The International Center for Responsible Gaming (ICRG) received donations totaling $500,000 from major industry stakeholders at recent landmark events.
The ICRG said in a release that the funding underscores “a robust commitment to advancing research and initiatives in gambling disorder and responsible gambling.”
Specifically, the ICRG received a $300,000 donation from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians during the 25th ICRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction. The donation ceremony was marked by esteemed leaders, which the ICRG said reflected “a community united in its dedication to fostering safer gaming environments.”
Then, at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, ICRG was presented with a $200,000 check from the proceeds of the 25th Annual AGEM & AGA Golf Classic hosted by JCM Global. That event has raised over $2.8 million to date in support of the ICRG’s research into gambling addiction. ICRG’s donation was presented by leaders including JCM SVP Dave Kubajak, Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM) President and CEO Daron Dorsey and Joe Maloney, SVP of strategic communications at the American Gaming Association.
“These significant contributions from JCM Global and the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians greatly enhance our ability to continue important research and education on gambling disorder,” said ICRG President and Secretary Art Paikowsky. “We are immensely grateful for their support and the continued commitment of our industry partners in helping us address and mitigate gambling-related harms.”
Paikowsky informs on ‘uninformed decisions’
In a recent SBC Webinar celebrating 25 years of the ICRG, Paikowsky asserted that a lot of “uninformed decisions” are still being made in the gaming industry.
“If it doesn’t sound right, people think that’s enough to create regulation and legislations,” Paikowsky explained. He highlighted gambling advertising as a prime example of that, suggesting that there has not been enough depth of research into potential links between advertising and problem gambling to warrant certain decisive legal or regulatory action.
“You have this combination of people intuitively making decisions, which I don’t think is right or fair, and/or relying on grey literature that’s not evidence-based in the way it should be,” he told SBC Americas Editor Jessica Welman. “You [also] have everything being politicized, where sometimes it’s good politics that drives decisions.”
During the 40-minute conversation, Paikowsky also spoke about the funding needs of the ICRG and addressed concerns surrounding some of the organization’s funding coming from within the gaming industry.
“There are a lot of people that criticize industry-funded research and it is comical, because where else is the money going to come from?” he added to Welman. “The realization by the industry that they have a level of responsibility is one of the best things that has happened.”
