Online gambling is one of the biggest hobbies around, but there’s always been concern over the safety and harm of gambling. However, gambling operators are required by the UK Gambling Commission to follow responsible gambling guidelines, ensuring that players are protected, kept safe, offering fair games, and are given assistance over gambling harm.
All gambling operators in the United Kingdom offer a series of tools or guidance to help, but which operators went out of their way to help their customers in 2021, and what did they do? Take a look right here!
In April 2021, leading online casino PlayOJO partnered with Neccton to launch its brand new Safe Mate responsible gambling tool, which helps customers monitor their gambling behaviour by tracking how much users have deposited and wagered, and how much time they’ve spent gambling over a six-month period.
In addition to the above, the Safe Mate tool tracks all player data and detects changes in behaviour or any risk patterns. As we reported, it allows players to compare what they think they’ve spent against their actual spending, gives users an individual health score, and encourages them when their gambling behaviour changes for the better.
At the time of writing, the Safe Mate tool is available at SkillOnNet’s PlayOJO Casino in the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Spain. There’s so far been no confirmation of the tool launching in other markets.
Last month, operator LeoVegas launched its new deposit limit initiative in the United Kingdom. As per our report, the limits are assigned to customers when making their first deposit, and the tool uses third-party data and a proprietary risk prediction model to create a personalised deposit limit for a player that is consistently recalculated.
The deposit initiative – available with LeoVegas, 21 Casino, and Pink Casino brands – was designed to be used in conjunction with the operator’s AI safer gambling messages, which sends personalised messages to players with advice based on their risk profile and behaviour.
Back in July, online casino SlotsMillion launched its Player Protection team to work closely alongside and train other departments of the online casino’s business to ensure that responsible gambling practices are carried out throughout the business. The team will focus on anti-money laundering and customer service, ensuring that responsible practices are carried out in all customer interactions.
Announcing the launch of the Player Protection Team, SlotMillion CEO Charles Gross also suggested that the operator will be making additional responsible gambling enhancements in the coming months, though he didn’t clarify what some of those would be.
In addition to the above, a majority of the gambling operators licensed in the United Kingdom also took part in Safer Gambling Week 2021, spearheaded by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the Bingo Association, and the British Amusement Catering Trade Association (bacta).
The week-long campaign saw all participating websites display a series of safer gambling messages, and promote the slew of responsible gambling tools and guidance on offer to help customers struggling with gambling-related harm.
In short, gambling operators do a lot to protect their customers from developing gambling harm. While the UK Gambling Commission requires them to offer tools and guidance, many operators have gone out of their way to help their customers stay safe and prevent gambling harm. However, it is important to note that the majority of these tools must be enabled by the player or has no effect.
