Birches Health: The next big focus in sports betting

As online sports betting has evolved, so too have the tools utilized to track player behaviors. Operators today can understand many facets of a player’s actions – wagers, amounts, promotion engagement, time spent on the platform and – often most importantly to regulators and treatment accessibility advocates – potential at-risk behaviors. 

With the football season approaching, Birches Health finds it important to highlight at-risk behaviors that may be critical for gambling operators and others in the industry to track, to protect their customers and hopefully reduce the likelihood of gambling-related problems. 

Increasing betting frequency

An early warning sign of gambling disorder can be a sharp uptick in how often a player bets. This may mean moving from occasional weekend wagers to betting daily, or sudden engagement in multiple sessions in a single day. Tracking frequency patterns can help detect when a user’s habits are shifting toward compulsive gambling. 

Metric to track: Bets and sessions per day compared to a player’s averages historically. 

Escalating amounts wagered

An increase in the size of wagers, particularly directly after a large loss may signal that a player is “chasing” losses. This behavior should be monitored carefully, as it is one of the most commonly seen behaviors in gambling clients at Birches Health. Monitoring wager size on an ongoing basis allows operators to flag this behavior before it becomes catastrophic. 

Metric to track: Percentage increase in average bet size over a defined time period, including after losses specifically. 

Extended and late-night sessions

Players betting for long, uninterrupted blocks during the later evening and night may be indicative of a lack of control. These patterns may be tied to emotional or stress-driven betting, both of which increase the likelihood of gambling-related harm, including impacts on mental and physical wellbeing. 

Metric to track: Duration of sessions and frequency of activity between midnight and 6:00am. 

Repeated deposit or cancelled withdrawal attempts in a short time period

Multiple deposits or cancelled withdrawal attempts within a short time period may signify that a player is trying to recover their losses. When accompanied by canceled withdrawals (e.g. a player attempting to withdraw their stake then cancelling it), this can demonstrate a player who is not in full control of their betting behaviors. 

Metric to track: Number of daily deposits and/or withdrawal attempts and time intervals between them. 

Ignoring responsible gambling tools

Operators who offer RG tooling hope it gets utilized, but it remains optional. These tools ‒ including deposit limits, time limits and cool-off periods – are often available to players (albeit at times more than others depending on where in an app they are featured). Bettors who repeatedly adjust or disable these tools, especially after activating them, may be struggling to control their gambling behavior. 

Metric to track: Lack of utilization of deposit limits, time limits, or frequent need of cool-off periods, among other RG tools. 

Erratic betting patterns

While harder to quantify, erratic shifts in betting behavior – such as alternating between extremely high and low stakes or betting on unfamiliar sports – can indicate emotional decision-making rather than rational analysis. 

Metric to track: Variability in bet size and diversification of markets compared to historical player behaviors. 

As we approach the return of football season and increased betting activity nationally, operators need to be focused on at-risk behaviors both in their overall player population and at the individual level. Through proactive monitoring, companies can move beyond mere regulatory and legal compliance and into active harm prevention. 

Alex Rivera

Writer

My goal is to explain how gaming, esports, and betting intersect in ways that readers can actually understand, without stripping away the entertainment that makes the space compelling.

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