Rehabilitating Reno: a Commentary on Hancock and Smith

Abstract

Hancock and Smith critique the “Reno model” on several accounts. Yet, despite their robust critical evaluation, they are surprisingly ambivalent about its potential for future use, suggesting that the model may be usefully redeemed by improving its provisions for consumer protection. In this commentary, we argue that Hancock and Smith’s proposed improvements to the Reno model do not go far enough. To that end, we aim to rehabilitate the Reno model by radically transforming its assumptions into a set of eight axioms on which effective consumer protection measures might be based. This provisional framework for the social management of gambling may support the policy outcomes advocated by Hancock and Smith. If regulators and researchers are serious about effective gambling harm minimisation, then our rehabilitated Reno model might offer a new and necessary set of foundational principles for research and practice.