Responsible Gambling

Fortunately online gambling is not a problem for most players, but it can always get out of control. Do you think you need help of any sort or do you know somebody with gambling problems? Please visit our page about gambling addiction. Please note that the advices below are in place to prevent loss of control, in case there’s an addiction the only way of prevention is permanent self exclusion from all online casino brands played with.

Prevent addiction – Set the right limits

Setting limits is an easy way to control your online gambling behaviour at the online casino of your choice. You can set the following limits:

Time Limit – set a max time of playing per day / week or month.
Deposit Limit – set a limit of deposits per day / week or month.
Bet Limit – set a limit of bets per day / week or month.
Time-Out – Temporary self exclusion – for the maximum of a week.
Self Exlusion – Closure of account for time frame picked.

Please note that the limits named above are different per online casino and per country. Some countries are very strict regarding to gambling online whereas other countries have no restrictions in place to protect their citizens from problem gambling.

European licensees are getting more strict towards responsible gaming, players from Canada, South Africa and Asian countries are indirectly taking the benefits of these changes as casinos tend to apply their responsible gambling protocol to all their players.

18+ only – prevent underage gambling

We say 18+ of age as this is the usual age people are allowed to gamble. In some countries there’s a different age restriction in place but these limits never fall under the age of 18 (For example the minimum age in Malta is the age of 25). Underage gambling is not a big problem with online casinos as there’s the KYC procedures in place to ensure the identity of a player in question. Most of the online casinos offer a full refund of the deposits minus withdrawals in case a minor made use of their services. Once again, this also differs per casino and jurisdiction.

Block gambling websites for underage gambling

There’s several ways to block minors from accessing online casino websites, but these are not always effective. Popular software used to block gambling websites are Cyberpatrol, Netnanny, Gamblock (paid) and Netmom.

Online Casinos and Responsible gaming

Above we were talking about what Players can do to protect theirselves from problem gambling. But online casinos act very responsible when it comes to responsible gambling.

Pop-up shown with current wins / losses (minimum once per hour).
Setting limits up-on registration is getting the norm.
Analysing data to see change in game play (temporary closure account if needed).
Requesting Source of Wealth from players.
Blocking players per casino group in case of exclusions, not per casino.
Marketing cannot be send to players with limits / exclusions in place (ethical marketing).
Fair gaming – make all the rules and terms understandable to players.

If a player is not protected well according to the casino license in place there’s always the option to claim your money back. Specially gambling with an online casino group (note: I didn’t write indivicual casino) while you have an exclusion in place is a common way to get your deposits minus withdrawals returned.

Fraud checks is not the first point to think about when it comes to responsible gambling, but its only logical that stolen identities and payment details are also used while gambling online. Fraud checks are needed for both the casino and person in question.

With the GDPR in place people can decide better with online casinos what they want to share and refuse to share. Player data becomes more important by the year and the privacy of players should always be respected.

There’s a lot to improve when it comes to responsible gambling as there’s no unified laws in place. Even in the US and Europe the laws are different per state and country. Please check with your local regulator in case you think an online casino has not taken the responsible gambling laws serious enough.