Better Gambling Forum and SBC Events & Media have entered into a strategic partnership aimed at advancing player protection standards and promoting sustainable gambling practices across North America and other markets.
The collaboration will use SBC’s events and media platforms to expand engagement with the Better Gambling Forum’s Responsible Gambling 3.0 framework, which focuses on translating gambling policy and academic research into operational practices for operators, regulators and health systems.
BGF Chair Shawn Fluharty said the initiative is intended to move the industry toward evidence-based approaches to harm reduction.
“The Better Gambling Forum focuses on turning evidence into action,” Fluharty said. “Through our Responsible Gambling 3.0 framework and independent scientific oversight, we’re helping policymakers, regulators, and operators move beyond good intentions towards solutions that genuinely reduce harm.”
As part of the partnership, the organisations will host a flagship panel at SBC Summit Americas, scheduled for June 9–11, examining approaches to building a modern public health response to problem gambling while encouraging healthier engagement with gambling products.
The session will include speakers from public health, academia and the gambling industry, including Patrick J. Kennedy (former U.S. Congressman; national leader on mental health and addiction), Nathan Carroll (National Medical Director at InSite Health; Member, American Psychiatric Association’s Council on Digital Health, Innovation, and Technology), Toby Ewing (Stanford School of Medicine; Brain Capital Advisor; and former Executive Director, California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission), Paul Pellizzari (Global Social Responsibility, Hard Rock International) and Dr Eraka Bath (Professor of Psychiatry, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA).
The summit discussion will be the first in a broader series of conversations across SBC’s events and media channels, including its Player Protection Hub, aimed at promoting legislative and operational frameworks for safer gambling.
SBC Managing Director Andrew McCarron said SBC planned to use its existing responsible gambling initiatives to support the Better Gambling Forum’s agenda.
“We’ve made some great strides in recent years with the Player Protection Hub online, and Player Protection Symposiums in Lisbon, Florida and Toronto,” McCarron said. “We hope these channels can turbo-charge the BGF’s work and that SBC can play its part in bringing about real, positive and practical progress for an industry we all know is hugely innovative – let’s make sure it is also safe and sustainable for everyone.”
The future discussions will explore areas including early policy intervention, behavioural health integration, digital platforms’ influence on consumer behaviour and the development of consistent player protection standards.
The Better Gambling Forum’s work is overseen by an independent Scientific Oversight Committee consisting of eight academics with expertise in gambling-related research to ensure its initiatives remain grounded in evidence, ethics and best practices.
