Interactive SOCIAL GAMING
When is social gaming actually social gambling?
Peter Greenhill, CEO of the Isle of Man’s e-Gaming Development Department, explores the current issues surrounding the burgeoning online gaming sector that is social gaming
That fount of all knowledge, Wikipedia, defines Social Gaming as: “…playing games as a way of social interaction, as opposed to playing games in solitude.”
Whilst this definition may apply to a number of the game types that we encounter in our industry it clearly does not cover a large number of others. Relying on this definition gives, perhaps, a false impression of the types of products on offer and the way in which many of these products are more akin to gambling than gaming. The mere removal of the letters “B” and “L” in the heading does not mean that certain product types should not be regulated.
No one would doubt that staking money or money’s worth on the outcome of an event in the hope of winning is a regulated event; but what about a site where you “play for fun” and where chips can be purchased on an on-line auction site, used in the game and then sold on that auction site later? How is this any different?
In early November 2013, a conference was held in London entitled “Social Gambling”. The juxtaposi- tion of these two words never normally uttered together has caused some raised eyebrows in the industry. Speakers and participants at the confer- ence explained how they add features to make players “crave” their games; how there were no age checks performed and even how Random Number Generators (RNGs) were adapted so that players on “play for fun” versions of casino games were delivered more winning hands than they should have.
The International Social Games Association are looking to introduce a self-imposed, socially responsible set of standards to promote responsi- ble gaming, the protection of minors and the vul- nerable and to ensure that their members conduct their business operations with probity and good governance. Members will be able to display a “kite-mark” on their websites to indicate their adherence to these standards. Whether this code will be sufficiently robust however, to head off the growing concerns of regulators and the Office of Fair Trading (or its equivalent in other countries) is unclear.
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We would have expected to see measures in the code to encompass the following:
l Full fit and proper checks on the principals of the companies
l The ability for players (or if they are minors, their parents) to enter time and in game spend limits after which warning messages are pro- duced in the games
l A film style rating system on game content
l Formal checking on any RNG used up to inter- national standards
The International Social Games Association are looking to introduce a self-
imposed, socially responsible set of standards to promote responsible gaming.
l RTP information on play for fun casino/slot games
l Links to problem gambling agencies
l Rules for handling on-line chat between play- ers in a responsible manner
l Formal complaints procedure including 3rd party resolution
The vast majority of Social Gaming companies are fully behind such measures and operate in a very responsible manner. However, as with any part of society, a few bad apples could spoil the bunch and the whole industry should be in favour of measures to prevent those bad apples from taint- ing the rest.
On the Isle of Man, we hold dear three core prin- ciples in relation to such gaming/gambling activi- ties:
Peter Greenhill, CEO, e-Gaming Development at Isle of Man Department of Economic Development.
Peter Greenhill moved to the Isle of Man in July 2013 to take up the position of CEO of e-Gaming for the Isle of Man Government’s Department of Economic Development. Following a very successful career in banking and banking systems with Credit Lyonnais, GE and Unisys, Peter has spent over 17 years in executive management positions in the gaming sector. He has provided solutions to lotteries worldwide whilst with EssNet AB and Betex and to the major European casino and betting operators whilst MD of both Cyberview UK and TCS John Huxley Europe.
Social gaming is a $3bn
business with over 120 million customers worldwide. 2014 will be the year when this sector comes under heavy scrutiny to prove that it can
put in place extremely strong, robust and effective self- regulation.
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