Betting is a form of entertainment… but we must support and protect our customers when the fun stops
Gambling is a great way to have fun, escape from the monotony of everyday life and bring entertainment into your life. However, sometimes for a very small amount of people the fun and entertainment stops and becomes a burden. Gambling operators recognize this and want to eliminate the negative consequences of gambling for their customers. After all, our customers include friends, family, and people we can relate to who also love sports and the spirit of competition. It also makes sense from a business perspective, as we want happy customers who will continue to be able to use our products.
We can identify several "battlefields" in the War of responsible gambling:
- Protection of vulnerable players
- Prevention of underage gambling
- Security measures against criminal activity
- Protection of online payments and confidentiality of information
- Responsible Marketing
Let's take a detailed look at each area:
Protection of vulnerable players
This is one of the most important areas. Some players may exhibit an excessive passion for casino games or sports betting activities and spend most of their lives betting, as well as a lot of money (sometimes not their own). To avoid this, there are many different tactics we use - one of which is the player’s self-exclusion. Self-exclusion of a player is his conscious decision in limiting himself access to our products, setting limits on money spent. If things are drastic, then the player can block himself on the website for a certain period or forever.
The best way of helping problem gamblers is by helping them to understand their own risks and take their own measures to avoid them. In many countries where gambling is regulated or licensed, the possibility of self-exclusion is required by law. For example, in Sweden in just one month more than 20,000 people took part in the national player self-exclusion program. In Denmark, it is possible for players to exclude themselves from all online gambling in the country. But it’s not always possible for a person to stop on their own in time, so Belgium and the Netherlands provide restrictions on gambling at the request of a close relative of the player. Scientists have conducted research and proved that a joint bank account can save you from unnecessary spending on gambling and this is another weapon in the fight for responsible gambling.
Prevention of underage gambling
Young people who have not reached the age of 18-21 simply should not be gambling money. In most countries, this is prohibited by law. Online operators, in turn, should make every effort to ensure that their sites are not visited by underage players. It is important to develop special stringent registration processes and conduct regular checks that guarantee the age of the players, as many teenagers try to trick the system and create false accounts. We also believe it is important for parents and teachers to educate teenagers about the dangers of gambling and unusual activity.
Security measures against criminal activity
Scammers are increasingly moving from real life to online platforms and endangering these sites associated with online financial transactions. Gambling sites are often subject to malicious viruses and hacker attacks. It is the duty of operators to constantly update their software and programs to detect and block such attacks.
Protection of online payments and confidentiality of information
Gambling operators know a lot about their customers: names, addresses, phone numbers and more. Therefore, they are required to take all measures in order to hide this information from prying eyes. To do this, operators regularly introduce new technical solutions, mechanisms, and tools to protect information. Operators must ensure uninterrupted operation during financial transactions and use only verified payment services with reliable protection against fraud. The protection and confidentiality of the client's personal and financial data is the direct responsibility of the operator.
Responsible Marketing
Gambling operators are finding more and more new advertising solutions to attract customers, but there are red lines, that should not be crossed. There are special statutory corpuses of advertising, which must be observed. In particular, advertising should not attract the attention of minors (for example, multi-copy materials) and it should not be oriented towards addicted players.
Parimatch cares about its customers and truly believes that gambling should be about entertainment, leisure, and love for sports - not a means of earning. Comprehensive compliance around responsible gaming will help to eliminate any risks and should enhance the gamblers’ experience. We have our own mechanisms and use all the tools we have available to protect our customers. If you realize that you or someone close to you has betting and/or gambling addiction, we advise you to call the helpline 1454 (Cyprus) to speak to a special advisor of the Multiple Intervention Centre, Mental Health Services of the Ministry of Health (MIC). Helpline 1456 (Cyprus) of the PERSEAS Counselling Center for Adolescents and Family also provides free of charge advisory support to adolescents and young adults up to 22 years of age and their family. Once you admit that you have an addiction problem, it is much easier to find help and to change your life for the better.