Investment in research around responsible gaming is key to our continued education and commitment to providing best-in-class experiences and programs, as well as to ensuring a sustainable industry.
The International Center for Responsible Gaming (ICRG) announced that it had received a $180,000 grant from BetMGM to support its research and education efforts into responsible gambling.
ICRG is also focused on the impact advertising has on problem gambling.
“We are pleased to accept this historic contribution from BetMGM,” ICRG President Arthur Paikowsky said Tuesday. “Findings from this evidence-based research study will allow us to better identify potential risks and guide best practices for the gaming industry. We commend BetMGM for partnering with us to better inform the public, operators, regulators, legislators, and the media.”
Richard Taylor, Senior Manager of Responsible Gaming at BetMGM, added that “investment into research around responsible gaming is key to our continued education and commitment to providing best-in-class experiences and programs, as well as to ensuring a sustainable industry.
“This groundbreaking research will not only provide valuable learnings to BetMGM but will also serve as a guide for the industry and key stakeholders,” Taylor said.
The $180,000 donation from BetMGM is one of five large donations the ICRG received in 2022. Combined, the five donations exceed $1.5 million.
Sands, formerly Las Vegas Sands, donated $300,000 to the organization in February. ICRG said the donation would fund three first-of-its-kind projects:
- Talking to Children about Gambling, a research-based guide designed to reduce youth gambling
- A website focused on reducing gambling problems among college students
- Training credit counselors to identify clients with gambling problems and offer support
In March, ICRG received a $250,000 grant from MGM Resorts International — which owns 50% of BetMGM — as part of the company’s efforts to promote Problem Gambling Awareness Month. Two months later, the organization received a $200,000 grant from the Caesars Foundation.
Both MGM and Caesars said they had made the donations to ICRG in order to support its “research and education on gambling disorder and responsible gambling.”
Bally’s Corporation made an even bigger splash in August when it donated $600,000 to the organization. ICRG said the funding from Bally’s would “support multi-year, cutting-edge scientific research on gambling among young adults and the usage and effectiveness of responsible gambling tools.
“The ICRG will invite scientists from around the world to apply for these grants in a rigorous competition that ensures funding only the highest quality research,” it added at the time of the Bally’s donation.
“The ICRG will also sponsor programming that will extend the research findings of these projects beyond academia and provide guidelines to the gaming industry for effective responsible gambling strategies.”
Earlier this month, a study conducted by researchers at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) and commissioned by the ICRG found several factors can affect how often a person gambles. The factors include a person’s sex, age, religiosity, income, and whether they live in a jurisdiction with legal sports betting.
The BGSU study was published in JAMA Network Open, a journal of the American Medical Association. Funding was supplied by the ICRG, MGM, and Caesars, as well as the American Gaming Association (AGA), DraftKings, NASCAR, Hard Rock International, IGT, the PGA Tour, and Entain — which owns the other 50% of BetMGM.
