Online casino games and systems innovator Playtech has bolstered its responsible gambling credentials after announcing the acquisition for an undisclosed fee of behavioral identification and modification software provider BetBuddy.

London-listed Playtech stated that its purchase of the responsible gambling analytics solutions firm is part of a strategy to ‘acquire complementary technology’ that will extend its ‘software and services offering’. It also declared that BetBuddy’s innovations are now set to be integrated into its own IMS system in order to deliver an ‘industry-leading responsible gambling player management platform’.

Playtech explained that it trialled BetBuddy’s analytics software earlier in the year by utilizing its algorithms to detect at-risk behaviors. It proclaimed that the permanent addition of this technology to its own ‘data-driven approach’ will allow it to ‘take the next step’ in developing and deploying content ‘in a sustainable manner’.

Ian Ince, Regulatory Affairs and Compliance Head for Playtech, described BetBuddy as ‘the leading company in this field’ due to its focus on developing ‘an industry-leading responsible gambling solution’.

“The strength of the product and the knowledge and experience that the team brings is unparalleled and we are delighted to have completed this acquisition and to welcome them to the Playtech family,” said Ince.

For its part, BetBuddy revealed that the past five years had seen it collaborate with the clinical, responsible gambling and machine-learning scientific communities in order to develop ‘a proven track record’ in implementing its patent-pending solution.

Simo Dragicevic, Chief Executive Officer for BetBuddy declared that he was ‘thrilled to have agreed terms’ with Playtech and that he was now looking forward to working with its business intelligence, compliance and games development teams to ‘continue to help to raise standards in responsible gambling’.