The longing to participate in gaming activities is deep-rooted in the primal instincts of us humans to acquire resources for our good with little or no effort.
This is to support our sustenance and procreation which is a primal necessity of our species. gaming is a modern-day tool to satisfy this need and the nitty-gritty details of modern-day gaming are designed in a way to appeal to this biological need to win and establish dominance.
The resemblance of gaming to the action and reward system is almost negligible but the appeal is of equal value to the human mind. It not only feeds on the reward-seeking part of our brain but also triggers the entertainment-seeking parts.
As a result, it gets to a point where it is hard to draw the line between responsible gaming and uncontrolled gaming.
What is Responsible Gaming?
While explaining responsible gaming, a broad concept has to be covered which should comprise of several policies as well as requirements which are all applicable to the stakeholders of the iGaming industry in a way that the standards of the gaming industry are maintained in terms of quality and user experience.
There is no doubt behind the message that gaming has to be solely treated as a pastime activity instead of a way to generate monetary gains. Although the majority of the population enjoys gaming activity as a hobby, often the problem arises when they overgrow their risk-taking abilities. This often leads to debts that are hard to recover.
This is the reason why almost every gaming operator features a variety of services supporting responsible gaming practices.
Since responsible gaming is a vast topic to discuss, there are several aspects of it that need to be shed light upon.
Why Should Investments Be Made on Responsible Gaming
The Investment into GamStop by the UKGC
In order to support safer gaming practices among citizens, the UK government took it upon itself to look after the industry standards to eliminate gaming disorders and their effects to the greatest extent. As a part of their commitment, the United Kingdom gaming Commission launched Gamstop. However, this GamStop guide covers all the pitfalls of this tool.
It is a self-exclusion scheme developed by the remote gaming association to look after vulnerable gamers. A rule was made in 2020 that as a part of UKGC, all law-abiding gaming operators registered under the gaming Commission had to comply with the rules of Gamstop as a result of which the scheme gained over a couple of lacs of registered users willing to self exclude themselves.
GameSys Investment into GambleAware
GambleAware is an independently operating organization that is concerned with the legal protection of services and further research carried out for the commissions.
The contributions of the gaming industry are essential and it has been made compulsory for the gaming operators to contribute 0.1% of their profit to fund the research programs as well as the education and treatment of the masses recovering from gaming addiction.
GambleAware is the only operating recipient of the courses there. Ongoing through the figures for April till December 2020 it was found that a contribution of 228600 pounds was received by GambleAware where GameSys alone made the largest contribution of 450000 pounds.
Betway was the second-highest contributor donating a sum of 134000 pounds, whereas 888 contributed a sum of 50,000 pounds holding the 3rd position.
The Investment of GambleAware into GamCare
Gamcare is another name in the industry that supports affected gamers of the UK and the collaboration of GambleAware and GamCare from 2018 to 2021 has been of great help to serve the nation in the form of treatment and education.
As a part of their agreement, GambleAware invested the sum of 3.9 million pounds on GamCare and the fund would be utilized in several aspects like contribution to the National gaming HelpLine, for affected people to have access to computerized cognitive behavioral therapy, development of peer support groups all across the Internet as well as counseling services in England Scotland and Wales.
The Areas of Responsible Gaming Includes
Safeguarding Against Criminal Activities
just like other e-commerce websites, gaming websites oftentimes experience fraudulent activities related to online theft. A lot of financial data are stored in the databases of the online gaming sites which not only is sensitive to the customers but also to the operators.
To serve the purpose of prevention, operators often revisit their privacy policies and deploy stronger policies to maintain safety. This also includes preventing online attacks for information piracy. Online payment protection it’s another major aspect.
Protection of Vulnerable Players
Another effective way to ensure the preservation of safe gaming practices is the protection of gamers who are vulnerable to the negative effects of gaming. gaming is highly addictive and customers are very much prone to suffer the after-effects like debt and other financial issues.
Here, self-exclusion programs come to the rescue which has a high level of functionality in saving these gamers from a harmful fate.
According to the behavioral experts, extensive surveys have shown a certain set of indicators displaying responsible gaming habits which include,
- Not exceeding the limit of an individual’s affordability limits be it in terms of time money or any other resources
- Balancing priorities successfully including gaming as a pastime activity and other responsibilities well.
- A better understanding of the risks associated with the same and voluntarily choosing to place the bets according to the risk-taking abilities.
- Having proper control over the gaming urge through regulation of own desire and knowing the limits.
- Having the thrill and enjoyment of gaming as the motivator instead of being driven by the need to get cash benefits.
Tips to Play Responsibly
- Diving into the world of gaming with a flexible mindset.
- Practice investments that create wealth to play with no regrets
- Consider the money lost as a form of entertainment charge.
- Set a time limit beyond which involvement will not be entertained.
- Set a cost limit beyond which a player should not indulge.
- Taking part in gaming has to be purely due to entertainment purposes.
- Do not keep resentments for the lost amount.
- Do not try to recover the same amount in the same session.
- Never try to recover from the loss by increasing deposit limits.
- Never try gaming as a part of coping mechanisms from depression and stress.
- Using a credit card for funding the gaming amount is never the correct way to approach gaming.
- Considering the options like self-exclusion right after detecting any problematic gaming habits.
- Last but not the least, educating oneself about gaming and the harms related to it will do the job of practicing responsible gaming.
Gaming disorder is considered purely a behavioral problem associated with tendencies of addiction. It is linked with several types of damages which makes it a serious concern.
It not only generates the tendency of further criminal activities to make up for the debts, but in the case of law-abiding citizens, it often leads them behind the bars or to consequences as drastic as suicide.
This leads us to the conclusion that self-exclusion schemes these days are the way to take measures in the case of both seasoned players or even occasional ones.
Conclusion
At this point in time the phenomenon of gaming disorder is not personal but a social issue that needs to be taken care of instead of turning a blind eye. The gaming industry yields billions every year. As the participants rise, the problems related to gaming rise which in turn adds to the revenue collected by self-exclusion schemes.
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