Ways for Casinos to Implement Responsible Gambling Practices
Do casinos prioritize the well-being of their players? In the casino industry, “responsible gambling” encompasses a range of tools and initiatives designed to protect players while maintaining the integrity of the casinos and gambling operators.
Here, you will learn about the various mechanisms and resources that reputable casinos put in place to safeguard their players. As the industry evolves, so should the measures aimed at ensuring the protection and ethical entertainment of players.
Casinos Should Offer These Tools
Serious gambling operators obtain licenses from regulated governing bodies like the UK Gambling Commission and the Malta Gaming Authority. These bodies hold gambling operators to high standards, ensuring they adhere to fair play protocols. Casinos that breach these protocols may face substantial fines or even have their licenses revoked.
On the other hand, players also have a role to play.
Now, let’s discuss the preventive measures that casinos and gambling operators need to put in place to prevent gambling addiction.
Self-Exclusion
This measure prevents problem gamblers from accessing their online casino accounts for a specific period. Typically, the minimum self-exclusion period is six months, while the maximum can be around 5 years.
Some casino sites also provide the option for permanent self-exclusion. Once you enroll in a self-exclusion program, you won’t be able to access your account until the specified time elapses, and in the case of permanent self-exclusion, access will be restricted indefinitely.
Set Time-Outs
Instead of completely excluding themselves from gambling, some players choose to take a specific break from it. Certain licensed casino sites offer the option to set a specific period during which you won’t be able to access your account.
You’ll need to provide reasons for taking a break, and this information will help the casino take appropriate steps to prevent future issues.
Set Deposit Limits
The majority of licensed gambling operators offer customers the option to set limits on the amount they can deposit into their online accounts over a specific period.
It’s important to set this limit in line with the budget you have planned. It’s crucial to never deposit more than you can afford or are willing to lose!
Establish Loss Limits
In addition to deposit limits, operators also provide loss limits on players’ accounts. This means that you can set a maximum loss amount, and once you reach it, you won’t be able to place any more wagers for a specific period, which could be a day, a month, or even a year.
Unsubscribe from Promotional Offers
You can resist the temptation of gambling offers and promotions by unsubscribing from promotional email ads and adjusting the associated notifications.
Contact Customer Support Staff
Reputable gambling operators train their customer service employees to recognize the signs of problem gambling. If you need urgent assistance, you can contact the customer’s live chat, which is typically available 24/7 without the need to speak to anyone over the phone.
Prohibiting Underage Gamblers
It’s crucial to establish responsible gambling standards to protect minors from the risks of gambling. This is essential to prevent problem gambling in the future. Implementing measures to prevent problem gambling should not just be an initiative of the gambling industry, but rather a moral and legal obligation.
As a result, online operators need to implement several preventive measures to ensure that underage gaming activities are not occurring on their websites.
KYC (Know Your Client) Process
Registering at most casinos can be quite cumbersome. Verified casinos often implement the Know Your Customer (KYC) process, which involves collecting a substantial amount of personal information to verify the validity and accuracy of the data provided for the casino account. Identification scanners are used to detect fake IDs.
Although it may be relatively easy to deceive gambling operators digitally, rigorous procedures like the KYC process make it easier for the casino to identify underage gamblers.
Awareness campaigns
Another measure involves gambling operators taking the lead in targeting ads and launching awareness and information campaigns for minors about the risks of underage gambling.
Ethical Marketing Advertisements
Casinos should ensure that their advertising and marketing efforts are carefully designed and do not target vulnerable members of society. They should also refrain from promoting irresponsible gambling behaviors.
A good approach to achieving this would be to base marketing ads on the principle of informed consent. This means that any customer who chooses to purchase a service or a product can only do so under the condition that all relevant information related to the product or service is provided to them. This should be displayed on the website in full accordance with the term ‘Informed consent’.
Informed consent is particularly important in the online gambling world, where problem gamblers can fall through the cracks after being targeted by marketing that does not offer them the full picture of the gambling world or its potential pitfalls.
Informed consent means that players who realize they are being drawn into gambling may choose to unsubscribe from promotional email marketing ads.
Licensing bodies such as the UKGC and the MGA have adopted strict protocols for how casinos should market their content and advertisements. Terms and Conditions need to be visible in all ads and even small banners. There are also restrictions on the words that can be used. For example, UK casino sites cannot use the term ‘bonus buy’ or ‘feature buy/drop’ as this implies that purchasing the bonus to trigger the feature will pay out more than the actual cost of triggering it.
Serious casinos may go a step further and not just stop with informed consent. They may also recruit responsible gambling experts who would assess gambler behavior and thus, are trained to intervene when witnessing concerning behavior like gambling addiction.
Protect Player Personal Information
Hackers and data thieves attempt to steal data from various digital platforms, and casino sites are no exception. However, reputable gambling sites have robust security measures in place to protect users and prevent intrusions from malicious actors.
Many casinos require players to access their sites without using a proxy service or VPN. Using such services may lead to being banned. This measure is implemented to limit access to hackers and safeguard user data. Additionally, data encryption methods are employed as another layer of protection for user information.
Online Payment Transactions
When it comes to the safety of payment methods and the way casinos handle transactions internally, online gambling sites prioritize security.
Casinos strive to offer a wide range of payment methods, but at times, they may intentionally exclude a preferred payment method. While players may express dissatisfaction about this, there is usually a valid reason behind it, which is ultimately to protect the player.
Transactions involving substantial sums moving from an account to a casino are subject to longer processing times and heightened scrutiny due to the potential for suspicious activity. This underscores the importance of background checks and Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures for casinos.
Summary
Failure to adhere to responsible gambling guidelines may lead to significant fines imposed by regulatory bodies and institutions tasked with monitoring casinos. Additionally, it could result in the revocation of their license, ultimately leading to the permanent closure of such casinos.
