A lot of “uninformed decisions” are still being made in the gaming industry according to Arthur Paikowsky, President and Secretary of the International Centre for Responsible Gambling (ICRG).

Paikowsky offered these insights while speaking to Jessica Welman, Editor of SBC Americas, during an SBC Webinar celebrating 25 years of the ICRG.

“If it doesn’t sound right, people think that’s enough to create regulation and legislations,” Paikowsky explained. 

“Advertising would be a good example of that. I don’t think there’s been a depth of research on [whether] advertising contributes to problem gambling. There’s a lot of grey literature and a lot of research that frankly doesn’t meet the rigorous scientific standards of scientific research.

“You have this combination of people intuitively making decisions, which I don’t think is right or fair, and/or relying on grey literature that’s not evidence-based in the way it should be. You [also] have everything being politicised, where sometimes it’s good politics that drives decisions”

As a result of this, Paikowsky stressed the importance of the work that the ICRG is doing to “do the studies right and get the information out there” so that legislators can make decisions based on the latest scientific evidence. 

During the 40-minute conversation, Paikowsky also spoke about the funding needs of the ICRG and addressed concerns surrounding some of the organisation’s funding coming from within the gaming industry.

He said: “There a lot of people that criticise industry-funded research and it is comical, because where else is the money going to come from? The realisation by the industry that they have a level of responsibility is one of the best things that has happened. 

“[However], that also speaks to a process where there can’t be any intervention on the part of the industry. There’s no collusion and the research is sacrosanct. We focus on quality and the findings are going to be what the findings are.”

Also on the agenda during the wide-ranging discussion was the ICRG’s changing relationship with the media, what the most interesting findings have been throughout its 25-year history and the ICRG’s increased focus on research outside of North America.

You can watch the full webinar by clicking here.