RESPONSIBLE GAMING
Deposit, stake and win limits are a straightforward, simple approach to providing a safe environment for players. If you lower, for example, the monthly deposit a player can make, then if they feel the urge to gamble more than that deposit, they must wait until the following month to deposit more. Stake limits may be seen as a way for gamblers not to burn through vast amounts of money very quickly, but have an effect similar to restricting game design. Economics dictates that stakes are linked to ‘wins’ or jackpots. The bigger the stake, the more you may win and the bigger the thrill. Lower the stake limit, and you lower the thrill and the incentive to play. An associated measure to the above is the banning of credit cards to pay for gambling deposits, the theory being that players should not be allowed to borrow money to pay for gambling as gambling with money you do not have is seen as a main symptom of a gambling addict. Player Registration and Monitoring Increasingly, player registration is being required by regulators of online markets and to some extent in land-based casinos. Such regulations range from obliging the gambling operator to conduct age verification checks to monitoring player activity for signs of compulsive behaviors. Monitoring player activity for signs of a gambling problem has been seen as a potential way to stop a problem before it becomes serious. In betting shops and casinos, some jurisdictions require staff be trained to help spot when players may not be in full control of their impulses, such as looking for signs of intoxication or working with a compulsive or addictive gambling prevention program. This is similar to how a responsible bar owner operates. If they see a customer who has had too much to drink, they have the opportunity to talk and suggest they stop, or to stop serving them altogether. It is a case of knowing regular customers and being responsible as a business owner and member of society. When it comes to online gambling, things become a bit trickier as the operator will rarely, if ever, speak to their customers. There is no one bringing drinks or checking on their customers in a personal way, as would happen in a casino or betting shop. Nevertheless, some regulators require operators to spot those players who exhibit signs of problem gambling. Where required, this is usually achieved by registering players and electronically logging and monitoring their playing habits. It is also common for gambling regulators to require operators to offer players the chance to ‘self-exclude’, effectively banning themselves from
gambling with an operator, or across several operators, for a set period of time or permanently. To be excluded across multiple operators of course requires more information on the player to be gathered and either shared or put on a central register, such as with the United Kingdom Gamstop system or in Denmark with ROFUS. Game Design Technological, web-based companies are known for designing website text, graphics, sounds and functions to give endorphin ‘hits’ to their users or enticing them to ‘click’. This makes the user feel good when using their site and encourages further use. Perhaps this is best illustrated by claims of vast amounts of effort going into seemingly immaterial elements of social media websites and apps such as ‘like’ buttons or the way pages ‘scroll’. The design of such features is not by accident: they are there to give the user the greatest satisfaction when using their platform and increase their use. Such features play on users’ subconscious, involuntary reactions in order to increase revenue, much in the same way advertisers of goods have done for generations. When it comes to gambling, especially with regards to machine and online gambling, there are a multitude of text, graphics, sounds and functions which a designer can utilize in order to get the customer to keep playing and to entice them to keep handing over their money. This is not necessarily a conscious decision of all game designers but the race to make more appealing games in order to beat the competition may play a part in a trend towards more addictive games. Gaming companies want to entice customers away from their competition and, more importantly, keep their existing customers. In order to do so the offer of a more thrilling gaming experience is required and so the introduction of ‘non-essential’ gaming features is introduced. Such non-essential features may include flashing graphics, satisfying sounds indicating an imminent ‘win’ or faster, more intense gameplay. Some of the thrill of the game will be consistent with how the average person would feel when participating in any form of gambling, but there should at least be concern over the non- essential parts of the gambling experience which proliferate in a competitive environment. Although, as previously stated, the evidence as to the link between an increase in gambling variety and an increase in problematic gambling is sparse, there is not enough evidence to conclude that these non-essential gaming features do not cause an increase in problematic gambling.
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IMGL MAGAZINE | APRIL 2023
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