“Te ECA believes strongly in the principle of a social licence, granted not by governments, but as part of a mutual contract with the communities in which we operate to be accepted by society. Only the
implementation of effective and efficient responsible gambling measures will ensure the protection of vulnerable customers, but also create a
positive public perception, which forms the basis for a prosperous and sustainable future for single operators and the whole sector.
Te ECA is revising its position paper this year regarding responsible gambling, what can you tell us about the elements you’re introducing/ updating? Will the ECA’s Responsible Gaming Standard also be revised - is there a timescale for this?
“We are working hard, but we’re still at an early stage. Tings we are looking at:
u
How to learn and adapt across multiple countries - regulatory development is not in step across Europe, so it is important to map what we can learn from the front-runners in certain areas.
u
Information, information, information. A player with rational beliefs will take responsibility. How can we make sure that we positively impact the rationale beliefs of players? Tis includes giving more information to players to make sure they are well informed about the volatility of games and the risks involved. And we must use new technologies to achieve this.
u
Te role of affordability – Te discussion about gambling is increasingly looking at the incorporation of affordability into prevention measures. We recognise that people should play only with what they can afford. At the same time, we see that players are also increasingly aware of their privacy rights. We must strike the right balance between these two factors, taking into account that from a scientific perspective, affordability is just one important piece of information that helps inform safer gambling practices.”
How has the role of RG changed since the ECA’s policy was first introduced in 2014?
“I’ve been in the industry for only two years, but I see that across Europe the focus upon RG has increased strongly. I see strong commitment from all members to invest in deeper knowledge about prevention, from both a scientific perspective and in taking a leading role in addressing problems
PETRA DE RUITER CEO, Holland Casino
and investing in RG. I believe this is a strong foundation upon which to evolve the ECA’s position on Responsible Gaming.”
What does RG best practice look like across the membership of the ECA? Are there any initiatives that you’d highlight for special mention?
“We should look more to research concerning effective prevention and legislation. A great example is Play Positiv, introduced by M. Wohl. Te method stresses that we should focus on informing and protecting the more than 95 per cent players with no problems and low risk of developing problems, so they remain low risk. For the five per cent, we should have all measures in place, but a large part of the job is to positively stimulate healthy gameplay within this group.”
Why are initiatives such as the AGA’s Responsible Gambling Month worthwhile in your view?
“Te ECA believes strongly in the principle of a social licence, granted not by governments, but as part of a mutual contract with the communities in which we operate to be accepted by society. Only the implementation of effective and efficient responsible gambling measures will ensure the protection of vulnerable customers, but also create a positive public perception, which forms the basis for a prosperous and sustainable future for single operators and the whole sector.
“In times of around-the-clock availability of gambling products, efficient, effective and verifiable responsible gambling measures are of utmost importance to address the negative impact of uncontrolled, unregulated and un-prosecuted growth of unlicensed gambling offers on society. In this respect, the ECA would like to state that more needs to be done to distinguish between operators with meaningful and effective responsible gambling programmes and operators that are simply window dressing and flat-out misleading their customers and authorities about their responsible gambling measures.”
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