For many operators, responsible gaming requires a commitment to let wagerers know it is best to gamble within their means.

But the focus on responsible gaming comes to the fore in September during Responsible Education Gaming Month.

“It’s the annual moment on the calendar to discuss the industry’s year-round commitment to responsibility,” says American Gaming Association’s Senior Vice President, Strategic Communications Joe Maloney during an interview with CDC Gaming. “And ultimately, it truly is the initiative to underscore how the majority of Americans are enjoying this legal exercise, in a physical environment or digitally, and engaging in responsible play.”

RGEM emphasizes and reinforces the gaming industry’s adherence to regulatory standards regarding responsible gaming and being a steward to the communities where it is located through events, outreach, and tax payments. The month is also meant to highlight the importance of responsible gaming in marketing and advertising ventures.

RGEM also emphasizes how technology is being used to ensure that frontline employees “have all of the tools and all of the awareness to spot problematic behavior and intervene when and where it’s appropriate,” Maloney says. “Also, in the digital environment, how can we use technology to ensure that responsibility tools are attractive and that they are being adopted? From a technological standpoint, where and when does it make sense to intervene and prompt and player, perhaps to take a break or set a deposit limit.”

New this year is the Responsible Gaming Intervention Effectiveness Scale. Developed by Dr. Jonathan Ross Gilbert of Hampton University and Dr. Marla Stafford of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in association with the AGA, the scale provides academics, industry members and others interested in responsible gaming with a research-based tool they can use to evaluate responsible gaming messages.

“We’re ensuring that best practices are followed when it comes to responsibility, and responsible gaming,” Maloney says. “Whether that is in statute form or regulation form, or increasingly in external messaging, and how we communicate better that responsibility tools are for everyone. They’re not just for individuals with problems.”

Maloney has noticed that more industry figures are paying attention to RGEM. One individual told him that for the first time, they are seeing and feeling the volume of activity associated with RGEM in a pronounced way.

“I think it goes back to the opportunity, with more and more attention and excitement around this industry,” Maloney says. “The growth on the land-based side continues. Some form of gambling is permitted in 40 states. There is a feeling of momentum around RG, and everyone in the industry is continuing to step up.”

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