Industry innovation can help shape the next era of responsible gambling, Sedqa says
Aġenzija Sedqa, the national agency for addiction prevention, treatment and rehabilitation within Malta’s Foundation for Social Welfare Services, says the next phase of responsible gambling will depend on closer collaboration between care services, policymakers and the digital industries themselves.
Speaking to SiGMA News, Mike Orland, Community Services Manager at Sedqa, said gambling operators, media platforms and technology providers have a practical role to play in reducing harm, not only through regulation, but through the same design and data-led tools that have made digital products more engaging.
“Behavioural addictions are something quite recent, especially when it comes to us in Malta,” Orland said. “When we talked about behavioural addictions, we always talked about gambling. That was the main behavioural addiction that always existed.”
That picture, he said, is now changing. “With social media, gaming and all this stuff, the panorama of what we mean by behavioural addictions is constantly changing. The limit is changing, and with it the importance of tackling behavioural addictions is changing and rising in priorities.”
Sedqa has responded by widening its expertise beyond gambling alone. Orland said the agency now invests in international training and conferences on behavioural addictions, including emerging research on gaming and digital use.
“We try to get the best information and the latest information when it comes to the changing scene in gaming,” he said.
A younger generation facing new risks
For Sedqa, one of the clearest changes is generational. Orland said younger people are the first to grow up surrounded by constant digital access, online entertainment and social platforms designed to keep users engaged.
“This is possibly the first generation that was brought up in this kind of atmosphere, this kind of availability,” he said.
The concern, he added, is not simply access itself, but the point at which problematic use can emerge.
“Youths in their early 20s have possibly developed this difficult relationship with the way they use social media and games, which is possibly impacting them at a developmental stage,” Orland said.
Prevention is therefore central to Sedqa’s work. The agency operates a prevention team of about 20 people and begins its school-based work with children as young as seven, though not by discussing addiction directly.
“We don’t talk about addictions as such at that age,” Orland said. “We talk about skills that would ultimately prove to be coping strategies for the future.”
That work increasingly includes digital literacy, safer online behaviour and scam awareness. “Giving knowledge to us is paramount,” he said. “We invest a lot in teaching young people how not to be scammed.”
Industry tools can become safety tools
Orland was careful not to cast the gaming or media industries as adversaries. Instead, he argued that the same innovation used to create engaging products can also be used to build safer ones.
“The tools that the media and the gaming industry have to develop profit-making products are actually the same tools with which we can prevent,” he said. “If you’re coding for something to be nice and engaging, you could also code for something to make you aware of the time you’re spending on it.”
He said Sedqa wants industry, media, policymakers and support services to work together rather than operate in separate camps.
“For us, it’s not about demonising anyone,” Orland said. “It’s about bringing everyone to an agreed mode of action that can be enshrined in policy.”
For gambling-related harm, one barrier remains recognition. Many people seek help only when financial damage has already surfaced.
“They tend to see the money owed more as the issue rather than the gaming itself,” Orland said.
His message to the public is to seek advice early, before a behaviour becomes unmanageable.
“If you’re finding yourself in discomfort with the behaviour you’re doing, you need help,” he said. “Having a frank discussion about it could really help open your insight into what is happening, why it is happening, and if it actually needs addressing with professional help or not.”
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