By Damian Martinez, journalist at G&M News.
In April 2024, you were appointed as the first-ever CRGO at DraftKings. What are your main assignments in the position?
While my position may be new, DraftKings’ commitment to responsible gaming is not. It has been a companywide priority for years and in my role as CRGO, I am responsible for continuing to enhance DraftKings’ responsible gaming initiatives across all facets of the company and player communities. Earlier this year, DraftKings and seven other members of our industry came together as founding members of the Responsible Online Gaming Association (ROGA), an organization formed to align and coordinate the industry’s efforts to help promote best practices for responsible gaming. I will be working closely with Jennifer Shatley, ROGA’s Executive Director, to support their initiatives. Finally, I look forward to engaging in dialogue with all of the various stakeholders, including policy makers, regulators, sports leagues and research and advocacy organizations. This is a nascent industry and when it comes to responsible gaming, I am confident that we all have the same goal of protecting consumers. Educating one another and sharing information will support our progress toward that common goal.
How would you define “responsible gaming”? What topics does this term cover?
For us, the concept of responsible gaming is customers playing for fun and entertainment, so not spending more than they can afford to lose, and being prepared to cool off or stop playing altogether if they start to experience financial or personal concerns as a result of their gaming. Being the ultimate host to our customers includes empowering our customers to play responsibly. We do this in a variety of ways, including promoting and educating our customers on responsible gaming practices, making resources and tools available to set limits, track play statistics, and stop playing when it is no longer fun. We also will continue to attempt to detect potentially risky behavior and try to engage with those customers who may need additional help and resources. I have been working on consumer protection my entire career and responsible gaming in particular is a personal passion for me because I grew up watching both of my parents struggle with problem gaming. When it comes to consumer protection and promoting responsible gaming, not only is it the right thing to do, but I believe companies who truly care about their customers will outlast their competitors.
What initiatives are being promoted by DraftKings to support player protection?
DraftKings has a longstanding commitment to responsible gaming and has several resources in place to ensure players are supported with tools and safeguards. We recently rolled out our newly designed Responsible Gaming Center. It is a one stop shop for accessing information and resources, as well as our various tools for setting limits, alerts, cooling-off, and self-excluding. We also recently launched ‘My Stat Sheet,’ a new resource that gives our customers the ability to assess, track and interact with their personal activity through intuitive charts and information that will help empower them to make data-driven decisions on their own play and further promote responsible gaming. Earlier this year, DraftKings expanded its relationship with Kindbridge Behavioral Health. Through this partnership, we offer customers who self-exclude or are removed from the platform for problem gaming concerns access to comprehensive mental health assessments, care providers, and personalized care plans. This is available in every jurisdiction where DraftKings operates online sports betting and iGaming. All of this is in addition to our engagements with several organizations devoted to responsible gaming and also problem gaming research.
How to make players understand that betting is entertainment, and not a mandatory way to make money?
Something I think about every day is how best to capture the attention of all our customers and the public more generally to make sure they are aware that playing responsibly isn’t just for people who may have a problem with gaming, but rather it is something that everyone should embrace when they choose to play. As an industry, we must continue to share ideas on how best to spread that message. The vast majority of our customers at DraftKings play for fun, but when we detect that someone may be engaging in risky behavior, we proactively engage with the player encouraging responsible play.
What are the biggest challenges for the industry on responsible gaming?
Over the past six years since the Supreme Court overturned PASPA, the industry has collectively developed strong consumer protection measures. It’s critical that the various stakeholders work together -policymakers, regulators, operators, sports leagues and research and advocacy groups- to enhance and evolve our current responsible gaming tools and processes. I look forward to ROGA playing a role in this important work. Additionally, we all need to work with regulators and law enforcement to shut down illegal operators who are hiding in plain sight. These operators do not offer any responsible gaming protections and are a threat to the significant work the legally regulated operators have done and will continue to do, in educating and protecting our customers.
