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Leading industry bodies are deeply involved in a key initiative that seeks a more cohesive approach to problem and underage gambling.

Good progress is being made on a joint initiative with Gamcare, eCOGRA, the RGA, the EGBA and the IGC which seeks to introduce a cohesive industry approach to the critically important area of problem and underage gambling.

Following a round-table discussion involving major companies in the business, eCOGRA, Gamcare and the Remote Gaming Association were asked to produce a Responsible Gambling Code in January last year.
Most of the reputable companies and organisations involved had already put in place individual anti-problem gambling measures and codes of practice for identifying and handling potential or actual victims of gambling addiction, drawing on the growing body of public knowledge on the subject, and improved screening and diagnostic technologies. Many had already instituted professional staff training and refresher programs, too.

Nevertheless, there was agreement that a more cohesive approach was desirable.
The national problem gambling charity in the UK, GamCare was asked to spearhead the development of a universal code of good practice, and GamCare Trade Services CEO Andrew Poole, aided by Clive Hawkswood, CEO of the UK’s Remote Gaming Association and eCOGRA’s Fair Gaming Advocate Tex Rees started work on the project.

By October last year, the code had been finalised and was presented to the media and the industry at the annual European Interactive Gaming Expo in Barcelona. It has since found favour with other key organisations representing major businesses in the online gambling industry such as the European Gaming and Betting Association and the Interactive Gaming Council.

Sigrid Ligne, secretary general of the European Gaming and Betting Association said:

“The EGBA has always pressed for the highest standards of social responsibility in the European online gaming and betting industry. We are pleased to contribute now to a code of conduct for responsible gaming and greater player protection at international level”

The primary goal of this code of conduct is to protect players and promote responsible gambling by introducing minimum standards and practical measures throughout the online gambling industry, thereby establishing a uniform international standard.

The code covers 30 key points which cover underage gambling, customer communication, staff training, advertising and promotions as well as player protection measures, with full details available here www.ecogra.org/RGCode.

Andrew Poole has appealed to online gambling licensing jurisdictions and businesses alike to accept the code, saying: “GamCare hopes that the adoption of this code will better enable the gambling public to make informed decisions with regards to their remote gambling participation, secure in the knowledge that operators are required by condition of license to protect the welfare and enjoyment of their customers.”

Clive Hawkswood of the RGA, which counts most of the UK’s major online gambling companies among its members says: “The promotion of responsible gambling and the adoption of appropriate safeguards are fundamental to the long term success of the online gambling industry. As the industry develops it will inevitably come to be regulated in more jurisdictions. In those places and others where regulation is already being developed I would commend this code to them. It is based on the best industry experience and practice and, more importantly, the expertise of GamCare.”

The I-Gaming Code not only sets out general principles on responsible gambling, but provides practical measures for meeting standards which are often ahead of many national regulations, making the document a persuasive authority for the future.

The code is divided into five main sections, which are (1) underage gambling, (2) player protection measures, (3) customer communication, (4) staff training and (5) advertising / promotion.

1. Underage gambling

The Code lays down security measures to prevent access to online gaming and betting services by underage players, with the filtering method consisting of age verification and recommendations for strengthening the effectiveness and reliability of this technique.

Operators are further encouraged to apply checks and controls, such as KYC (know your customer) consumer information regimes, the display of age warning signs on entry and at the registration stage and the introduction of clear policies for promptly dealing with underage players seeking entry, or subsequently discovered.

Collaboration with other business databases is encouraged in order to provide the most thorough screening possible.

Verification intervals during which neither the customer nor the operator can benefit from any gambling activity that takes place are also recommended, together with guides on payment methods which may be used by minors, such as pre-paid cards.

2. Player protection measures

Specific operational measures are recommended when it comes to player protection. For example, specific web-pages on player protection and responsible gambling should be added to gambling websites - accessible from any screen where gambling action occurs. These pages should comprise a warning that gambling could be harmful if not controlled and kept in moderation; advice on responsible gaming and a link to sources of help; a link to an accepted and simple self-diagnostic process to determine risk potential; a list of player protection measures that are available on the site how to access same and details or a link to the site’s responsible gambling policy.

