It isn’t often that you see some of the biggest operators of US online casinos collaborate on anything; they are competitors, after all. For the cause of promoting responsible gambling, though, it appears these “frenemies” can see eye-to-eye.
The alignment of these online gambling companies has produced a set of operating standards that look great on paper. A release explains how the participants will put the principles into action as well.
Major online operators back responsible gambling standards
A press release from Entain, which provides services to online casinos and owns half of BetMGM, lays out the new standards composed of 12 principles based on four concepts. Entain is also one of the seven signatories to the agreement. The others are:
- Bally’s Corporation
- BetMGM
- DraftKings
- Entain
- FanDuel
- MGM Resorts International
The four basic concepts that the 12 principles espouse are:
- Restricting activity to legal markets only
- Instilling cultures of responsible gambling throughout all aspects of the business
- Perceiving gambling as a form of entertainment
- Remembering that some people who use their products have a need for additional resources and support to play responsibly
Entain Senior Vice President for American Regulatory Affairs and Responsible Gambling Martin Lycka stated in the release, “we have the research, the data, the partners—all the tools to establish an effective nationwide code of responsible gaming principles and we hope our industry and state regulators will join us in advancing these principles. Our patrons deserve it.”
All of these words sound great but mean very little if there is no corresponding action. The release from Entain touches upon steps the collaborators plan to take.
Walking the walk to back up the talk
The 12 principles lay out some of the concrete actions these companies have agreed to undertake to support their proclamation. Those include:
- Providing easy-to-read information about how to access responsible gambling resources and use the tools the operators provide like custom deposit/time limits
- Supporting funding for research on responsible gambling
- Training all employees on responsible gambling practices not only on hire but at regular intervals during their employment
Many of the principles involve measures that the operators are already taking, however, like giving users the option to self-exclude and monitoring accounts to ensure that users are of the appropriate ages in the disparate jurisdictions. Hopefully, these standards will strengthen those commitments even further.
