Three things you should know about safer gambling

As with other controversial sectors like alcohol, the conversation around legalised gambling is a complicated one that touches on a wide range of personal, societal and political issues. These are nuanced topics with valid opinions on all sides of the discourse.

There are some basics that we all tend to agree on although some fundamentals anchor the discussion. Here are three things that we think are important to know about recent developments in safer gambling:

The language around gambling behavior is already becoming outdated

Most of the articles written about gambling behavior in recent years have relied on a set of terms and phrases that we can all recognise by now.

“Responsible gaming” is often used as the blanket term to cover things like excessive play. Referring to gambling as “gaming” is one of the oldest tricks in the book and that language places the onus on the customer in the most literal way. Stakeholders tend to talk more about customers’ ability to police their own actions than they do about the industry’s responsibility to do so proactively.

“Safer gambling” has emerged as a more thoughtful term that conveys the underlying goals and responsibilities more precisely. Protecting customers cannot be fully reliant on them acting in a responsible way every time they gamble. What is more attainable is for the industry to create a gambling environment that is stronger, safer and less likely to create problems for their customers.

For that matter, “problem gambling” is becoming an antiquated phrase when used by the industry. The trend among experts is to instead focus on the harm gambling can create, zeroing in on the effects of gambling addiction as much as the causes.

These adjustments work to destigmatise gambling addiction and focus the attention on mitigating gambling-related harm.

Most stakeholders aren’t doing enough to protect gamblers

We touched on this a bit in our last article on the topic, but this is a fitting place to expand on the thought. Beyond the responsibility that any gambler inherently bears on their own, three other parties hold a direct stake in their well-being: lawmakers, regulators, and the operators.

Lawmakers represent the first rung on the safer gambling ladder. As representatives for the people, they turn the possibility of expanded gambling into a statutory reality. Enabling laws vary in length and complexity from one jurisdiction to the next, but their scope is typically limited to spelling out (1) who can take a bet, (2) who can place a bet, and (3) what can be bet on. There’s an argument to be made that the majority of these laws don’t go far enough to protect gamblers.

So, let’s talk about the regulators. They’re responsible for building upon those legislative foundations to create the walls and the roof for legalised gambling. Written regulations are often much wordier than the underlying law, as they need to clarify every single detail involved with licensing, monitoring and taxing the industry from scratch. Whereas a law might simply authorise an activity, regulations impose limitations that shape the way it’s implemented – primarily with a focus on preventing customers from being taken advantage of in one way or another. Gambling regulations almost universally include mechanisms to combat underage and excessive play, but they typically leave most of the remedial work to operators. Enforcement can be hit or miss too, for that matter.

At the top of the safer gambling ladder, operators are required to comply with the law and the regulations as a condition of their licensure. And their ability to produce revenue depends on keeping those licenses in good standing. But as we mentioned previously, compliance represents the bare minimum effort needed to create a safer gambling environment. Operators should – and will – learn that the long-term future of their business hinges on more than mere compliance, but on a serious effort to protect their customers and those around them who may be adversely affected by gambling. They’re the party that has the direct point of contact with the end-user, after all.

Any sincere endeavor to protect customers must go beyond compliance and into the realm of  thoughtful sustainability.

Acknowledging that there’s a problem is the necessary first step

This is something of a universal tenet for addressing any destructive behavior, and it applies to all parties involved in the legalised gambling apparatus too.

Lawmakers and regulators must acknowledge that the structures they’re putting in place broadly aren’t strong enough to prevent or treat gambling addiction. Despite their efforts to craft a safe framework, customers continue to engage with the gambling industry in a way that causes tangible harm to themselves and others. Evidence of this is everywhere, most notably in a number of mainstream media articles that tell the stories of lives lost or hurt as a result of gambling behavior. It’s okay to acknowledge that there’s more work to be done on the policy front.

Operators also need to realise that there is this gap between compliance and the types of protections that demonstrate a real concern for their customers’ well-being. It’s important for these companies to understand that merely following the law and the regulations often isn’t enough to truly protect customers. It’s okay to admit that more operational diligence is needed to prevent some of them from experiencing harm, especially when operating in multiple jurisdictions.

Creating a safe and sustainable future for the global gambling industry really is a team effort, and these efforts should be driven by empirical data and a real desire to help rather than a habitual recitation of a few responsible-gambling catchphrases.

SG Certified

Svend Aage Kirk has had a very successful career in a range of fields, most recently as CEO of TurnAvisual, before moving to focus on gambling in 2017. In 2018, he co-founded Mindway AI, a leading tool which helps operators and companies to spot early signs of gambling addiction. This passion for making the gambling industry a safer and more sustainable place led Kirk to join SG:certified earlier this year.

SG:certified focuses on sustainability gambling and provides a platform to enable operators to achieve the SG certifications required to make them a responsible operator. Kirk helps educate companies to understand their impact and exposure to compliance risks as well as training their staff in the different international certifications and regulatory frameworks.