When a basketball player gets hot during the NBA playoffs, a team can quickly erase a large deficit, causing losses for both pregame and in-game bettors.
Last week, the New York Knicks staged two remarkable comebacks of 20 or more points to shock the reigning NBA champions, the Boston Celtics. In the current Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Edmonton Oilers achieved a historic NHL feat by rallying in five consecutive games to secure wins. These streaks often lead to bettors chasing losses, resulting in depleted accounts. Some bettors may hurriedly deposit and reload funds using their apps.
Recently, FanDuel introduced an advanced responsible gaming tool to assist users in making informed decisions about their deposits. This tool, called Real-Time Check-In, leverages machine learning to analyze personalized deposit behavior in real time. FanDuel revealed this innovation at the SBC Summit Americas conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, coinciding with the seventh anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark PASPA ruling.
“We recognize that the deposit moment is crucial in a customer’s journey,” stated Cory Fox, the Senior Vice President of Public Policy and Sustainability at FanDuel. “Using machine learning, we can now offer enhanced support through Real-Time Check-In, encouraging customers to reflect on their deposit amounts and stick within their budget.”
Self-regulation amidst scrutiny of the industry’s ‘social license’
A congressman from New York is rallying support for a federal sports betting framework, intensifying the discourse on government regulations for deposit limits. The SAFE Bet Act proposed by US Rep Paul Tonko includes a provision addressing affordability issues, limiting operators to accepting a maximum of five deposits from a customer within a 24-hour period. At the state level, a New York state assemblyman is backing a similar initiative.
While sportsbook operators emphasize that compulsive gamblers represent a small percentage of their user base, searches for help with gambling addiction on the internet have surged.
Amidst alarming reports on compulsive gambling risks, Fox warns that the industry’s ‘social license’ could be in jeopardy. He stresses that operators must demonstrate that their platforms are sustainable for users.
This product is an extension of another responsible gaming initiative launched by FanDuel toward the end of the last NFL season. By February, around 3.5 million customers, roughly half of FanDuel’s user base, had utilized the new My Spend platform for responsible gambling.
The dashboard offers customers a detailed breakdown of their betting and deposit activities. Equipped with insights into their decisions, customers can use My Spend to manage their deposits within their financial means.
Empowering customers in decision-making
The Real-Time Check-In initiative takes this a step further by using machine learning to predict the expected daily deposit amount per customer. By analyzing data from FanDuel’s casino and sportsbook databases in North America, an estimated value is determined.
Jill Watkins, the Senior Commercial Director of Responsible Gaming at FanDuel, explains that the algorithms evaluate personalized customer data on deposits, withdrawals, bonuses, and wagering activities. These models are designed to adapt to changes in gambling volume based on the daily sports schedule.
Typically, on an NFL Sunday, a customer’s deposits are likely to be higher compared to other days of the week due to the sport’s popularity. Watkins details that FanDuel’s models account for these variations.
Most deposits tend to be lower during quiet periods in the sports calendar, like a Tuesday evening in summer. FanDuel’s models are configured to adjust for these trends, Watkins adds.
An opportunity for customers to reset their behavior
If a customer places a bet that deviates from their usual patterns, they receive an alert from FanDuel. This prompts the customer to review their spending habits, set or lower deposit limits accordingly.
During initial testing, FanDuel observed a significant number of participating customers setting deposit limits. Fox is encouraged by the awareness and control displayed by players in understanding their play. The product has been in limited testing for several months.
One crucial aspect of the technology is the timing of alerts. FanDuel benefitted from insights from Sportsbet, its sister brand under Flutter in Australia, in developing this technology. Sportsbet has its version of real-time checks in place.
During the development phase, FanDuel encountered challenges in the product buildout. For example, engineers had to ensure that the system triggered instantly upon a bettor’s deposit attempt.
Nevertheless, Watkins mentioned that the product rollout went smoothly for FanDuel’s first venture into a real-time, complex buildout. The RG team at the company sees potential in creating proactive safeguards for customers, including real-time checks during their deposit process.
FanDuel aims to offer the deposit tool to customers in all states where it provides online sports betting. Additionally, the company plans to extend the product to horse racing and daily fantasy sports later this year.
