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Focal to Address Safer Gambling and Harm Prevention at Leading Australian Research Conference

For Immediate Release

Halifax, NS: October 16th,  2023 –

Focal Research Consultants Limited announced today that President Tracy Schrans and Director of Safer Gambling and Stakeholder Engagement Jay Robinson will present at this year’s National Association for Gambling Studies conference, November 15th-17th in Adelaide, South Australia.

Schrans will share Focal’s latest research on risky play sessions versus at-risk players. “Traditionally, responsible gambling strategies have prioritized helping those experiencing difficulties due to their gambling, but what if there was a way to normalize safer gambling for ALL customers,” says Schrans. “During my presentation, ‘Moving Upstream: Safer Gambling and Harms Prevention Using Technologies and Player Data,’ I will share how we can extend player protection to all those who gamble – moving risk detection and safer gambling action further upstream to prevent the development of gambling harms.”  

With this year’s conference focusing on understanding the financial side of gambling and its practical and policy implications, Robinson will deliver a pre-conference workshop on understanding harm betting and game-specific harm reduction strategies that people who gamble – recreational and otherwise – can use in-play to prevent financial harm. 

Robinson says, “I look forward to exploring these harm minimization strategies in an interactive workshop. “Smart betting and safer gambling: Gambling Literacy where it matters most” will encourage greater awareness and confidence in communicating gambling literacy that is game-specific, relevant to the player’s needs, and useful in a harm reduction approach. Also, during the conference, I will move attendees through a thought-provoking talk on how we can move the ambulance from the bottom of the hill and prevent gambling harms through interactions with customers.”