Those with an interest in behavioral biases in online gambling and what may actually motivate people to wager are being invited to attend the next annual conference of the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) in Jamaica.

Jamaica occasion:

According to a Tuesday press release published by European Gaming Media and Events, the IAGR is due to hold its 2019 summit from September 30 to October 3 at the Half Moon Resort just north of Montego Bay where attendees will be able to hear from a range of experts including The Behavioural Insights Team’s Aisling Ni Chonaire as well as Jack Wilson from 2CV Research.

Expert advice:

The Las Vegas-headquartered organization used the press release to detail that The Behavioural Insights Team researches gambling behaviors before using its data to advise regulators, government departments and private entities designing evidence-based policies. It also explained that Aisling will be at its Jamaica conference in order to lead a keynote session where she will summarize her organization’s work and share recommendations for practitioners, governments and regulators.

Authority anticipation:

Aisling declared that she is looking forward to participating in the IAGR’s autumn event in order to give fellow attendees information on ‘the risky practices’ her organization has identified in iGaming, ‘the behavioral biases’ to which players are exposed and ways ‘to increase safer play.’

Read a statement from Aisling…

“Behavioral biases impact our lives daily, from our food choices to our savings habits or lack thereof. Our e-lives are no exception with these biases manifesting in rapidly evolving ways in online environments. As a result, we are acting more impulsively, taking more short-cuts and spending less time reflecting on our decisions online. While online gambling has grown exponentially over the past decade, the same cannot be said of the evidence base outlining what works to protect gamblers online. Over the past two years, The Behavioural Insights Team has been building this evidence base.”

Driving factors:

For his part, Wilson serves as Head of Digital for 2CV Research and will also be fronting a keynote address at the IAGR’s Jamaica conference. He stated that he has worked at length with numerous commercial gaming operators and their regulators and is currently leading a three-year qualitative research project on behalf of the United Kingdom’s Gambling Commission looking to uncover ‘what motivates people to gamble and how does gambling fit into the day-to-day life of the average person.’

Wilson’s statement read…

“Over the last few months we’ve conducted an extensive program of qualitative and digital research with over 100 people across the United Kingdom exploring what motivates people to gamble and the role it plays in their lives. We know that asking people ‘why they gamble’ is never simple. A key part of our research involved using digital research tools to capture motivations and triggers for gambling at the point of play.”