Focal Points Newsletter - December 2025
Hello,
Get ready for the September issue of Focal Points.
At the forefront is:
- Kedron-Wavell Services Club is the first to trial our real-time Focal Prevent safer gambling system.
- Our Australasian Product & Services Liaison will present Prevent’s benefits at the Regulating the Game, Pitch! event at the Sydney Opera House in March.
- We are finalists for Best Player Protection Product or System at the 2026 European Casino Awards.
- Check out our presentations from October and November at IAGR and NAGS, and see what’s coming in 2026.
Scroll down for all the details!
Read time: 4 minutes
Kedron-Wavell is the first to trial Focal Prevent – Focal’s re-imagined player protection technology, which uses live data to provide proactive support and tailored resources to guests.
A cornerstone of Kedron-Wavell’s mission is to give back to their community, and one of the critical ways they can do this is by protecting their patrons from gambling harms using Focal’s new cutting-edge technology.
Our new Products and Services Liaison, Nadine Grinblat, will present Focal Prevent at Regulating the Game’s Pitch! event on March 9th at the Sydney Opera House.
Prevent is designed to identify and help staff respond to at-risk gambling behaviours in real-time for both carded and uncarded play.
We’re delighted to share that we’ve been named a finalist for the third consecutive year for ‘Best Player Protection Product or System’ at the European Casino Awards.
We won this award in 2024 and are honoured to be selected again for our innovative evidence-based system that protects players from gambling harms.
President, Tracy Schrans, Applied Research Lead, Dr. Melissa Salmon, and Regulatory Advisor, Linda Woo, along with a video appearance from Dr. Kasra Ghaharian (UNLV), presented our latest research on session length at the IAGR conference.
We explored how venue-level gambling data supports better regulation and how academic-applied research partnerships can enhance safer gambling strategies.
Linda also joined a panel at IAGR to discuss Navigating Complexity – Tackling Key Challenges in Responsible Gambling Regulation.
Panellists examined current regulatory responses, identified potential gaps, and considered the real-world impact of these measures on player protection and market sustainability.
Tracy Schrans also presented our new model for In-Session Gambling Support at the National Association for Gambling Studies (NAGS) Conference in Brisbane this November.
She was joined at the conference by Australasian Associates Nadine Grinblat, Sonja Bauer, and Linda Woo, as well as Frank Ye, Chief Technology Officer at Focal.
At NAGS, Nadine led a panel of lived experience, academic and counselling representatives discussing fresh perspectives on harm minimisation. Meanwhile, Linda appeared on a panel about carded and cashless gaming in relation to government policy and regulations.
While in Australia, we also took the opportunity to visit some of our lovely clients and associates.
This has been a year of new insights and ground-breaking product development. Look back at all the exciting moments of 2025 and get a sneak peek at what’s coming in 2026!
As this year comes to a close, from Peggy’s Cove in snowy Atlantic Canada, we wish you a joyous holiday season and a happy New Year!
Sincerely,
The Focal Team
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Focal Research Consultants Limited
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Halifax, NS B3L 2C2
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