Gamres has teamed up with fantasy sports and betting business DraftKings to implement its Positive Play Scale tool and optimize safety for the operator’s players.

Based in Ottawa, Ontario, the responsible gaming (RG) research and consultancy practice is the brainchild of several researchers including Dr. Richard Wood, Dr. Michael Wohl, and Dr. Nassim Tabri.

The Positive Play Scale tool is the first ever standardized scale to measure RG beliefs and behaviours among players. 

It seeks to understand and encourage positive play among all players, asking them about four key beliefs – personal responsibility, gaming literacy, honesty and control, and pre-commitment – to measure their responsible gaming knowledge and behaviours.

Wood commented: “Gamres is thrilled to be working with DraftKings to help promote positive play amongst their customers. Most players just play for fun and to be entertained, but we have found that some players (generally) have misperceptions about gaming that can either diminish their enjoyment or in some cases lead to them spending more than they intended.

“We believe that the Positive Play Scale will help to optimize DraftKings’ RG strategy to identify those areas that would benefit from the most support.

“As such, we expect that the findings from this project will help DraftKings develop a proactive approach to responsible gaming that encourages all players to have healthy, positive playing experiences.”

The Positive Play Scale has been introduced through an online survey to select US DraftKings customers, marking the first time a multi-state online US gaming operator has incorporated the scale tool into its RG program.

After analyzing the survey results, Gamres will provide a baseline measure of Positive Play at DraftKings, as well as identify possible differences in certain player groups and how the operator may refine its RG practices to advance positive play.

Chrissy Thurmond, Senior Director of Responsible Gaming at DraftKings, added: “We’re grateful for this opportunity to team up with Gamres, which is renowned for its strategic consulting and research around the world, to bring the Positive Play Scale tool to DraftKings.

“We believe that DraftKings’ responsible gaming program, which strives to be the industry gold standard, will be significantly enhanced with the addition of this scientific tool and will yield rich and actionable insights – helping us to better understand and engage our players.”