1xCare: safer gambling research under the microscope

Research into gambling is one of the most important aspects of developing sound policy on player protection, both for regulators setting boundaries and for operators rolling out measures. Only when presented with empirical evidence of facts and behavioural trends can those parties develop solutions that ultimately serve the players in a healthy and sustainable way. That is something that 1xCare has championed through its commitment to producing research into player protection. 1xCare commissioned SBC Media to produce a short series of snapshot trends reports, the second of which has been published recently. Global Trends In Safer Gambling Research examines the current status quo for academic research into player protection and asks whether researchers’ relationship with both industry and the third sector puts work at jeopardy. Simon Westbury, Chairman of the Board at 1xCare, told SBC News, said: “Without research, a safer gambling tool is an assumption. Research tells you who is at risk in each market and which interventions reduce harm. It also gives regulators evidence they can test, rather than claims they must take on trust.” What does the Global Trends In Safer Gambling Research report cover? First of all, the report summarises what research into safer gambling has taken place in the last few years across multiple global regions. From Europe to Latin America, via Africa and Asia, the report asks whether research is sufficient to understand the nuances in different markets. It also seeks if the level of regulation in each region is correlated with the level of research being conducted. The report then investigates the source of funding for the various pieces of research across the globe. Looking at the UK, Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa and Asia, it looks at the key institutions and funding, main disciplines of research and identifies requirements for alternative funding sources. Various voices from across the globe were quizzed on the independence of safer gambling research. Leading experts from the world of academia were asked for their views on how their work is impacted by the industry; meanwhile, experienced executives who have represented some of the world’s biggest operators in the world have also contributed to the report to offer their opinion. Finally, the report looks ahead by analysing where the main and obvious gaps are in gambling research. It clearly breaks down the biggest priorities that each of the stakeholders have when it comes to research, looking at the desires of academics, operators and healthcare professionals and outlines how research can remain fully independent from interference. A glimpse of the findings A key finding from the snapshot report is that research must be conducted into how the industry can move from merely identifying markers of harm to actually making interventions at an early stage. Both operators and academics identified this gap, noting that the industry is proficient at identifying the markers of harm but hasn’t yet bridged the gap of taking robust action before harm occurs. Sally Gainsbury of the University of Sydney said: “We know that a lot more people will experience low to moderate risk of harm and also this is a group that needs to be prevented from developing gambling problems. I’d like to see a shift towards harm prevention, not just identification.” Meanwhile, Peter Marcus, a former operations lead at a global operator added: “Using those models were fine to identify potential problem gamblers or people that could go into problem gambling. That was not the hard bit. The hard bit was what do we do with them? What do we do for them? You can self-exclude all of them, but that’s not going to fix anything.” Readers can download Global Trends in Safer Gambling Research by heading to the landing page on SBC News to discover a comprehensive regional breakdown of global research trends and a practical framework for independent research collaboration. The report is the second of three industry trends snapshot reports. The first – Shaping the Future of Player Education – is available to download now, meanwhile, the third snapshot report – Is Gambling Ready For A More Holistic Approach To Wellbeing – will be available in December 2026. Sissel Weitzhandler, a member of the 1xCare Advisory Committee, outlined that research is essential to 1xCare’s core objectives. “We have committed to commissioning our first projects with reputable institutions, publishing an open-access insight report and setting up a small grants programme,” she added. “Everything we support will be published in full, as transparency is very important to 1xCare.