Home / Poker News December 2008 / Bwin and the Cambridge Health Alliance join forces in research
Bwin and the Cambridge Health Alliance join forces in research
Posted by: James Carter. - Fri, 2008-12-19 03:55
Bwin Interactive AG, Europe’s biggest online sports betting company has been working with the Division on Addictions of the Cambridge Health Alliance, a Harvard Medical School Affiliate, to detect addiction patterns among its player base and to elaborate measures meant to combat the effects of online gaming addiction for the past 3 years.
All-in-all, 47,000 Bwin customers have had their activity tracked and analyzed during that time, yielding scientifically relevant data over a significant period of time.
Bwin’s commitment to provide their customers the best possible services and to forward medical research in gambling behavior has drawn praises from Dr Howard Shaffer, Harvard Medical School’s associate professor, who is also the Director of the Division on Addictions.
Shaffer has pointed out that the data provided by Bwin is the first scientific incursion into the behavioral aspects of online gambling.
A past editor of the Journal of Gambling Studies and a recognized specialist in addictive behavior, Shaffer has also hailed Bwin’s efforts to integrate scientifically legitimate responsible gambling concepts into their business model. The self help tools available for Bwin players are quite unique in the industry for the time being.
According to Manfred Bodner, a CEO of the Austria-based online gambling company, the practical benefits of the study are extremely important for his organization. Aiming to understand the thought patterns of their customers, Manfred says their ultimate goal is to meet player’s questions with answers rooted in scientific facts rather than estimation and speculation. Based on the research done in association with the Cambridge Health Alliance, Bwin will attempt to identify risky behavior patterns in the future and to prevent problem gambling before it actually becomes a problem for the players who show a predilection for such addiction.
The two partners in research have recently announced a 5 year extension of their cooperation, which will materialize in further studies aimed at achieving Bwin’s above named goals.
Ultimately, the scientific data resulting from the research will be put to use in order to create safe online gaming and gambling environments.
