Rank Group PLC, which operates Mecca Bingo and the Grosvenor Casino chain, recently deployed an AI-powered real-time monitoring desk for safer gambling called Hawkeye. The deployment came as a part of the operator’s continued implementation of secure gambling measures.
Over the past few years, Rank Group PLC has made significant investments into its customer support hub to simplify the process of identifying risky behaviour, which may call for interventions.
The operators’ latest safety initiative focuses on gamblers who might stay invisible to the current safer gambling thresholds and controls, such as high-volume and high-stakes players who show sudden behavioural changes. Rank Group PLC will continue to employ its existing real-time player monitoring feature, which has been in place for several years. The new system will simply complement it, helping the company retain its status as one of the best slot providers around.
Customer services director at Rank Group PLC, Liam Smith, said that Hawkeye was inspired by how trading desks monitor transactions in real-time. According to him, the company is aware that high-velocity play has been an area of concern for a while, which is why they decided to focus on addressing this issue throughout last year. Building the artificial intelligence monitoring desk took a long time, and the company plans to continue refining it as its understanding of players’ behaviour improves.
“We are determined to give customers the safest possible experience with us when they play across our digital brands, and the Hawkeye system adds another layer of protection to our full suite of safer gambling measures across the business,” Smith added.
Rank Group reopened its Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casino and venues across the United Kingdom as COVID-19 countermeasures eased on May 17.
The company reported that its net gaming revenue for Q3 was down 72% year-on-year, while the overall venue revenue decreased by a staggering 98% due to the country’s winter lockdown.