Kindred Cuts Harmful Gambling Income and Publishes Findings

Project Zero is on track as Kindred Group proudly reveals their statistics for the third quarter of 2021. The financial results for Q3 shows that Kindred’s revenue share from harmful gambling decreased with a full percentage point. Compared to the 4.3% during Q2, the group’s revenue share dropped to 3.3%.

The group’s determination and commitment to create a sustainable gambling industry geared them toward this project and, in January, they announced their phenomenal goal to achieve a 0% revenue from harmful gambling by December 2023. They vowed to enable transparent and fact-based dialogue, as well as publishing their results every quarter.

Henrik Tjärnström, Kindred Group’s CEO, expresses his satisfaction with the results:

"We are pleased to see that the percentage of revenue coming from harmful gambling has decreased. Whilst we welcome this decrease, we do understand that we still have to work hard to further decrease this number. In line with our roadmap, our operational teams have worked to implement more proactive customer interactions, and this has resulted in an increase in the use of control tools to help customers stay in control."

In Q2, the group had an increase in revenue from harmful gambling and they attributed this to the fact that their detection system improved, therefore reflecting more accurate figures.

 Using Psychology to Make Online Gambling Safer

Maris Catania, Head of Responsible Gambling and Research at Kindred, in collaboration with Prof. Mark Griffiths, from Nottingham Trent University, launched a research study where they applied criteria for gambling addiction to observed online gambling behaviour.

Catania and her PhD tutor applied the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) to the information they gathered from a pool of 982 anonymous UK customers, registered with Unibet. They published the outcomes in a peer-reviewed paper on 11 October and showed over 34% of the users were at-risk gamblers, divided into three different categories.

"To limit harmful gambling, the behaviour has to be identified in the first place. Our research provides Kindred with actual examples of the types of behaviour engaged in by problem gamblers, which could be used by the player protection team to identify potential markers of harm."

The wonderful thing about well programmed algorithms is the quality of data it produces. Thanks to their proprietary early detection program, Kindred could provide extremely important data for application in this research program. The DSM-5 criteria for gambling addiction includes 9 behavioural symptoms linked to gambling disorder. These include preoccupation, tolerance, withdrawal, loss of control, escapism, chasing, lying, risking significant relationships, and bailout.

Kindred’s PS-EDS (Player Safety Early Detection System) has over 20 measurable data features relating to 8 of these symptoms. The behaviour that does not form part of the system is lying because it is tricky to pinpoint lies online.

Project Zero includes research projects and publishing the results to increase the transparency of information through empirical studies.

 Prevention is Better Than Cure

The fact remains that early intervention is the most effective way to curb reckless gambling. Kindred’s highly technical methods detect early signs that allow them to intervene and help customers regain control. If you or a loved one display any of the mentioned behaviours toward gambling, there are platforms like GAMCARE and GAMSTOP to help you.