All downloaded gaming software should contain a clear reminder to the players on the importance of responsible gambling and a link to the responsible gambling page.

The Code emphasises the importance of player self-exclusion facilities, recommending that operators ensure that Internet users who gamble on their websites are aware of the option to self-exclude for a minimum period of six months. The actions to be undertaken with regard to self-excluded players are also itemised.

Players must be given the tools to help them gamble responsibly, specifically the ability to constantly monitor their spending, set deposit limits, control the time spent on gambling and full access to their account history.

Pages on the website where free play or ‘practice’ games are available must carry the same level of player protection as real money games. These pages should therefore provide links to age restriction, responsible gambling and player protection information. And the pay-out percentage for a particular game type in free play mode should be the same as that for the real money game.

The more obvious necessity for certifying and monitoring game fairness, rules and results is also stressed.

3. Customer communication

Communication with players should carry a responsible gambling message and information enabling players with a dispute to access a channel where this can be addressed at an appropriate level and without difficulty. Uncomplicated access to responsible gambling and support pages is a key requirement.

4. Staff training

Frontline customer services which deal directly with players should receive appropriate training and refreshers on social responsibility, empowering them to identify suspicious patterns or behaviour and to provide assistance and help if indicated.

5. Advertising and promotion

One of the important aspects of the Code deals with general and gambling specific principles which should be applied to add a responsible gambling element to promotional and advertising activities by operators. These relate to the marketing message content, the gambling industry’s reputation, image and value, protection of minors and ethics surrounding promotional emailing.

It is worth mentioning here that an industry that has demonstrated a genuinely responsible approach to online gambling stands a better chance of future success in the key - but presently difficult to access - American market.The discriminatory war against online gambling currently being waged by United States enforcement officials and politicians has focused attention as never before on the need for practical and enforced responsible gambling measures by operators.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of the strangely unbalanced official approach to online gambling in America, the fact remains that the over-riding moral obligation to exclude underage and problem gamblers felt by most major Internet casino and poker companies has been seriously boosted by the need to counter the false perceptions being created by the industry’s detractors.

For online casino and poker room operators that means the continued and diligent application of genuine responsible gambling programs, at the same time ensuring that the rapidly evolving exclusionary technologies and training content are understood and considered.

The online gambling industry is fortunate that despite continued growth in the international markets, the level of problem gambling has remained relatively low - the recent Gambling Prevalence study by the UK Gambling Commission is the latest confirmation of this trend, which was illustrated by our own independent eCOGRA survey in 2006 and that of the more recent major study carried out for the bwin online gambling group by Harvard University.

Nevertheless, the social and humanitarian consequences of problem gambling, and the intense public and political interest and bad press it can evoke make this phenomenon an object of central and abiding concern. This applies to the industry in general but particularly to the operators, who bear the onus of ensuring that good responsible gambling practice is constantly maintained.

The Code helps to achieve this, and support from the many and diverse members of major industry bodies like the EGBA, eCOGRA, RGA, IGC and GamCare is a significant step forward for consistency and commitment.

Where to from here?

Hopefully 2008 will see further commitment from stake holders in this industry. The obvious target for further progress in achieving widespread acceptance and implementation of the Code is the regulatory sector.

Work has already started on a collegiate and flexible approach that will encourage leading national online gambling licensing jurisdictions such as the UK, Malta, Gibraltar, Alderney, Antigua and others to endorse the practical and protective elements of the Code and require its implementation by Internet gambling companies falling under their authority.

Further critical meetings are planned to take this objective further forward, and will be preceded by intense behind-the-scenes engagement.

With a generally more open gambling industry in prospect in the 27-nation European Union, perhaps showing by example the road forward for the future, it makes sense for the Responsible Gambling Code initiative to continue setting the agenda and bringing interested parties on board with the unselfish aim of protecting the player and mitigating the threat and consequences of problem gambling.

Any way you look at it, the new Code is a landmark development taking the industry into a more caring, player-sensitive and responsible future by using practical and proven measures firmly based on experience and research-backed knowledge. With the right sort of unpartisan approach, its merits are clear and the potential for good is significant.

The groundwork has been done; the challenge is now acceptance and a commitment to use the Code to provide the player protection it makes possible.

[via eCOGRA]