There isn’t an organization or business sector that is completely resistant to the need for ethical and legal standards. The iGaming segment is one of the industries that frequently gets attention because of its rigorously enforced industry ethics, regulation, and oversight.
There are some mandates in place imposing these efforts, but some online casino platforms lean into ethics management beyond what’s required. Those establishments that do recognize that all efforts to prevent fraud and violations will ultimately provide value to the operator bottom line.
iGaming operators already subscribe to strict responsible gaming programs as part of their everyday business models. And the goal is to ensure players can responsibly entertain themselves without issue or putting themselves at risk.
Is your online gaming website embracing an equally ethical and robust plan for operations? Here are a few ethics considerations you need to know regarding your iGaming operations.
There are a ton of responsible gaming tools available within your chosen online gaming platform. Using them correctly can help improve your experience, and prevent problematic habits from forming. Let’s run through some of the more popular options.
Deposit Limits #
Deposit limits are an ideal way for regular players to allocate a budget towards their online gambling activity. Similar to people creating a budget for their weekly groceries or monthly expenses, applying a deposit limit towards player’s gambling activity can be a nice way for players to put a cap to their gambling budget.
The way deposit limits work are pretty self-explanatory: depending on the betting platform your player is on, you can set a deposit limit daily, weekly or monthly for your player and they will not be able to exceed that limit. This prevents players who may be chasing their losses to dip their hand back in the well and play with money that they shouldn’t.
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Time Out Sessions #
Time out sessions can seem like a more drastic tool to take but sometimes, they’re a valuable resource to take a step away. Time out sessions give your players the opportunity to suspend access to their betting account, ranging anywhere from a day to a month. Betting platforms will give the option to “cool off” and help players control how they want to use their app. During cool off periods, they will not be able to log into their online gaming account or deposit funds into their account or play in the online casino or make any sports wagers.
Depending on the platform your player is playing on, they may be able to withdraw any winnings or funds during their cool off period. Any existing bets they made will be live but you will not be able to access their account and continue wagering.
Self-Exclusion #
If time outs and cool offs aren’t doing the trick, your player can officially self-exclude themselves from participating in online gaming. This can be done directly within most of the online casino account, and will be as permanent as they elect for it to be.
It’s possible to self-exclude for shorter periods of time, but if needed, permanent options are available. In self-excluding player’s name and information will be submitted to the iGaming operator, and the regulatory body within the state that they’re betting.
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Wagering Limits #
Wagering limits are also pretty self-explanatory. Wagering limits enable your player to limit the amount of money that they are able to wager on a daily, weekly or monthly basis on their casino, poker and/or sportsbook account. Once they have reached your limit, they will not be able to continue wagering.
Wagering limits are very beneficial for a few reasons. First, it can help your players manage their bankroll in a more efficient way, valuing each bet. Second, wagering limits are a great way to help protect any winnings they may have made, and give them the time to withdraw their funds successfully.
Let’s go through an example, your players’re playing a game of online poker – Texas Hold’em. They can slap wagering limits on their account so that the platform won’t let them sit at a cash game table with stakes over a certain amount, say $.50/$1. Or so that it won’t let them buy-in to tournaments over a certain amount. This guarantees that they play within their set bankroll.
When playing online casino games or slots, your player can also cap the amount bet. It can be tempting to up the amount wagered on each spin. If they don’t want to risk more, set a wager limit and they won’t be able to raise it.
Session Limits #
You ever find yourself scrolling on social media, you look at the time and you realize you’ve been scrolling for way too long? Have you ever jumped down a youtube rabbit hole constantly clicking on suggested videos? Or how about playing your favorite casino game for hours on end?
This happens to all of us – smartphones have made it so easy to do this. The session limit is a nice tool to help control this urge.
What session limits do is it enables your player to specify how long they would like to be able to be logged in for. Depending on the player, this limit can be a daily or weekly amount of time that they’d like to allocate.
Once they are approaching their limit, they will receive a popup before reaching the end, informing them that their session limit will be wrapping up. Once time is up, that’s it. After the limits they’ve set have completed, they will be able to log back in again.
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Loss Limits #
Nobody likes to lose, gambling is certainly more fun when you win. But the reality is that everyone who frequents a casino, poker room, or sportsbook will eventually taste defeat. Loss limits are a good way to keep your player from chasing their losses when things go south.
iGaming operators manage to help player limit the amount of money that they are able to lose on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. If they reach the specified limit that they have designated, they will not be permitted to continue wagering.
As we discussed earlier, gambling is supposed to be fun and entertaining. It should not be treated as another form of income. Therefore, designating a loss limit is a good way to budget how much player is willing and can afford to lose while still having a fun time gambling.
Let’s say your player enjoy playing small stakes blackjack, but don’t want to get too heavy into it. They can set yourself a weekly loss limit of $100. That way they can play as many hands as they like, but if their losses for the week exceed the $100 limit, they get logged out. Loss limits allow them to easily budget gambling into their normal expenses.
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What’s next? #
iGaming operators and online gaming platforms endeavor to promote responsible participation. Gambling addictions are devastating to the individuals and families affected.
An internal ethics platform can make these responsible gaming initiatives more robust in conjunction with dedicated resources and consistent guidelines for patrons. Create an added layer of ethics and compliance protection for your teams and players alike with transparent policies for both.
Protecting your iGaming platform or online gambling establishment’s bottom line means also protecting those who work for you and those who do business with you.
Make sure your ethics and gaming responsibility guidelines change with your model, especially if you’re exploring more iGaming options. It’s one of the best tools at your disposal for combatting ethics issues and fraud. And in the end, it’s just good business.
