In June, the Gambling Commission released its latest findings on the information needs of gambling consumers. This explores consumer attitudes towards receiving information from gambling companies, as well as the first-hand experiences that consumers have had. The research also focuses on how the provision of information could be improved by gambling operators.
Fieldwork for Gambling Commission’s Consumer Voice research was first conducted in 2019. Since then, there have been various policy changes across a wide variety of areas. Updates were made to the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP), which now prohibits excessive ID requirements for withdrawals or unclear wagering requirements in offers. They also introduced a ban on gambling with credit cards.
These changes affected the progress of the research, but the Gambling Commission was eventually able to deliver its findings to the public.
Key issues
One of the crucial findings from the research was that many gamblers select their favourite firms based on their reputations. Gambling operators that seem more trustworthy will be used more frequently by players.
Familiarity with a preferred business, ease of play or the usability to play, and a low desire to switch to new businesses also influenced players’ decisions. While there was a small minority of players who actively engaged with multiple gambling businesses, the vast majority of participants lacked trust in themselves, as they felt that having multiple accounts could lead them to gambling far more than they would like.
These findings also raised concerns about transparency. While 76 percent of participants said transparency was important for the gambling companies they use, only 20 percent remembered seeing information that indicates that the brand is trustworthy. However, most gamblers don’t feel that they need further information despite these gaps; only 12 percent of respondents felt that they needed additional information.
The Gambling Commission also found that the biggest group in need of enhanced or more targeted information was the low gambling literacy group. Information about managing gambling in low literary groups has now become a top priority by the governing body, which wants operators to step up their efforts in protecting them from harmful play.
Opportunities for improvement
These findings demonstrate that there is a clear opportunity to improve transparent communication with players. This has the capacity to build trust with consumers and strengthen company reputations.
The Gambling Commission has advised operators to place emphasis on delivering information around specific targeted actions, for example, setting timeouts or deposit limits, at the right time and in the right place. If this information fails to be delivered, an operator may seem less trustworthy than others.
This is even more crucial for customers who fall into the low literacy group. Low gambling literacy groups recognise a greater need for information provision, particularly given their heavier play. They are more likely to find information about managing gambling more helpful than other players, which potentially presents a gap that could be filled.
It’s also important to focus on customer interactions, and how they can result in a positive or negative experience for the player. Gambling firms need to consider the impact that their interactions have upon customers, and whether they meet individual consumer needs.
This can have a huge effect on whether an individual player will trust a gambling brand. When stories of gambling industry fines make their way into the news, this chips away at the trust and transparency that operators are trying to build.
If firms are serious about restoring customer faith, they will need to invest in smart, customer-focused tools that offer individualised support to players.
And this is something we can help operators with.
Building trust
Rdentify harnesses the power of innovative machine learning and linguistics research to spot behavioural patterns associated with vulnerable players in real time. This enables customer service agents to quickly detect customer risks, and provide the appropriate signposting to players. This is particularly effective for low literacy groups, who may require additional support during heavier play.
Customer service managers can then audit team live chats and emails to ensure that they are properly interactive with high-risk customers. Meanwhile, compliance teams can evaluate responsible gaming performance to ensure regulatory requirements are met accordingly.
Consistent use of Rdentify will therefore boost your reputation as a customer-first operator, demonstrating to both regulators and consumers that your brand can be trusted and depended on.
Operators that are serious about building trust with consumers have the opportunity to reap the rewards of innovative risk software. By utilising our customer risk technology, gambling firms have a real opportunity to uphold the credentials of their business.
If you’d like to learn more about how you can strengthen your firm’s reputation, reach out to our expert team or book a demo today.