EPIC join forces with Mindway AI to enhance player protection
A combination of artificial intelligence, neuroscience, lived experience and best-in-class training is set to allow much earlier identification of potential problematic gambling behaviours, thanks to a new partnership between EPIC Risk Management and Mindway AI.
The two organisations share an overlapping client base, and as such will be prioritising the roll-out of their new joint service to gambling operators, providing technological solutions that can identify potentially harmful behaviour in players’ activity much sooner than existing monitoring methods.
Mindway AI’s existing technological solution will be enhanced by EPIC Risk Management’s globally-renowned training services to provide better overall levels of player protection within online gambling platforms.
“At Mindway AI, our mission is to empower gambling operators to enhance player protection,” explains Rasmus Kjaergaard, CEO of Mindway AI.
“We do this in our innovative and sophisticated solutions for detection of at-risk and problem gambling, which are scientific-based and include artificial intelligence (AI), neuroscience and human safer gambling psychologists’ assessments.
“Problem gambling is a complex matter, not something you can determine by a few simple indicators. Moreover, when it comes to problem gambling there is no sole indicator of such in any data set. We’ve come across this challenge by developing our patent pending ‘Virtual Psychologist’ approach, combining AI with assessments and human safer gambling experts, clinical psychologists, and researchers.
“We not only rely on computational power when it comes to AI, but also a human twist. This approach has been tested and validated by GLI with a very high result in terms of accuracy.
“With this partnership between EPIC and Mindway AI, we intend to bring enhanced player protection to the fore, as EPIC provides best-in-class training of gambling operators’ employees; crucial for a fully tailored and optimal use of our solutions, for the greatest benefit of the players.”
The benefits of such a system are immediately apparent to EPIC Risk Management’s director of safer gambling, Dan Spencer, who has his own lived experience of gambling harm to call upon when helping to provide high-quality training solutions to operators.
“Mindway AI are a company that we’ve admired for a while now,” he explained.
“Two years ago I took part in a demonstration of their products and was impressed immediately.
“As an ex-gambler in recovery from addiction, I saw that this technology could well have identified my own harmful behaviours at a much earlier point in my journey.
“Our team at EPIC deliver programmes in training and consultancy; early intervention and interaction with players is the mantra we live by and we knew that Mindway AI could help with this.
“EPIC have been utilised to put lived experience context behind the at-risk players identified by Mindway’s Gamescanner software, so we will now go forward to co-design risk assessment training to back this up in a ‘first-of-its-kind’ innovation.
“We are two class-leading premium providers of solutions to gambling-related issues and have recognised one another’s genuine potential to make a difference to the long-standing issue of gambling-related harm. By joining forces, we can provide a bespoke world-class product to operators to potentially negate such problems.”
Paul Buck, CEO of EPIC Risk Management, has further endorsed the partnership, adding:
“EPIC is dedicated to the prevention of gambling-related harm. We were the first to put lived experience at the heart of all we do and we continue to do that nine years later with globally leading training, awareness, education and consultancy.
“We are always looking to innovate and improve our services, and a partnership with Rasmus and his team at Mindway brings technology and AI to the forefront of our efforts alongside our independently accredited training, including ‘Interactions Masterclass’ which is being used across Tier 1 operators.”
EPIC Risk Management provide sector-leading training and consultancy for digital and retail bookmakers, casinos, game designers, affiliates and other gambling industry professionals.
The company’s ‘Interactions Masterclass’ – which trains staff at gambling operators from customer service level through to senior management in player protection best practice – has recently been updated to reflect the UK Gambling Commission’s updated guidelines on protecting customers from risk of harm and is delivered to partners worldwide.
