03-Feb-2012
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| Responsible Gambling Guidelines |
RESPONSIBLE GAMBLING GUIDELINES (RGG)
The Interactive Gaming Council (IGC) is a non-profit trade association that serves as a collective voice for the interactive gambling industry. The IGC builds credibility in the industry and creates member benefits by aggressively addressing legislative and regulatory challenges and opportunities in order to promote fair and responsible gambling. Members are dedicated to achieving the goals implicit in this mission and welcome your comments and support.
ISSUE STATEMENT
Participation in gambling activities, while a form of entertainment for the majority, has the potential to cause social harm to individuals and their communities. Responsible Gambling Guidelines are essential to better educate customers with information needed to make reasonable choices. The RGG also help those operating gambling sites to better manage and conduct operations in a manner that meets regulatory guidelines and ensures the integrity of the industry.
These guidelines highlight the actions that operators can take to assist customers in maintaining control over their gambling, provide options for those who are having problems and prevent underage access. The Helping Hand Program (“HH”) complements these guidelines by providing consumers with information and tools to make informed decisions regarding their participation in gambling.
OVERALL PRINCIPLES
IGC members agree to comply with the applicable sections of IGC’s Code of Conduct. The main high-level principles that underpin the Responsible Gambling Guidelines (“RGG”) are as follows:
Adoption
* IGC members, at a minimum, agree to adopt IGC-approved Responsible Gambling Guidelines to complement responsible gambling requirements of their respective licensing jurisdiction. In the case of conflict, the licensing jurisdiction takes precedence.
Corporate Social Responsibility
* IGC members shall make every reasonable effort to assist players experiencing gambling-related problems and others affected by a player’s gambling.
* IGC members are encouraged to provide links and financial support to organizations that provide assistance, programs and services to individuals with gambling problems. The IGC will assist in identifying appropriate organizations upon the request of a member.
* IGC members are committed to business practices that improve the quality and knowledge of employees by providing opportunities for training and development.
Collaboration
* IGC will establish a Responsible Gambling Committee to facilitate the implementation and regular review of the RGG.
* The Responsible Gambling Committee will work with IGC members to establish and refine techniques to discourage problem gambling.
ACTION AREAS
Staff Training
* IGC members shall designate a person/s as responsible for advancing responsible gambling policies, including, but not limited to, seeking training for staff on adhering to their company-wide mission and strategies on responsible gambling from professionals whose area of expertise addresses prevention, identification, intervention and referral of individuals with gambling problems to assistance programs.
* Where an IGC member out-sources customer interface services such as Internet call centers, the IGC member must ensure that such service providers properly train their own staff with regard to RGG.
Advertising
* IGC members agree to abide by an IGC endorsed Advertising Code of Practice, a copy of which can be found on the IGC website at https://igcouncil.org/aboutus_readmore.php?id=212.
Underage Gambling
* IGC members shall implement measures (including player registration and verification controls) to prevent underage gambling.
* IGC members shall clearly post age restrictions on, at a minimum, its player registration page.
* When made available, IGC member sites will utilize rating standards that provide for content registration (for example, PICS rating standards and Internet Content Rating Association, “ICRA” tool).
* IGC members shall provide information about, and links to, blocking software for use by parents and others in an effort to curtail access by underage users.
* IGC members will post a clear policy for dealing with underage gamblers.
* IGC members will investigate, identify and apply appropriate age verification procedures and pay particular attention to financial transaction methods that are available to underage persons, such as debit cards.
Player Protection
To demonstrate support in encouraging responsible gambling and providing assistance in regard to gambling-related problems, IGC members will promote a link to, or will host, the IGC’s Helping Hand program (https://igcouncil.org/aboutus_readmore.php?id=251) or something similar on every public page.
a) Informed Customers
* IGC members will ensure that players have ready access to account balances and betting history.
* IGC members will ensure that all players, including those on play-for-free sites, will be informed of the potential risks associated with gambling, how to keep gambling safer and where to get help if gambling is creating problems.
* Information will be available that informs all players, including those on play-for-free sites, of the operation and characteristics of games, probabilities of winning, and the role, if any, that skill may play in games where outcome is determined by chance in order to dispel erroneous beliefs about the odds and probability of winning.
* IGC members shall provide players with a link to the licensing authority website for situations where consumers require additional information or have a dispute.
b) Safeguards
* IGC members will provide players with “reality checks” designed to assist gamblers to monitor levels of expenditure of time and money.
* IGC members shall provide the ability for a player to establish their own deposit limits and / or loss limits and will abide by restrictions and limitations imposed by that player.
* IGC members agree not to extend credit to customers. Specifically, members cannot permit a player to wager where the funding of that wager comes from the operator other than through a promotion run by the operator.
c) Problem Gambling Assistance
* Members will address those with problems in a professional manner, including, but not limited to, making information and/or links readily available.
* IGC members will provide players with the option to self-exclude from the site.
* Gamblers who experience certain levels of loss will receive encouragement to self-assess for impaired control and to consider seeking assistance.
d) Fraud Awareness
* Consumer use of credit cards online has increased significantly over recent times. Unfortunately, accompanying this growth has been an increase in illegal activity associated with the use of credit cards for online transactions. Members should advise consumers about the importance of following good practices in order to safeguard the integrity of their card/s. An example of possible safeguards can be found on the APACS website: http://www.apacs.org.uk/media_centre/press/06_04_12.html (APACS is the UK payments association).
Communication
* IGC members will ensure that information regarding underage gambling and player protection is clearly and readily apparent to all customers.
* IGC members will actively promote problem gambling awareness education.
* The Responsible Gambling Guidelines will be posted on the sites of IGC members.
Research
* IGC members will support objective research to develop empirically based customer protection measures and initiatives.
* IGC members will support objective and ongoing research to monitor the effectiveness of initiatives designed to encourage responsible gambling and assist those with gambling-related problems.
* IGC members will facilitate an independent audit of their compliance with the RGG.
INTERPRETATION
The Responsible Gambling Guidelines apply to those IGC members who conduct some form of interactive gambling, including the Internet, Interactive television and mobile phones. However, for practical reasons, different delivery channels will need certain provisions tailored exclusively to them.
06.12.11
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