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The Foundation

About us

The German Foundation on Gambling Research (Deutsche Stiftung Glücksspielforschung gGmbH) is dedicated to the promotion of innovative research contributing to a better understanding and prevention of gambling-related problems, as well as to the improvement of consumer welfare. It is intended to help to achieve the objectives set out in §1 of the Interstate Treaty on Gambling (GüStV 2021).

The Foundation’s mission statement is:
“For Evidence and Excellence in Consumer Protection.”

The foundation was initiated by the following founding shareholders (in alphabetical order):

  • Dr. Daniel Henzgen
  • François Blanc Spielbank Bad Homburg v.d.H.
  • Thüringer Staatslotterie AÖR (Thuringia State Lottery)
  • Tipico Technology Holding GmbH

In order to collect scientifically relevant evidence on the basis of which prevention and intervention measures can be improved and the acceptance of regulatory measures can be increased, the foundation annually awards

  1. up to three German Innovation Awards on Gambling Research as well as
  2. one German Young Talent Research Award on Gambling Research

for research that is related to

  1. the improvement of measures for the prevention of gambling addiction and
  2. effective consumer protection in order to achieve the objectives of the GlüStV 2021.

The selection includes work that explicitly analyzes customer experience and/or customer acceptance. The submissions will be evaluated according to their innovative character and scientific quality by an independent jury of scientific experts.

Scientific integrity and independence are essential to the German Foundation on Gambling Research and are therefore firmly anchored in the statutes. In order to structurally exclude conflicts of interest, the foundation does not commission any research work. Instead, the research prizes to be awarded are aimed at research projects that have already been published scientifically or have been submitted for scientific publication. The winners are selected in a multi-stage process exclusively by the independent jury.

With these research awards, the German Foundation for Gambling Research honors unique research beyond large funding opportunities and contributes to the creation and continuous development of a broad fact-based basis for science and decision-makers in the field of gambling. This basis benefits customers, vulnerable people, science, industry, authorities, and politics to the same extent.

The common goal is to develop effective responsible gaming and consumer protection policies based on sound scientific evidence that maps and understands the full spectrum of gambling behaviour.

The German Foundation on Gambling Research is a unique cooperation of state and private owned actors in the German-speaking area, which has set itself the sole goal of promoting excellence and innovation in gambling research. The highly endowed German Innovation Awards on Gambling Research as well as the German Young Talent Research Award on Gambling Research are the first and only ones of their kind."

Knut Walter, Geschäftsführer

The Scientific Advisory Board

The Jury of the Research Awards

The foundation’s most important body is an internationally recognized and independent Scientific Advisory Board. It covers expertise from fields as diverse as neuroscience, physics, psychology, sociology, economics, and statistics.

The Advisory Board advises the foundation on the fulfilment of its statutory tasks, especially regarding consistent compliance with scientific quality standards.

The Scientific Advisory Board is also the selection jury for the German Innovation Awards on Gambling Research and the German Young Talent Research Award on Gambling Research.

The members of the Advisory Board are appointed for a term of four [4] years. They act accordingly to the following core values:

  1. Transparency – We will carry out our mission in an open and transparent manner.
  2. Academic independence – Our academic decisions are independent of any organization’s influence.
  3. Thought leadership – We value independent thinking from all disciplines that can advance our mission.
  4. Impact – We value research that will have the maximum impact on our mission, today or in the future.

Dr Brett Abarbanel

Professor


is the Executive Director of the International Gaming Institute and an Associate Professor in the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and has a research affiliate appointment at the University of Sydney School of Psychology’s Gambling Treatment and Research Clinic. Brett’s background is in statistics and her work encompasses a broad understanding of the gambling industry, from gambling practices to regulatory processes.

Dr Bo Bernhard

Professor

is a Professor in Sociology and Hospitality and Vice President of Economic Development at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Bo is a renowned expert in gambling research with extensive experience in studying cultural differences in gambling behavior across more than 50 countries. His work contributes to understanding gambling behaviors for effective regulation and policy development.

Dr Luke Clark

Professor

is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and Director of the Centre for Gambling Research at the University of British Columbia. His expertise lies in the psychology and neuroscience of gambling, his research focusses on gambling harms, vulnerable groups, and identifying at-risk gambling behaviours.

Dr Frederike Petzschner

Professor

Dr Frederike Petzschner

is Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the Carney Institute for Brain Science at Brown University, specializing in computational psychiatry and neuroscience.  After studies in physics, her research now focuses on human perception and mental health, using mathematical models and neuroimaging to gain more insight.

Dr Kahlil Philander

Professor

Dr Khalil Philander

is Assistant Professor at the School of Hospitality Business Management at Washington State University. His diverse experience in nonprofit, government sectors, as well as online gambling operations gives him well-rounded perspective, especially on responsible gaming.  An economist by training, his research focuses on public policy and consumer behavior in gambling, including in casinos, sports, online, and crypto environments.

Dr Tone Roald

Professor

is Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Copenhagen, with a focus on aesthetics, qualitative methods, and phenomenology. Her work in exploring the experiential aspects of art and human behavior brings a unique perspective to gambling research. She aims to close a gap in research by focusing on less easily quantifiable aspects of human experience.

Geschäftsführer

Knut Walter

Dipl. Kommunikationswirt (Univ.)

Knut Walter studied social and business communication at the University of the Arts, Berlin.

Parallel to his more than 10 years of work as a senior lecturer for empirical communication research and planning, he built up his own strategy consultancy Scientific Affairs. Since 1998, he has been advising international companies on the use of scientific cooperation for corporate communication and corporate development.

Since 2008, his special commitment has been to the development of evidence-based consumer protection concepts for companies in the gambling industry.

Knut Walter is co-initiator of the Düsseldorfer Kreis – Initiative for Quality and Consumer Protection in Gambling.

Founders Assembly

The assembly of the founders is the governing body of he foundation and makes all fundamental decisions. In doing so, it pays particular attention to the observance of the ideal objectives as well as the long-term preservation of the substance of society.

Dr. Daniel Henzgen

for Dr. Daniel Henzgen

Karin Klein

for Tipico Technology Holding GmbH

Lutz Schenkel

for François-Blanc-Spielbank GmbH Bad Homburg v. d. Höhe

Jochen Staschewski

Staatssekretär a.D.

for Thüringer Staatslotterie AöR