Accountability in Gambling: Insights from AffPapa Conference Madrid 2026

A Conversation Shaped by Real-Life Experiences

The panel opened with deeply personal stories from the speakers, immediately setting a serious tone for the discussion around gambling harm, accountability, and operator responsibility.

“I Will Never Forget It”

Catie Di Stefano recalled one of her earliest experiences in the gambling industry while working in customer support at the age of 19. She described receiving a distressing call from a player threatening suicide unless his losses were refunded.

“He said everything from taking money from his kids’ piggy banks to ending his life,” said Catie Di Stefano, Founder of Campaign Discovery System. “As a 19-year-old, what do you say? What do you do?”

Di Stefano explained that her manager instructed her to remain on the line and provide helpline resources, but admitted the experience stayed with her permanently. “I want to ensure as much as possible that we not only prevent players from getting addicted and reaching that point, but also that we have more experienced customer support,” she stated.

Moderator Šimon Vincze stressed the importance of accountability in preparing employees for such situations.

“It could happen to anybody in any casino,” said Šimon Vincze, Head of Sustainable & Safer Gambling at Casino Guru. “It’s important to be prepared for such situations for the sake of the player, but also for the sake of the person on the other side of the line.”

Operators Face Complex Ethical Decisions

Daily Encounters With High-Risk Players

Darina Nikolina explained that threats of self-harm are more common than many people realize and highlighted the accountability operators carry when handling these cases.

“Every third player whose money is coming up brings up this subject that he is going to kill himself,” said Darina Nikolina, representative of Rocks Partners. “Of course, we understand that 99.9% of them are not going to do this, but you never know, and maybe this 0.1% can be on your hands.”

Nikolina shared the story of a player whose wife contacted the casino claiming he had sold personal belongings to continue gambling. After closing the account, the player quickly opened another account on the same platform. Instead of aggressively retaining the player, the company adopted what she described as a controlled approach, limiting deposits and withdrawals while closely monitoring his activity.

“In the end, he learned; we taught him how to play on small amounts,” she said. “Could we retain him more harshly and more cruelly? Yes, of course. But we chose another way.”

Her comments sparked discussion around whether operators should completely exclude high-risk users or attempt to guide them toward safer gambling behavior while maintaining accountability standards.

Long-Term Sustainability Versus Short-Term Revenue

“We Need to Think Long-Term”

Lars Kollind reflected on his early years operating a poker club in Stockholm, where he and his partners encountered young players showing signs of gambling addiction.

“We had no interest in having them down in the poker club, walking home broke every day and feeling bad,” said Lars Kollind, Business Development Director at VeliTech. “The idea of having the poker club was to have fun and have people enjoy the game.”

According to Kollind, accountability in the gaming industry requires operators to move away from short-term revenue thinking and focus instead on sustainability and player well-being.

“A player who plays high stakes and deposits every day might be a fantastic revenue earner,” he said. “But this is short-term thinking.”

Di Stefano added that the industry should become more proactive even before users open accounts. “That’s when they should know about all the risks and how to avoid them,” she stated.

Data, AI, and Accountability by Design

One of the central themes of the discussion was how operators can use data and technology not only to maximize player engagement, but also to strengthen accountability and identify harmful behavior patterns earlier.

Nikolina explained that VIP teams today rely heavily on financial profiling and source-of-wealth checks to understand whether a player’s gambling activity is sustainable.

“We know every VIP player who plays, on what money, from where he got it, and how he spends,” she said.

Di Stefano acknowledged that stricter source-of-wealth regulations, particularly in the UK market, changed how operators handle high-value customers and reduced some questionable retention practices.

Meanwhile, Kollind argued that the same sophisticated systems used for marketing and CRM optimization should also be applied to responsible gambling monitoring.

“If we have all this data and we can pinpoint exactly what to do to make players deposit, why not twist that around as well?” he asked.

AI as a Preventive Tool

Kollind also highlighted the growing role of artificial intelligence in real-time player monitoring and accountability processes.

“With AI coming in, it’s super easy to track exactly what’s going on,” he explained. “You can have warning pop-ups saying that a player has deposited too many times or is spending beyond acceptable limits.”

According to him, operators should define clear internal standards for responsible gambling and use AI-driven alerts to trigger interventions before situations escalate into severe harm.

Affiliates Also Share Accountability

The panel additionally touched on the role of affiliates in the responsible gambling ecosystem. Nikolina argued that affiliates often focus too heavily on acquiring first-time depositors through aggressive promotional tactics.

“They also have to use their tools to do it more long-term,” she said, suggesting that affiliates should avoid overly impulsive messaging designed solely to trigger immediate deposits.

Building a Responsible Gambling Culture

Closing the session, Vincze stressed that the industry already possesses the tools and data necessary to improve player protection, but meaningful change requires leadership, accountability, and company-wide implementation.

“If company leaders are going to set up the threshold and actionable plans throughout the company, then gradually the culture is going to change,” he concluded.

The discussion at AffPapa Conference Madrid 2026 highlighted the growing consensus that responsible gambling can no longer be treated solely as a compliance obligation, but rather as a strategic and ethical pillar rooted in accountability for the long-term sustainability of the gaming industry.