About Us
Celebrating 30+ Years of Research
We are an award-winning Canadian data analytics company that uses data science and information technology for social policy, corporate social responsibility, and consumer protection purposes.
Our multichannel solutions encompass a wide range of products and services developed over 30 years to protect customers, communities and businesses from gambling risk and harm.
Our Values
Risk Management
ALeRT BETTOR Protection uses routinely stored customer data to create complex models for identifying and managing high-risk play that otherwise may not be visible to operators or customers. ALeRT provides infrastructure for monitoring risk, conducting customer interactions, and evaluating and reporting player outcomes. ALeRT can also easily incorporate other methods an operator may be using to identify risk with options for importing or uploading information from other management systems. This supports the development of a confidential central risk dashboard for monitoring and managing customer safety and compliance requirements that is independent of an operator’s marketing and sales system. Players’ risk profiles can also be easily exported to help guide and evaluate the impact of marketing practices.
Broad Coverage for Various Types of Gambling
ALeRT uses many discreet triggers when identifying customers and will work even when high-risk players try to evade detection or change their behaviour. ALeRT models include multiple algorithms and numerous indicators that allow broader coverage of high-risk behaviours specific to an operator’s players, market, and practices. Focal has built effective models for pokies, video lottery, slots, electronic roulette, table games, sports betting, racing and others for land-based and remote gambling. ALeRT is an agile solution that can be easily adapted to conform to changes in products, markets, gaming systems and compliance.
Efficient Interactions
ALeRT ensures operators are identifying and assisting the right people. The accuracy of the models allows the ALeRT system to measure and report the impact customer interactions are having in achieving improved player outcomes, something that is not possible with less effective risk detection methods.
Focal has developed a companion program, ALeRT BETTOR Customer Care, to support staff in integrating effective interactions as part of their standard customer service. The BETTOR Customer Care series was developed based on almost 10 years of experience in using the algorithms with over 32,000 customer interactions. It is intended as a supplement to an operator’s current staff training and resources. The program is comprised of five levels of interactions and 18 online lessons ranging from education for prevention purposes, to self-management strategies for risk reduction, and specialized assistance for helping those who may be experiencing harm.
Gold Standard Risk Measure
ALeRT algorithms are custom-built and tested using a gold standard risk measure such as the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) (Ferris & Wynne 2001) to identify real high-risk play patterns for real customers. This is important as the cost of failing to identify ‘real’ problem gamblers is increasing as regulators introduce fines and sanctions for non-compliance. Some problem gamblers are high spenders but most high spenders are not at risk and for others even modest amounts of money may be too much. This is also true for those who play for long periods making time and money-inefficient indicators on their own for targeting resources to high-risk players. That is why Focal Research created a large inventory of ‘Decision Indicators’ that identifies risky choices players make that lead to problems and harm regardless of how much time or money they can afford.
The use of the ALeRT technology lets staff reach out to at-risk gamblers at the right time. Identification is then linked to meaningful customer interactions, relevant resources, and referrals as part of a stepped-up customer care program.
An essential part of that program is providing customers with the right information and tools to self-assess and manage their player journey.
Focal Adult Gambling Screen (FLAGS)
In an online environment where it is not possible to directly observe Players of Interest, other methods are required to help link appropriate meaningful action to identification. The Focal Adult Gambling Screen (FLAGS) is used as a framework to develop strategic interaction models. Based on over 20 years of research published in peer reviewed journals and reports, FLAGS is made up of ten different risk and harm constructs (groupings) that can be used together to assign players to one of five player risk categories. The FLAGS constructs can also be used separately to assess specific issues players may be experiencing for strategic action. Each model is then linked to strategic interaction guidelines for direct messaging or other relevant actions targeting a customer’s specific needs. This is a revolutionary advancement in helping to address a customers particular risk and harm characteristics (e.g., impaired control, obsession, risky behaviour, or risky motivations and beliefs).
Performance
The science behind ALeRT means each model is tested so operators know how it will perform when used with their customers and performance can be verified by a third-party. It is not possible to find all problem gamblers based on play patterns or observation alone but ALeRT’s models have a high True Positive rate (i.e., accuracy) which improves operators’ efficiency in finding and helping those who are most likely to need assistance without bothering other social gamblers. Operators and their staff can feel confident that all those identified by the model are engaging in play patterns that were found most often among those who scored as problem gamblers, so if they are not having problems now they are likely to develop problems if they don’t introduce changes. ALeRT also includes low-risk models to detect responsible gambling patterns so operators can reinforce and track low-risk play.
The use of the ALeRT technology lets staff reach out to at-risk gamblers at the right time. Identification is then linked to meaningful customer interactions, relevant resources, and referrals as part of a stepped-up customer care program.
An essential part of that program is providing customers with the right information and tools to self-assess and manage their player journey.
