How Casinos Should Implement Responsible Gambling Measures
Do casinos care about their players? In the casino industry, the term ‘responsible gambling’ addresses a wide variety of tools and initiatives set up to protect players while retaining the integrity of the casinos and the gambling operators themselves.
Here you will read about all the mechanisms and resources serious casinos implement to protect their players. As the industry continues to advance, so should the measures required to safeguard players and entertain them in an ethical manner.
Tools Casinos Should Offer
Gambling operators that are serious get licensed by a regulated governing body such as the UK Gambling Commission and the Malta Gaming Authority.
These two governing bodies hold gambling operators to the highest standards making sure they uphold fair play protocols. They impose hefty fines on such casinos or even take away their licenses when they breach said protocols.
On the other hand, players also need to do their part. Here is an article on steps to take to gamble safely as a player.
Now let’s move on to preventive measures casinos and gambling operators need to implement to prevent gambling addiction.
Self-Exclusion
This measure stops problem gamblers from accessing the online casino site account for a certain period of time. Usually, the minimum time for self-exclusion is six months and the maximum is around 5 years.
There are casino sites that offer the choice to self-exclude permanently. Once you enter a self-exclusion program, you won’t be able to access your account until the time limit is up, and in the case of permanent self-exclusion, never again.
Set Time-Outs
Some players opt to take a time-specific break from gambling rather than exclude themselves from gambling completely. Some licensed casino sites will allow you to set a specific time frame in which you will not be able to access your account.
You will need to provide them with reasons as to why you are taking a break and this will help them take steps to avoid future problems.
Set Deposit Limits
Most licensed gambling operators provide customers the opportunity to establish limits on how much they can deposit into their online account over a specific amount of time.
This limit should be aligned with the budget you have in mind to set aside. Never deposit more than you can afford or are ready to lose!
Establish Loss Limits
Other than deposit limits, operators also offer loss limits on players’ accounts. This means that you establish a loss amount and once you hit it, you are not allowed to place any more wagers for a specific time frame, which could be a day, a month, or a year.
Unsubscribe from Promotional Offers
Unsubscribing from promotional email ads is an approach you can take to succumb to the temptation of gambling offers and promos. You can also switch notifications attached to these.
Contact Customer Support Staff
Verified gambling operators train their customer employees to help them recognize the signs of problem gambling. Therefore, if you need assistance urgently, contact customer live chat, which is usually accessible round the clock without the need to speak to anyone over the phone.
If you are a relative or know someone with a developing gambling addiction, here is an article on how you can help them.
Prohibiting Underage Gamblers
Responsible gambling standards need to be set in place to protect minors from the perils of gambling. This is imperative to avoid problem gamblers in the future. Implementing measures to avoid problem gambling should not be an initiative on behalf of the gambling industry but more of a moral and legal obligation.
Online operators, therefore, need to instill a couple of preventive measures to ensure underage gaming activities are not taking place on their websites.
KYC Process
Registration tends to be quite a hassle in most casinos. Verified casinos will implement the Know Your Customer process, which requires a laundry list of personal information to ensure that the data provided for the casino account is valid and accurate. Identification scanners help trace fake IDs.
While lying to gambling operators might be easy digitally, stringent procedures like the KYC process can make it easier for the casino to detect underage gamblers. Read this article on the KYC process at online casinos to learn more.
Awareness campaigns
Another measure is to have gambling operators lead the charge in targeting ads and launching awareness and information campaigns for minors on the dangers of underage gambling.
Targeting Punters with Ethical Marketing Ads
Casinos need to make sure that advertising and marketing attempts are designed cautiously, and do not target vulnerable members of society. Also, they should not promote irresponsible gambling demeanors.
A good approach to doing this would be to base the marketing ads on the general principle of informed consent. This means that any customer who opts to buy a service or a product can only do so on condition that all relevant information related to said product or service is imparted to him.
This should be displayed on the website and in full accordance with the term ‘Informed consent’.
Informed consent is especially important in the world of online gambling, where problem gamblers fall into the cracks after being targeted by marketing that does not offer them the full picture of the gambling world or its possible pitfalls.
Informed consent entails that players who realize they are being sucked into the vortex of gambling may opt 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 clearly 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 imparts the idea that if players do purchase the bonus to trigger the feature, this 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.
How Casinos Help to Prevent Criminality and Fraud
There are many ways casinos implement responsible gambling measures to fight crime on their sites. The most common crimes are money laundering, identity theft, and false identification.
Identity Theft
This happens when someone steals another person’s data usually including name, social security number, or credit card information. This is done to steal money or commit other crimes.
Verified and secure online casinos acquire and install robust cybersecurity mechanisms in place, such as data encryption keys to safeguard player information.
False Identification
This is a form of fraud through the use of false identification like the use of fake IDs or stolen driver’s licenses to enter an online gambling site. Serious online gambling sites deploy identification scanners to detect fake IDs.
Money Laundering
This is the process by which the proceeds of illegal activities are disguised as legitimate funds. Online gambling sites are considered the go-to places for criminals who attempt to clean their dirty money.
When online casinos see a large hefty sum being moved from your account to the casino, that transaction will be thoroughly analyzed and background checks will be carried out to make sure everything is legal.
Protecting and Safeguarding Player Information
Hackers and data thieves will try to steal data from any digital portal. Casino sites are no exception! However, serious gambling sites have very secure mechanisms in place and it is only in their interest to protect users and prevent intrusions from malign actors.
Many casinos require players to access their sites without a subsidiary service or VPN. Using a proxy service or VPN might result in getting banned. This is done to restrict access to hackers and keep data safe. Data encryption methods are another way of protecting user information.
Responsible Gambling and Online Payment Transactions
When it comes to the safety of payment methods and the way casinos deal with transactions internally, online gambling sites take no chances.
Casinos do their best to offer the widest range of payment methods available. However, sometimes they may leave a preferred payment method out on purpose.
While players complain that certain casino sites do not always make available their favourite method of payment, there is usually a reason behind this, which is to ultimately protect the player.
Transactions take longer and are usually heavily scrutinized when there is a hefty sum moving from an account to a casino leading to suspicious activity. This is why background checks and KYC are so important to casinos.
Key Takeaways
- Licensed casinos implement responsible gambling measures like Self-Exclusion, Time-Outs, Deposit Limits, and Loss Limits.
- Casinos train their customer support staff to help those with a gambling addiction or their relatives and friends.
- KYC Process, ID Scanners, and Campaign Awareness are measures implemented by casinos to combat underage gambling.
- Casinos bear the responsibility of ensuring their marketing efforts are designed with informed consent. Serious casinos may even hire responsible gambling experts to intervene in the case of spiralling irresponsible gambling behaviour.
- Many online casino sites have also installed cybersecurity mechanisms to protect player data and information.
- Online gambling sites also cater to combat payment fraud and crime such as identity theft, fake IDs, and money laundering.
- The KYC process and background checks are necessary when hefty or suspicious transactions are being sent from an account to a casino.
Conclusion
For online casinos, responsible gambling takes shape in myriad forms and ways. This usually includes marketing ads, player data information, payment methods, preventing fraud and money laundering as well as underage gambling.
Failure to follow responsible gambling guidelines may result not just in hefty fines by the governing bodies and institutions set to monitor casinos, but in their license removal causing such casinos to shut down permanently.
Click more information on responsible gambling and how to gamble responsibly.
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