Pieter Remmers: “There is no size fits all – one size fits none.”

Pieter Remmers is a veteran in the area of responsible gambling & safer gambling, consultancy and training of gambling industry professionals, and one of the Casino Guru Awards external panels of expert judges in the Best Implementation of RG Tools and The Most Impactful Social Responsibility Initiative categories.

Since 2004, Pieter is the Chair of the Board of G4 (Global Gambling Guidance Group). He is a member of several organizations, such as the Responsible Gaming Committee of IMGL, the Responsible Gambling Committee of AGEM, Spielerschutzkommission (Responsible Gaming Commission) of the Gauselmann/Merkur Group (Germany), the advisory board of Merkur UK, and the Advisory Council of the AWI in Germany.

In this interview, Remmers shares his insights on the significance of the Casino Guru Awards, the challenges operators face in creating a safer gambling environment, and how initiatives like these awards can pave the way for progress. He also delves into what every stakeholder should prioritize to foster a more responsible and socially conscious industry.

Q: Pieter, it’s fantastic to have you with us. As Casino Guru Awards approaches its third edition, we are excited to pick your brain on how impactful do you think the Best Implementation of RG Tools & The Most Impactful Social Responsibility Initiative categories have truly been?

Honestly, I think we are still in the early stages. There are a few operators, I am not going to mention names, land based and online that are leaders in this, and a number are followers, but most of them still only do what they need to do

Q: What motivated you to serve as a judge for these two categories, which we believe send a strong signal about the importance of recognizing the industry's efforts in these areas?

I am in the Responsible Gambling arena for more than 35 years already and I consider it my duty to look at the developments in this area and give my opinion on it. Being part of a jury gives me the opportunity as well to check the developments at operators and suppliers in this field.

Q: Drawing from your experience as a responsible gambling expert, delivering keynotes and insights across various industry events, how do you think the Casino Guru Awards can help companies find their way to maintaining better responsible gambling and social responsibility practices?

The Casino Guru Awards can help in raising awareness amongst the different segments of the industry and the need for responsible gambling and social responsibility.

The industry should be more pro-active and stay ahead of what regulators tell you to do.

Q: What do you think the biggest deficiency the gambling industry faces in applying responsible gambling best practices is and, conversely, what do you think the most notable progress over the past years has been?

We are slowly going forward, but it takes time, sometimes longer than I thought and definitely longer than I want, I am afraid the focus for most operators in the first instance is on compliance and not on responsible gambling. We need to change that attitude.

Q: What are your personal expectations from applicants who hope to secure a distinction in the Best Implementation of RG Tools & The Most Impactful Social Responsibility Initiative categories.

That is a difficult question to answer, also because as I mentioned earlier, the developments are slowly going forward. I can express my hope that applicants do their utmost to be respectful and serious on the topic. And I hope that AI is not going to be considered to be THE solution, but a mix with face-to-face and live contact with players as well.

Q: How can an awards project focused on distinguishing responsible gambling and best practices impact the industry? Do you believe the Casino Guru Awards can have a tangible impact on gambling operators and incentivize them to try harder to secure hard-won accolades?

This is something for the Casino Guru Awards to work on. This also takes time and a true believe Awards are not just a ‘lip serving’ issue, but a serous matter that is also considered seriously by the industry.

Q: Do you think that players truly appreciate the available responsible gambling measures an operator brings, and are players becoming more aware of the importance of also vetting companies for their commitment to RG?

From old research I know that players have appreciation for the fact that operators are not only after their money. But is also about how to deliver the message and in what respectful way there communication between the operator and the players. There is not a one seize fits all solution, maybe we should say "one seize fits none".

So, there is still a lot of work to be done.

Image credit: Casino Guru News