Techlink

Sydney, Nova Scotia ----Gaming products developer and manufacturer Techlink Entertainment (Techlink) today announced that Dr. Bo Bernhard, Director of Gambling Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, will be leading an advisory panel that will provide the company with research-based insights on responsible gaming.  This partnership provides Techlink with the ability to incorporate cutting-edge understandings of problem gambling behavior in a manner that enhances the company’s responsible gaming technologies.

“Dr. Bo Bernhard’s independent research on our recently commercialized responsible gaming technology (Gameplan) helped guide our thinking when we first developed new responsible gaming technologies.  Now, we have an exciting opportunity to work together with him to build and test even better products.  Dr. Bernhard’s reputation as a leader in responsible gaming research and policy is recognized worldwide, and his expertise will provide vital research-based insights into the nature of responsible gambling – and the best practices to address this key issue,” notes John Xidos, President and CEO of Techlink.

The Gameplan system has been selected by Nova Scotia as their responsible gaming system of choice for the 3000 machine wide area network.  Each machine will be fitted with special devices that will provide players the information and tools to gamble more responsibly.  As Director of Gambling Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ International Gaming Institute, Dr. Bernhard directed one of three independent research teams that studied the initial field trial of the machine in Windsor, Nova Scotia in 2005-2006.

Dr. Bernhard comments on the technology, “As the preliminary research indicated, this technology has the potential to provide gamblers with non-invasive tools to better understand their gambling, and to gamble more responsibly.  Moving forward, these developments should be guided by research – in much the same way that scientific research should inform the development of all health-related products.”

About Dr. Bo Bernhard

Bo J. Bernhard, Ph.D. is an honors graduate of Harvard University, where he double majored in sociology and psychology.  At Harvard, Dr. Bernhard’s thesis on the impacts of the gaming industry on Las Vegas received magna cum laude honors from both departments.  After receiving his Ph.D. at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, he was named the first Director of Gambling Research at the UNLV International Gaming Institute, where he has developed an award-winning body of research on the impacts of gambling in society. Dr. Bernhard has delivered keynote addresses in six continents, and has lectured on the design of problem gambling policy in a variety of national and international settings, including South Korea, Portugal, Brazil, Australia, South Africa, Macao, Singapore, Canada, and Russia.  Dr. Bernhard’s publications have emphasized an evaluation of gambling’s social costs and benefits from a perspective that blends macro insights from sociology with the micro and clinical applications of psychology.  His studies have been featured in a wide variety of national and international media programs, including a recent special on his work in the UNLV “Casino Lab” on the Discovery Health Channel.

About Techlink Entertainment
Techlink Entertainment has been in operation for more than a decade and is recognized internationally for its ground-breaking work in developing a responsible gaming solution that is proven to provide players with the information and tools they need to play responsibly.  Techlink’s core product line is the Gameplan System which is currently being deployed on every VLT in Nova Scotia.

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For information contact:
Moira MacDonald
Techlink Entertainment
+1 (902) 488 8801