The American Gaming Association (AGA) launched its Responsible Gaming Education Week this past Monday, introducing a number of efforts to try to prevent individuals from going into gambling overload. It always wants to help improve how operators in the space market their offerings in an effort to keep things clean and has introduced its Responsible Marketing Code for Sports Wagering to help it achieve its goal. In step with the AGA’s efforts, the Gambling.com Group has expanded its allocation of resources targeting responsible gaming and now has a new Responsible Gaming Center on its website, Gambling.com.
According to a press release, the new standalone resources are designed to “help individuals recognize problematic behavior early and provide access to support organizations in the Group’s major markets.” The library includes resources on education and guidance, and covers major topics like the fundamentals of responsible gaming, how to stay in control, how to find support and how to protect children from accessing gambling content.
Explains Gambling.com Group CEO Charles Gillespie, “As the online gambling market is established in America and continues to expand around the world, it is important to not lose focus on the social costs of the industry. We are committed to being leaders in responsible gambling and ensuring that a conservative approach is adopted by the industry at large to ensure the sustainability of what is a harmless recreational activity for most people… but unfortunately not for all.”
Gambling.com first stepped into the U.S. gambling scene in 2018 when it set up shop in New Jersey. It had already been active in Australia, Canada, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden, and was ready to help the U.S. evolve its gambling industry, which would get a major boost in May of that year when the Supreme Court axed PASPA. Since then, it has continued to expand its efforts, even introducing the American Gambling Awards, which includes a category for responsible gaming. The Responsible Gambling Award is designed to honor the entity that has “done the most to protect online players and support a sustainable, safe online gaming ecosystem. The winner of the inaugural Responsible Gambling Award was the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG).”
Responsible gaming has become the hottest topic as the gambling proliferation continues. Having resources available to individuals that can help them protect themselves and those around them is as much a part of the activity as the wagers. While some jurisdictions make a feeble attempt to squash gaming entirely, allowing gaming and responsible gaming resources to move forward in tandem has already been proven to offer better results.
