Responsible gaming tools offer some of the most effective ways for players to limit the amount of time and money spent at an online poker room, online casino, or sportsbook.
Any legitimate, reputable online gambling operator will offer inbuilt tools — commonly referred to within the industry as “responsible gaming tools” or RG tools — into their software. These tools can be accessed by players during registration, or at any time after they log into the site.
The most popular responsible gaming tools players will find at legal, regulated sites are:
A mix-and-match approach can be used when using these tools so that the perfect combination of preventative measures can be implemented however the player sees fit. Any combination of these responsible online gambling tools will help curb excess spending on time spent on a site. These tools should also be easily accessible through the online poker, casino, or sportsbook software platform and mobile app.
For instance, deposit limits can be used in conjunction with a time limit. The player will set the maximum amount they are allowed to deposit on the site as well as how long they can remain logged in. This helps prevent players from wasting hours chasing their losses and getting sucked into addictive behavior.
But the onus shouldn’t always be on the player to limit play — the operator has a duty of care towards their players. For example, if a player chooses to self-exclude, the operator must not contact them or encourage them to gamble in any way.
- Play one hand & get $50 in tournament tokens
- Top-quality mobile app
- Best online MTT schedule
Going a step further, top tier operators such as PokerStars’ parent company Flutter and Unibet’s parent company Kindred Group have implemented impressive systems to monitor whether players are gambling online within their means or if there needs to be an intervention from the operator to curb what the player is spending.
For instance, the UK & Ireland brand of Flutter recently revealed to responsible gambling site Sports Shield that it carries out financial checks early in the customer journey for anyone who might be gambling more than they can afford.
Working on this blueprint, Flutter created the Affordability Triple Step to make the financial checks as robust as possible.
“It works by having three layers of protection,” Luke Sugden, Director of Risk and Safer Gambling for Flutter UK&I told Sports Shield. “Firstly, identifying financial red flags (such as bankruptcies) at registration; secondly, ongoing and real-time monitoring of all customers; and, thirdly, bespoke spending backstops, which means that we can support players throughout the customer journey, helping us to keep gambling a safe and enjoyable experience for all our customers. We believe there need to be lower backstops for younger customers as, generally, they have lower affordability and are at higher risk of potential harm.”
“As with everything in life, it’s not possible to remove 100% of the risk from any activity. Our aim is to minimize the risks as much as possible to keep our customers safe and to provide the best possible support if things do go wrong,” Sugden adds.
Learn more about responsible gaming, how to recognize harmful gambling behavior, how to tell if a poker site is legit, and more at Poker Shield »
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