You’ve likely heard the expression before, ‘future-proofing’ — but what does it mean and how does it apply to the gambling industry? Wikipedia defines the term as “the process of anticipating the future and developing methods of minimizing the effects of shocks and stresses of future events.”

Hundreds of industry-leading researchers, policy makers and representatives from around the world are gathering in Vancouver, B.C., at the New Horizons in Responsible Gambling Conference from March 10-12, to discuss and collaborate around how to effectively future-proof the gambling industry.

Delegates and speakers will be discussing their insights and knowledge around these questions:

• Imagine we had the opportunity to build the gambling industry today, knowing what we do about the potential for harm – how would we do it?
• What safeguards would we put in place?
• How would we design our products and environments?
• What would we stop doing, continue doing and what would we want to learn more about in order to start doing? How would we ensure our industry grows in a socially responsible manner?

All of the conference sessions address one of three key topics: promoting safer play, developing a culture that prioritizes the wellbeing of our consumers and reducing harms associated with gambling products. Spearheading these discussions are an impressive lineup of international speakers including: Tim Miller, Executive Director at the UK Gambling Commission and Misha Glouberman, Faculty Director at the Ivey Academy at Western University’s Ivey Business School.

Another important first this year, the conference findings will be synthesized into a summary paper, with a research agenda, to help breakdown the key issues and define implementable solutions for the industry.

Through inspiring keynotes, expert speakers, case studies, and conversations, we’re working together to find solutions to the known gaps in responsible gambling and player health across our industry. It’s an exciting opportunity for the industry to level-set the future of gambling, based on what we know is working, and what’s not, in B.C., across Canada and around the world.