A B.C. centre for gambling research plans to look into the psychological characteristics linked to personal risk factors for addictive behaviours sa国际传媒� among other major programs sa国际传媒� with renewed funding from the province.
Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth announced $1.4 million toward the continued research into gambling-related harms at the Centre for Gambling Research at the University of British Columbia on Tuesday (Dec. 5). Itsa国际传媒檚 the third funding term for the centre.
sa国际传媒淏y understanding the underlying causes and consequences of gambling addiction, we aim to develop more effective strategies for its prevention, and importantly, intervention.sa国际传媒�
He added gambling doesnsa国际传媒檛 just affect individuals, but can have a devastating impact on families and communities.
The centresa国际传媒檚 exploration of modern slot machines, he said, has informed the development of the provincesa国际传媒檚 first online gambling standards, focused on player protection and minimizing the harms of internet gambling.
Centre director Luke Clarke said the funding underscores the importance oof gaining a deeper understanding of gambling harm through research on its psychological basis. The researchers, he said, have a dual objective of reducing the harm associated with gambling problems, as well as improving evidence-based gambling policy.
In the near-decade that UBCsa国际传媒檚 Centre for Gambling Research has been operating, director Luke Clarke has seen a lot of technical changes both in Canada and worldwide.
One area had been the link between gambling and video games , specifically around loot boxes, which are prizes in a video game that can be won or purchased within the game. The UBC centre was one of the first groups to work on the problem of loot boxes and gambling wordwide
sa国际传媒淥ur ongoing programs are investigating the high risk design features of modern gambling products, as well as emerging forms of gambling, including the convergence of gambling with video gaming.sa国际传媒�
Clarke added researchers also plan to work with onling gambling data from the B.C. Lottery Corporationsa国际传媒檚 Play Now, which includes sa国际传媒渁 very rich data setsa国际传媒� that can be used to examine the behavioural markers of high-risk gambling to inform risk-detection algorithms.
There is also the expansion of sports betting, Clarke said, which has sped up the process of betting.
Asked about the provincesa国际传媒檚 stance on sports gambling or ads with celebrities or athletes, Farnworth said he thinks bans are the sa国际传媒渞ight thing to do.sa国际传媒� Ontario will be banning gambling ads with athletes beginning in February 2024.
He said the province has raised concerns at the federal level sa国际传媒渙n the sheer number of ads.sa国际传媒�
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