In Indian Country, casino gaming has proven itself a powerful engine for economic development, job creation and social betterment. In 2008, Indian gaming stimulated 636,000 jobs nationwide, both at tribal enterprises and in related businesses. The revenues from tribal gaming establishments have been put to use funding a wide range of community benefits-from health care and job training programs to infrastructure and community safety initiatives-and continue to be a vital source of support in helping increase investment and development on reservations, and helping address critical issues such as poverty and unemployment.
Though Indian gaming has returned significant rewards over the past two decades, it also has increased awareness among tribal leaders and tribal gaming operators about the need for programs addressing important issues such as problem and pathological gambling.
“Tribes really have a serious concern about any negative impacts of gambling,” says Eileen Luna Firebaugh, associate professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona. “They want people to have fun and want it to be a popular place for the community, so they have gone far and beyond what’s expected of them with regard to responsible gaming.”
The implementation of responsible gaming programs is an important aspect of any casino gaming business, and the state governments that regulate gaming-either directly, in the case of commercial casinos, or through a tribal gaming compact-universally require a minimum level of responsible gaming efforts on the part of gaming entities.
Responsible gaming programs are designed to help educate employees, customers and the public about the risks of gambling and where to go for help with a gambling problem. They also can provide tips and information about ways to keep gambling fun-such as making it a social event with friends and family, gambling only for a limited period of time and setting a budget before beginning to gamble.
For commercial casinos, responsible gaming programs are a critical component of broader corporate social responsibility efforts. For tribes, the issue is one of community and tribal government social responsibility as well.
“In general, tribes have a strong commitment to responsible gaming because tribal gaming facilities are within their communities,” says Dr. Kate Spilde, chair of the Sycuan Institute on Tribal Gaming at San Diego State University. “The social expectations for tribal government are higher than they are for state and local governments. Since tribal gaming is established with a social purpose-to drive development and recovery-tribal leaders know it is important to acknowledge the potential problems associated with introducing a gaming facility into the community and to take measures to address those problems.”
Challenges
Though tribal governments and gaming facilities have demonstrated a strong commitment to responsible gaming, the implementation of responsible gaming programs can present certain challenges. For some tribes, the challenge lies in communicating this commitment to their surrounding communities and to the states with which they have their tribal gaming compacts.
“There is an idea that a tribe’s commitment to responsible gaming can be gauged by the amount of dollars spent, but this is an incomplete metric,” Spilde says. “Tribes demonstrate support for responsible gaming programs and problem gambling initiatives in a number of ways that cannot be detached or disentangled from the broader social purpose of tribal gaming.”
According to Spilde, because tribal governments are constantly working to address a number of different priorities within the community-whether it be to create a new health care facility, establish a training program for young adults or find innovative ways to meet other community needs-responsible gaming is but one of many important issues tribes must address.
Operational challenges also play a role, notes Jana McKeag, president of Lowry Strategies and a former commissioner of the National Indian Gaming Commission.
“Finding the time for training can be a challenge when you are managing a tribal gaming facility. You want to ensure your employees receive proper training, but you still need to ensure there are employees available on the gaming floor to help patrons,” she says.
Perhaps one of the less well-known challenges is the lack of research on problem gambling in tribal communities. “The value of peer-reviewed research in developing effective programs is immense,” Firebaugh says. “Unfortunately, there rarely are proposals from within or about Indian Country. I wish we could change that, because research is critically important.”
Using Research
Like many tribes, the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians has been implementing responsible gaming education and training initiatives for several years at its San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino in Highland, California, which draws approximately 2.2 million visitors each year. The casino posts information about problem gambling and the 1-800-GAMBLER helpline number at several key locations throughout the facility, including near the entrances, cages, ATMs, club booths and in restrooms. The tribe also has an established relationship with the California Council on Problem Gambling that includes yearly training for its managers and front-line employees.
“Every new employee is provided with responsible gaming training before they ever set foot on the casino floor,” says Dianna Scina, guest services director at San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino. “And all employees receive annual refresher training, too.”
Last year, San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino expanded its existing responsible gaming efforts by becoming the first member of the National Center for Responsible Gaming’s PEER program, which stands for Partnership for Excellence in Education and Responsible Gaming. The NCRG is the affiliated charity of the American Gaming Association and the only national organization devoted to funding research on gambling disorders and developing science-based responsible gaming programs.
To implement and adhere to the NCRG Code of Conduct, PEER members have access to a variety of resources through the PEER Resource Guide. Available online, the guide includes tools such as:• Best practice resources, which outline elements of successful existing programs
- Videos, worksheets and other learning tools for employees
- Brochures and signage about responsible gaming, the odds of casino games, unattended minors and more
- Materials and resources for setting up a self-exclusion program
- Tools and practices to train employees on how to prevent
- underage gambling
- Guidance and tools for designing and implementing a responsible
- alcohol service policy
“One of our primary goals at the NCRG is to support the development of responsible gaming programs that are grounded in sound science, thereby increasing their effectiveness,” says Glenn Christenson, chairman of the NCRG. “The PEER program was created to help gaming companies provide employees and patrons with a full suite of educational resources about problem gambling and responsible gaming that reflects the findings from the latest peer-reviewed research in the field.”
