Bally’s Corporation makes $600,000 donation to the ICRG
ICRG to use six-figure sum to support research into gambling among young adults and the effectiveness of responsible gambling tools
The International Center for Responsible Gambling (ICRG), the gambling disorder research group and funding source, has announced that it has received a $600,000 (£499,212) donation from Bally’s Corporation.
Founded in 1996, the ICRG serves as the only organisation in the US dedicated to commissioning research into responsible gambling (RG), and will use the six-figure sum to support multiyear scientific studies on betting behaviour among young adults as well as the effectiveness of responsible gambling tools.
The ICRG will invite scientists from around the world to apply for this grant through a rigorous competition process that ensures the funding will only be put towards the highest-quality research. It will then also sponsor programming that extends the winning applicants’ research findings beyond academia and provide further guidelines to the gaming industry for effective responsible gaming strategies.
In addition to funding important research in the field, the donation will also be used to support several programmes designed to educate treatment providers, responsible gambling professionals, regulators and public policy makers about gambling disorders and responsible gambling best practice.
ICRG president, Arthur Paikowsky, praised Bally’s Corporation for their decision to support the organisation, saying: “With this grant, Bally’s Corporation has taken a giant stride towards understanding the health risks of young adult gamblers and improving the effectiveness of existing RG tools. The ICRG salutes Bally’s for making such an impact on the field of gambling studies.”
Robeson Reeves, president of interactive at Bally’s Corporation, added: “We take seriously our responsibility to educate the public – including young adult gamblers – and our employees about responsible gambling. We look forward to working with ICRG on cutting-edge scientific research on gambling among young adults and the usage and effectiveness of responsible gambling tools.”
In the years since its launch, ICRG research has informed the industry about the health risks of casino employees and created the only research-based website on US college gambling. Its current projects include evaluating a responsible gambling tool of self-imposed limits on time and money spent gambling and a further-reaching study into the national impact of sports wagering in the US.