Progress Report #9: Third Phase of Self-Exclusion Standards & Pivot in the Campaign

Author: Simon Vincze Last updated: 13 Aug 2024 04:17

Recent months of the Initiative for Global Self-Exclusion have primarily focused on the progression of the Self-Exclusion Standards project. The work is currently at the end of the second phase and will move forward with broader consultation.

Even though the project does not directly contribute to the creation of the global system, it is a vital step towards its fundamentals for the time when creation would be possible. The principle of voluntary participation by the operators in the proposal of the global scheme has proven to be more difficult than anticipated.

Despite the overall positive feedback, securing specific commitments from operators has been nearly impossible. Investing and building a product without such assurances is not feasible.

Nonetheless, the initiative will continue its campaign and persistently seek the subsequent advancements that would bring it closer to establishing the global system. It would require tries and pivots, but that's what we have been doing from the start.

Broader Consultation of Self-Exclusion Standards

The current progress involves pursuing the optimal approach for implementing and administering online self-exclusion practices globally. What started as a need to fill the gap in the global scheme has evolved into a project that aims to provide meaningful outcomes to any online self-exclusion.

The academic approach incorporated in the project's methodology promises first-ever recommendations for effective self-exclusion practices. A combination of research, close collaboration within the workgroup, and involvement of broader stakeholders is a feasible method to produce results that can improve the effectiveness of self-exclusion on all ends of the spectrum.

The work itself is supposed to spark innovation in the area. The resulting recommendations are not intended to be the sole correct practice but rather as a point of consideration to drive improvement in player protection.

In recent years, self-exclusion has evolved into a much more complex and challenging feature, particularly due to the lack of clear implementation and management guidelines. As research has shown, it is being used for different reasons than problem gambling, thus opening the space for possibly false considerations and jeopardizing the core purpose of the feature – to help the person be distanced from gambling by guarding the access.

Based on our observed experiences with self-exclusion, it has become evident that players use it to close their accounts if they are dissatisfied with offerings or platform design or as a punishment for the casinos. Furthermore, players have started demanding free spins and bonuses as a form of "blackmail," leveraging their awareness that concessions may be made to appease them. Commercial consideration from operators will be in place, and they might do what they can to satisfy the customer. This misuse needs to stop.

The paragraph above represents one of the many things the project aimed to address. During our discussions in Bratislava, the working group, composed of representatives from diverse areas of expertise and self-exclusion experience, recognized that we could not fully capture the complete scope of the issue on our own.

The broader consultation and feedback from various stakeholders are the last piece of the puzzle for feasible outcomes. Now, with the finished second phase and with the draft of recommendations from the workgroup, most of my activities aim to increase the momentum to get as many submissions as possible.

Presentations of the global system and new horizons

Meanwhile, our campaign for the global self-exclusion system continued with our participation in multiple industry events.

At ICE Consumer Protection Zone, our stand generated significant interest from various stakeholders who were previously unaware of this initiative. The increased understanding of self-exclusion limits was evident, with people expressing the need for such a system. This is a solid contrast to the scepticism and debate surrounding its necessity three years ago.

Further, we sponsored the Ethical Gambling Forum with the initiative brand and ran a breakout session on global self-exclusion. Similarly, Simon held two back-to-back presentations at the 1st International Conference on Responsible Gambling and Gaming Addiction, presenting our campaign to the audience in the Philippines.

These presentations were a little different, though. As outlined at the beginning, the idea of voluntary participation of operators in the global system is not coming out as anticipated. That inevitably requires a change in the narrative. Instead of presenting the original proposal as the best way forward, we are opening up the discussion on overcoming the challenges.

One of the key challenges is the lack of action without regulatory requirements or recommendations among the operators, and the other one lies in the imperfect process of detection and blocking of registered individuals. The initial proposal has less stringent detection requirements to facilitate operator participation. Regrettably, self-regulation within the industry is rare and might even be rewarded with suspicion rather than appreciation if done.

It is becoming evident that the campaign requires pivoting and re-focusing on the regulation, which seems like the only option left. Unlike the initiative's initial stages, we now see that modern single-jurisdictional authorities will have little interest in the system until offshore jurisdictions are already part of it.

That raises the question: what will convince their leaders that uniting and establishing a shared system for self-excluded players is a necessity? While I might not have the answer at present, I will do my best to find out.

In the meantime, we will be looking for ways to enhance the international protection of players now without the global system in place. Ongoing discussions have taken place, and I hope to disclose a concrete update on this matter in the next progress report.