The PEER program is a unique collection of research-based tools and resources that gaming facilities can use to help educate various stakeholders about problem gambling and responsible gaming. At the center of the program is the NCRG Code of Conduct, which details specific commitments PEER members make to casino employees, patrons and the public about promoting responsible gaming, preventing underage gambling, serving alcoholic beverages responsibly, advertising responsibly and training employees about problem gambling and responsible gaming.
Emerging Program
For San Manuel, a significant draw of PEER was the EMERGE training program, an online and in-person training program created by scientists at Harvard Medical School using the latest and highest-quality research available on gambling disorders. EMERGE stands for Executive, Management and Employee Responsible Gaming Education.
“The field of research on gambling disorders has expanded significantly over the past decade, and we now not only know much more about the nature and course of the disorder, but we also have gained considerable insights into the most effective types of prevention and treatments,” says Christine Reilly, executive director of the Institute for Research on Gambling Disorders, an independent program of the NCRG. “All of this knowledge is incorporated into the EMERGE program, which is updated regularly with new research findings.”
When San Manuel first implemented the EMERGE training program for its managers last year, Reilly and Spilde conducted an in-person training session. This year, San Manuel is taking advantage of the online version of the program. Scina says she worked with Reilly to customize the program so it would be tailored specifically for use by San Manuel employees. The program can be customized for gaming facilities of any size and can be adjusted to incorporate video messages from senior management or tribal leaders and other important information from the tribe.
“The EMERGE training program is a great enhancement to what we already have been doing,” Scina says. “This program has created a whole new level of awareness among our managers about the science behind pathological gambling, and since management deals with both players and employees, this additional level of education has really benefitted our entire program.”
Due to its web-based design, EMERGE is available for gaming entities and employees to use 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and does not require gaming facilities to purchase any special software or equipment. It also allows employees to come back to the training program multiple times if, for some reason, they are unable to complete the program in one sitting.
Reilly points out that this versatility helps gaming managers address the operational challenges of providing appropriate training for all employees while simultaneously ensuring that the casino’s guests are still being attended to.
EMERGE content is credentialed by the American Academy of Health Care Providers in the addictive disorders and, according to the NCRG, exceeds the requirements of current gaming regulations regarding training of employees. The program tracks employees’ progress through the program and provides a quiz at the end for employees to test their knowledge. Employees who successfully complete the program receive a certificate of completion from the NCRG and the institute, and employers are provided with a record of which employees have completed the program.
“One of the values of the PEER program and EMERGE is that they look at problem gambling in the larger context of all addictions,” Spilde says. “It’s very important to understand how problem gambling relates to other addictions, because when a tribe is opening a new gaming facility, it is coming into a community that may already have experience with other addictions and addiction treatment, so understanding that relationship can be valuable.”
Scientific Breakthroughs
Other materials offered through the PEER program also reflect important findings from the latest science in the field. In their groundbreaking paper, “The Reno Model: A Science-Based Framework for Responsible Gaming,” Drs. Alex Blaszczynski, Robert Ladouceur and Howard Shaffer wrote about the importance of informed choice for gambling patrons to help them practice responsible gaming.
PEER’s brochure “The House Advantage: A Guide to Understanding the Odds” facilitates informed choice by detailing the odds of several common casino games. To help address questions about underage gambling, the brochure “Talking with Children about Gambling” and “We Care About Your Children” incorporate research about youth risk-taking to help educate casino patrons about the topic.
The NCRG Code of Conduct requires an annual audit of adherence to its provisions. PEER members have access to a gaming facility “report card” that demonstrates their annual commitment to responsible gaming and indicates participation in the PEER program to regulators, tribal governments and the community at large.
“By mirroring the Code of Conduct and being able to issue a report card every year, tribes can create a gold standard for demonstrating their commitment to responsible gaming in a more qualitative way,” Spilde says. “The report card creates a standardized measurement, allowing tribes to translate what they are already doing into specific categories, which helps them receive credit for what they’re already doing.”
Spilde also notes that for tribes organized within the same gaming compact, using the same report card to organize and detail their efforts to address problem gambling and promote responsible gaming may be of further value in helping to demonstrate Indian Country’s commitment to this issue.
“The PEER program is state-of-the-art and truly represents the next wave of responsible gaming programming,” McKeag says. “It provides a proactive approach to responsible gaming, but does so from a ‘first, do no harm’ perspective.”
Charting a Course for the Future
Firebaugh, who also serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Institute for Research on Gambling Disorders, says existing peer-reviewed research on gambling disorders can be used as a springboard, but that more research is needed specifically in tribal communities to continue developing effective prevention and treatment programs.
Spilde, Firebaugh and Reilly all note that it can be difficult for non-tribal researchers to navigate the tribal government approval process for conducting research in the community.
“Many tribes simply have not had positive experiences with researchers in the past, and so they are understandably uncomfortable about repeating that experience,” Reilly says.
Firebaugh points to the dedicated tribal “NCRG at G2E” conference session each November-a combined conference session that brings together scientists from the NCRG Conference and tribal gaming professionals from Global Gaming Expo-as a starting point for increasing interest in this research on both sides. “By having these discussions, our hope is that more people will see something they’re interested in and that more people will begin doing research in this field, and have that research welcomed by tribal nations.”
