With the meteoric rise of new online casinos, bettors are encountering a myriad of platforms to participate in gambling activities. Fueled by mobile wagering, youth gambling, and sports betting, gambling addiction is rising in concert with online casino revenue. Experts predict online gambling will reach a market size worth more than $77 billion by 2026. Internet betting drives one of the strongest financial economies globally, drawing billions of bettors from every corner of the world.
Digital casino profitability comes at a cost, with some bettors losing a staggering amount of money every year. Players who gamble online are more likely to experience addiction than other gamblers. As a result, advocates are calling for expanding responsible gaming programs to counteract the negative effects of gambling on those at risk of problem behaviors. Here are three ways new online casinos are collaborating with players, vendors, government agencies, and advocates to improve responsible gaming initiatives.
Some organizations criticize lack of government money availability. Funds are needed to institute responsible gambling programs, which offset the growing global gambling addiction problem. Luckily, some new online casinos are taking leadership roles by dedicating a small percentage of revenue toward responsible gambling initiatives. These funds are increasing awareness about the impact of gambling addiction, helping platforms to monitor at-risk behaviors, and supporting recovery efforts.
These financial investments offer win-win scenarios for everyone involved. For internet casinos, investing in gaming responsibly helps to promote brand recognition, emphasize social responsibility, and improve community relations. Players benefit from opportunities to self-monitor behavior by imposing time limits, deposit limits, time outs, and other responsible gambling habits.
Working with the government to ensure compliance with new and existing regulations helps to ensure new online casinos curtail gambling addiction. Traditionally, responsible gambling codes of conduct are voluntarily implemented by new online casinos. However, bad actors cause spikes in addiction, fraud, or underage betting, leading to restrictions by government branches, similar to recent United Kingdom (UK) laws, which ban some software features and require age verification.
According to the BBC, responsible gambling laws aim to minimize spending and addictive behavior. In the UK, casinos are now required to display a player’s total wins and losses, banning the feature that celebrates losses as wins, encouraging additional play. Additional legal restrictions are possible in several countries, as advocates push for measures to promote responsible gambling.
From providing a safe, secure operating environment to ensuring ethical gaming products, new online casinos are working diligently to ensure platform integrity. Some participate in industry conferences where policy makers collaborate on best practices with industry and policy stakeholders. Marketing responsibly complies with industry codes of conduct by targeting age-appropriate consumers and including factually correct content. After all, consumer satisfaction is incumbent on a website’s ability to offer entertaining games, while protecting a bettor’s money, information, and well-being.
By working in partnership with advocates, players, and agencies, new online casinos are creating innovative ways to curtail negative impacts. As the digital gambling ecosystem continues to grow and evolve, internal controls are vital to ensuring players are gaming responsibly.
If you or someone you know is in need of help, please visit the links below:
GamCare
Gamble Aware
Gamblers Anonymous
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