My Stat Sheet, a new tool unveiled by DraftKings to promote responsible gambling, offers players access to personal gaming statistics and insights. Specifically, the new feature allows DraftKings customers to assess, track, and interact with their personalized gaming stats.
DraftKings said the tool’s intuitive charts and accompanying information will help “empower players to make data-driven decisions on their own play.”
Jennifer Aguiar, DraftKings chief compliance officer, reiterated the company’s commitment to responsible gaming in the release:
As sports betting technology continues to evolve, DraftKings remains committed to continuously enhancing our robust, responsible gaming program. The My Stat Sheet tool will help customers evaluate their play and make informed choices.
As of Thursday, My Stat Sheet was available across all DraftKings online casino, sportsbook, and Golden Nugget products. Though not without critique, first impressions of the responsible gambling tool primarily seem positive.
Player Data Takes Starring Role
DraftKings’ new data-driven tool uses intuitive charts and filtering options to visualize aspects of customers’ personal player stats, like time on the platform.
Other data points tracked include:
- Deposits
- Withdrawals
- Contest Involvement
- Wagers Placed
- Win/Loss (with monthly, yearly, and lifetime views)
According to the explainer on DK’s “safer play” web page, giving players access to their data “creates passive engagement with responsible gaming” and play tracking. Additionally, “seamless flows to budget and limit setting tools” help normalize their use.
Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), has previously told Bonus of the importance of normalizing that use.
We know most gamblers think responsible gambling tools are only for people with problems. And so the vast majority of online gamblers tend not to use them because they don’t think they have a problem. And they don’t.
So we need to reframe it.
Paul Liberman, DraftKings president of global product and technology, said in the release that the tool uses technology in a new way to benefit responsible gaming goals.
Responsible gaming has always been a core priority at DraftKings. We are constantly innovating to find new ways to apply technology that enhances our responsible gaming initiatives, and My Stat Sheet is an important milestone for us as an industry leader.
In time, DraftKings said players will be able to access more detailed stats, including:
- Bet type performance
- League data
- Athlete and player stats
As a result, said DraftKings:
Customers will have access to their playtime performance and trends over time, giving them all the information they need to adjust their gaming habits as they see fit.
Tool Holds Promise, But States Should Drive RG
Initial reactions to DraftKings’ announcement have been mainly positive.
On Twitter/X, Jamie Salsburg, founder of responsible gambling consultancy Dyve Agency, gave the initiative a nod.
I like this. More data for customers is a good thing.
In an exchange with another user, Salsburg said that players “just starting to bet too much” will benefit most from the tool’s insights.
Once you get to PG ranges, the players will increasingly ignore it.
Salsburg also noted he would like apps to stop pushing higher deposits and bet amounts than are typical for individual players.
The suggestion features, he said, should be removed for a segment of players for six months, and the prompts studied to determine their impact on player behavior.
Operators Should Follow State Lead
Following up via Twitter DMs, Salsburg told Bonus he thinks My Stat Sheet is “a great initiative to bring to market, test, and review.”
He also shared that he felt conflicted about raising issues alongside the praise. On the one hand, he doesn’t want to encourage an environment where every RG attempt faces pushback. On the other hand, he said we must acknowledge the operators’ internal conflict.
This is just the latest proof that responsible gaming efforts should not be the operators’ responsibility. The states should have full ownership, freeing the operators to have their staff work in alignment with a common goal. It would be much cleaner.
Salsburg argued that the state’s job is to maximize benefits and minimize harm to citizens. Therefore, he feels responsible and problem gambling efforts should lie with the states.
Operators should know exactly what is expected of them and be required to follow regulations around responsible or problem gambling, but it doesn’t make sense to task them with being responsible for the design of these processes.
If an operator wants to earn goodwill with the state or customers and goes above and beyond the regulations, awesome. But expecting them to lead on this front while also attempting to meet the business goals expected by shareholders is shortsighted.
As currently constructed, Salsburg said, the best reasons for introducing such a measure are to gain positive PR, avoid increased regulation, and help people.
If this were coming from the state, helping people would be moved to the top priority.
I just can’t get around the competing incentives and their impact on the problem and responsible gambling efforts. It’s just a bad design and is one that is quite easy to fix.
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