Informed Decision Making

Abstract

In recent years, governments and gaming operators across Canada have invested a considerable amount of effort and resources into providing information to their patrons with the explicit or implicit goal of assisting players to make informed decisions about their gambling. The expectation is that better, more complete, information will promote better decisions. Although there is much investment and discussion of informed decision making, the concept itself has received relatively little attention and scrutiny. In 2009, the RGC Centre for the Advancement of Best Practices proposed a review of informed decision-making(IDM) in the gaming sector with emphasis on what information gamblers should have and how best to support their decision making capability. The Review is an in-depth look at informed decision making from the perspective of providing the right information at the right time to gamblers. The research includes: • A review and analysis of literature and materials from the gaming industry (e.g., policy documents, government reports, research), as well as other industries whose products pose risks to their consumers (i.e., Medical Healthcare, Alcohol, Tobacco, Food) • Focus groups with gamblers (see Appendix A) • Interviews with treatment providers (see Appendix B) • The Insight Forum, the 2-day gathering of 35 experts, professionals and other stakeholders to discuss, debate and collect information on issues relevant to informed decision making in gambling