Birches Health CEO and founder Elliott Rapaport spoke to PlayUSA on how the company is helping to advocate responsible gambling across the United States through online educational and learning resources and treatment from licensed behavioral health specialists.

Birches Health is a partner of Sporttrade, BettorEdge and SaharaBets in the United States.

“Birches Health is proud to work with state governments, professional leagues, teams, operators and fantasy platforms nationally to ensure access to problem gambling treatment, as well as the latest in responsible gaming resources, education and learning modules,” Rapaport said.

An example of this is through the BettorEdge app, which allows players to access Birches Health’s responsible gambling resources directly. BettorEdge platforms feature a self-assessment test and education provided by Birches Health. The responsible gambling company also designs custom services to promote awareness, prevention, treatment and recovery services for Sporttrade.

“Integrating treatment and resources like those in the Birches Health platform early in the user journey is crucial to providing a healthy, responsible user experience,” Rapaport said. “While not all users, and, of course, a minority of individuals engaged in gambling in the U.S., will end up seeking out these resources, it should be a focus of operators to make them available through many apertures across their platforms.”

Rapaport recently spoke to CDC Gaming Reports and encouraged players to gamble responsibly during the NBA Finals, pointing to account tools many U.S. sportsbooks provide and general advice for gamblers to follow.

“While each regulating body has its nuances, we have been fortunate to see and support significant cross-functional conversation,” Rapaport said. “There’s a long way to go in reducing the potential for gambling harm, but we feel significant strides can be made through conscientious dialogue and respectful communication.”

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