GSAs have with customers and staff is an integral part of the GameSense Info Centre s ongoing evaluation. This type of analysis is done to learn ways to better connect with and inform patrons about responsible gambling practices and strategies, and to determine the future programming and staffing needs of each GameSense Info Centre. In February 2008, BCLC launched a web-based data collection system to create an easy tool for logging customer interactions. The tool allows for tracking of time of day clients engage a GSA, reasons for interactions and resulting actions, and demographics of GSIC visitors (i.e., apparent age of visitor, gender, location, primary language). In a recent report, which examined data recorded from January 1, 2009 through June 30, 2009: 6,543 customer interactions were logged, resulting in 25,349 actions by centre staff (more than one action can result from an interaction) Customers were: 51.9% male 38.7% female 5.6% couples and 3.8% mixed (male & female) groups The majority (51.4%) of the centres customers were over the age of fifty Many customers (33.5%) engage in discussions with centre staff about responsible gambling. Top recorded reasons for discussions: Game information: Odds of winning (16.9%) Game information: How games are played (14.9%) 5

6 Problem gambling information or assistance (12%) Discussions about Voluntary Self Exclusion are also recorded: Assisted in VSE sign up process (3.1%) Provided information about VSE (6.6%) Assisted with VSE breach (0.8%) During the data collection period (Jan/09 to Jun/09), it s important to note the following: The program underwent an extensive recruitment process as additional centres opened in December 2009, completing an installation at every casino in BC. The year began with only 11.5 GSA contracts, staffing 12 centres, mostly in the Lower Mainland. By June, the staffing complement more than doubled to 25 GSA contracts, staffing 14 casinos full time. The remaining 3 casinos had intermittent coverage only. There were two phases of hiring and training: Feb/09 for Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island sites and Mar/09 for Okanagan sites. Promotional Programming All GameSense Info Centres, staffed or unstaffed, are designed to encourage guests to explore, access and interact with information at their own leisure or engage in conversation with a knowledgeable GSA. Attracting gaming facility customers is an ongoing challenge for the GSA. All centres feature interactive tools where guests can test their knowledge or learn more about how slot machines work; but keeping content fresh and interesting to compete with the many entertainment options already available within the casino is paramount to the program s success. Although the program has only recently had a full complement of centre staff, promotional programming is underway: Upon completing the installation of each centre, a media event was held onsite. Resulting coverage was aired on local radio and published within local community papers. Staff orientations are conducted onsite to showcase new tools or services available at the centre. During the month of June 2009, GameSense Advisors and BCLC RG Team Leaders reached out to more than 2,000 gaming staff to provide an overview of GameSense messaging through onsite promotional programming designed specifically for staff. A public media launch of the GameSense program was held at the Villa Casino s centre on June 24, 2008 to introduce new GameSense PSAs, set to air on BC television stations. The story was featured in major BC papers and radio stations, in addition to several online publications. As a pilot educational program at Villa Casino s GameSense Info Centre, a slot machine was disassembled and branded with GameSense to demonstrate how the machine works and the concept of randomness. The demonstration has proved to be popular with customers and plans to roll out seven more machines to various GSICs is underway. Electronic signage within the casino displays information about the centres on rotation. Messages vary from information about odds to a call to action to visit the centre and speak with a GSA. In addition, several giveaways, such as pens, key chains, note pads and foam dice, are branded with GameSense. GSAs use these items to encourage conversation about responsible gambling. 6

7 Challenges and Priorities Although there is significant work being done in the area of responsible gambling awareness and programming, there is a need to further engage players and the public in the meaning of responsible play. In part, BCLC s ability to offer entertaining and informative responsible gambling programming within the GameSense Info Centres will be significant in creating interest in the subject. Over the next year, BCLC will focus efforts on continuous player-focused programming offered through the centres. For example: System upgrades for equipment such as the interactive self-serve touch screen terminal and computer. Professional development to keep GSAs up-to-date on current best practices. Development of a tool box of strategies and conversation starters to improve ability to attract players to the centre. Improvement of onsite advertising of the centre s services. Continuous updating to the centre s messaging, signage and brochures. Tie-in with BC Gold Card promotions. The success of these programs, however, will be dependent on continuous positive connections and relationship building between facility staff, GSAs and BCLC RG Team Leaders. 7