The importance of customer data in RG strategies
Ian Perrygrove, chief risk officer at kwiff, touches on the need for a shared framework on data to create the best safer gambling practice
Consumer goods and energy prices appear to be pushing inflation higher and the Chancellor, at the time of writing, stated the UK is now in a recession. These circumstances impact everyone differently, but it’s unlikely that anyone is completely immune to such economic turmoil; and a growing portion of the population are expected to be impacted hugely by a spike in the cost of living which is now being consistently referred to as crisis.
People are being forced to make some tough decisions on how they spend their money, so in this financial doom and gloom, and with many having to tighten their proverbial belts, gambling is not going to be the thing that someone would prioritise. Yet, there will be people that wish to continue playing, perhaps attracted to taking a punt for the World Cup or more dangerously to escape from the harsh reality in dreaming of a big financial windfall. We are all now very attuned to risks with that latter kind of play, but identifying it rapidly is not without its challenges.
The global impact of Covid and now the cost-of-living crisis is often stated to be the reasons that we are in a period where regulatory scrutiny is intense and player protection is highly enforced. Regardless of the root of it, we at kwiff have learned a lot from our own past and we use such lessons to seek ways to continuously improve how we monitor players’ behaviour and act to limit any harm. We operate in an extremely experienced and well-versed sector and so we all know that the variables to gambling-related harm are no longer one simple metric manifested in how much a player loses in a session. We’ve known that fact for a long time, but perhaps we’ve not been very good at communicating what we’ve been doing way above and beyond that to the right people.
The regulatory requirements of UK operators appear to remain in a limbo, with some 2022 customer interactions guidance paused at the last minute, and the future legislative position still pending. The unsurprising confusion this causes does not give the industry a carte blanche in social responsibility because there are still overarching blanket requirements being enforced where regulatory guidance remains absent, so we shall remain vigilant to changes in our players’ circumstances which may make them susceptible to harm.
The kwiff approach is within our own technology and in-house data. In having our own platform, we have an enormous potential to analyse deeper and act strongly. Every tiny piece of data we hold should be considered for how it could be used to make fast judgements on our players to better help them.
We are very wary of players in the first 24 hours after registration when our datasets on them are limited and therefore, we would not have yet established behavioural patterns or trends. It is at this stage that we invest in third parties to garner as much additional data as possible to highlight any risks that we cannot see from that initial activity.
Just like our marketing and sales teams, in safer gambling teams, we like to see a player with longevity because as the player continues to play with us, we can build data on their patterns of behaviour. This in turn makes it easier to identify when an abnormality in their activity appears and can consequently, lead us to action. Our platform blends our own data and that of third parties so that we can focus our resources on those players that need it most to mitigate any risk.
It is our responsibility to be aware of how the current environment affects our players and their gambling behaviour. With opportunities like the World Cup to attract new punters to the kwiff platform, and, in view of the risks that the financial and political climate brings to the table, we employ our best endeavours to use the technology we have built to detect problem gambling and act on time to protect players and the industry.
Ian Perrygrove is kwiff’s chief risk officer with 15 years’ regulatory experience in the gambling industry, 12 of which were at the UK Gambling Commission. Kwiff is a revolutionary sports betting and casino product, with modern smart technology at its core, giving players a personalised supercharged gaming experience like no other.