In this episode of Martin Lycka’s Safe Bet Show, Martin is joined by Dr Mary Donohue, CEO of the Digital Wellness Center, for a powerful conversation on how neuroscience, technology, and behavioural science can reshape the future of responsible gambling.

Dr Donohue shares the personal story behind founding the Digital Wellness Center after surviving a life-threatening illness caused by stress, and explains how that experience led her to develop digital tools that can reduce stress in under three minutes. The discussion explores how mood management affects player decision-making, why proactive mental health support is critical in gambling environments, and how technology — including AI and behavioural data — can help prevent harm before it happens.

The conversation also covers Dr Donohue’s work with casinos, healthcare providers, and major platforms, her educational partnership with TikTok, and why responsible gambling needs to be treated as a core business strategy rather than a PR exercise.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why stress and mood have a direct impact on gambling behaviour
How the Digital Wellness Center uses neuroscience to reduce stress in minutes
What proactive responsible gambling actually looks like in practice
Why AI and “human touch” must work together in player protection
How technology could predict and prevent harmful gambling behaviour
Why responsible gambling must evolve beyond compliance and PR

#ResponsibleGambling #iGaming #MentalHealth #AI #GamblingIndustry #PlayerProtection #Wellbeing

Marlene Warner, CEO of the Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health, joins the show to discuss her career path, responsible gaming (RG) advocacy, and crucial industry issues.

Warner holds a BA in sociology and an MA in women's studies/communications, grounding her approach in studying people, using data, and advocating for underserved populations.

In a timely update, she reveals she is currently pulling papers to run for City Councillor in her ward, following previous roles as student senate president.

Key Discussion Highlights:

• Career Recognition
• Council Name Change
• GameSense
• National Helpline Barrier
• RG in America
• Industry Standards

Warner concludes by stressing that putting the right safeguards in place does not hurt business, and encourages everyone to promote the helpline and eliminate barriers

Welcome to an improvised episode of the Safe Bet Show, where host Martin Lycka welcomes SBC Leaders Magazine Editor, Steve Hoare.

The discussion centres on the SBC Player Protection Hub, which Steve is also Editor of. The Hub is positioned as a, "one-stop shop" for responsible gaming resources, offering news feeds from across the SBC universe and a research hub dedicated to collecting RG studies. Crucially, the site is members-only, aiming to be a necessary "safe space" where people can talk about player protection issues and share personal stories without fear of exposure.

Martin and Steve discuss the immense power of "lived experience" stories. They highlight how these human and humane narratives, such as a story about a girl who used gambling to "turn off the noise", or the painful recollection of a Seahawks fan who lost his family’s money betting on the Super Bowl, provide critical perspective for the industry.

The conversation then shifts to Martin’s career, tracing his time at BetFair starting in 2009. This period coincided with the genesis of regulated markets in Europe (Italy, France, Spain). They analyse the failure of the dream of European harmonisation and contrast it with the rise of the US state-by-state regulation, which some prominent lobbyists initially dismissed as "madness".

Martin also shares his experience living through major industry mergers, including the BetFair/Paddy Power union (Flutter) and GVC/Ladbrooks Coral (Entain).