Safer Gambling

All participants were provided with a description of the study objectives and were asked to read and sign an informed consent prior to participating in the current research. Participants were informed they were free to terminate participation at any time without penalty. Thereafter, participants were asked to complete a short background questionnaire, which included demographic information (gender, age), frequency of gambling, and how knowledgeable they believe themselves to be on the topic of online gambling.

Taking a practice theory perspective on gambling enables us to consider it not as a discrete behaviour, but to acknowledge gambling as a social practice. Social practices of gambling may draw upon multiple elements such as bodies, discourses, norms, and materials in their performance, and gamblers themselves could be recognised as the carriers of practice. Furthermore, social practices of gambling may be bundled with other practices of everyday life such as drinking alcohol, socialising with friends, or watching sports. People often have their own different ways of doing things, for example gambling alone at home, or in the pub with friends.

In terms of mitigating the harms of gambling, this would necessitate a shift towards more holistic policymaking and harm reduction strategies that pay attention to these forces, and also consider how and why gambling practices interact with other practices of everyday life. Established as an independent charity, GambleAware is another top institution at the heart of Britain’s drive towards safer gambling. The organisation proactively funds research and education programmes, shaping policies that reduce gambling-related harms. Through the 24-hour National Gambling Helpline, it offers immediate, confidential support nationwide. Operators benefit from GambleAware’s resources, including innovative gambling-blocking tools and spend calculators, which empower players to take control and give the industry clear guidance on effectively implementing responsible gambling practices. Social casino games are an immensely popular form of entertainment, with millions of users playing in any given day (Derevensky and Gainsbury 2016; Martin 2014).

We will ensure our employees, and our TAB Venues and their staff, are equipped with the support, knowledge and skills needed to identify when a customer is at risk and how to intervene appropriately. Of this body of scholarship, Reefe’s survey of ‘Gambling in Traditional Africa’ is likely the most informative, though heavily reliant on colonial-era commentators. One prominent form, Abbia, is identified as a West African game, which was suppressed by German colonisers. Abbia involves the game master tossing multiple wood chips made from nut shells, decoratively carved with images such as animals, weapons and human figures, with gamblers making predictions on how they will fall (face up or face down) 32.

“For example, during a 2023 playoff series game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Florida Panthers, nearly eight and a half minutes of advertisements were dedicated to online sport gambling.” In its report Tuesday, the AGCO said its proposal “comes after significant criticism from advocates, experts and parents about the notable rise of online gambling advertisements, especially during live sports. Once we receive your application, TABCare will contact you to discuss your reasons for excluding, review the period and locations you have selected and provide you with contact details of gambling support services. “While we applaud all efforts to ensure online gaming is both operated and marketed in a responsible manner, we are confident in our own Responsible Gaming approach,” the company said in a statement. There has been a concerted effort in the United States for the gambling industry to police itself and ward off harsher regulatory frameworks. The members account for more than 85% of the legal online betting market in the United States.

People & Culture Overview

First, it is important to understand how gambling is organized in today’s society and the consequences it has on public health, specially on gambling disorder. Second, a better understanding of the consequences of gambling may facilitate the implementation of preventative regulations that might otherwise be misunderstood and generate controversy, such as limiting the losses of gamblers. Casinos are highly regulated by gaming commissions in states where they are legal, such as Nevada and New Jersey. I believe we need equally strong statutes and regulations to hold online sports betting operators accountable.

Online transactions totaled nearly 15,000 per second, doubling last year’s peak, according to geolocating platformGeoComply. The new group will also create an independent clearinghouse, or database, that will allow them to share key information related to protection of consumers, though the details on how it would work aren’t yet clear. He has developed the concept and he has proposed to the Spanish authorities a gambling regulation model in order to prevent pathological gambling. As we have seen in the case of AI, the best way to ensure that this technology will be used to address and lessen the adverse impact of excessive gambling, is to codify how the technology is used by industry. But apart from this off-hand approach that relies more on prompts and good advice, we need a tailored prevention strategy that sets robust guardrails that trigger when a mere good word fails to. I am pleased that the authors have seen room to also be cautiously optimistic, arguing as well that AI can similarly be used to help identify early signs of addiction and prevent them.

Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) (Canada based, international impact)

Further, social casino games were the focus as there is a current need to understand the issues regarding the gaming-social media crossover. The body is also used, a person may use their arms, hands, and eyes to read a form guide, or press the buttons on a fruit machine or mobile phone sports betting app. Materials are used such as the mobile phone on which the app is loaded, newspapers and form guides to particular sports on which one may bet, and machines such as FOBTs, and physical buildings such as casinos.

• These results indicate that social casino games are a salient aspect of young adult online gamblers’ experiences.
• Gambling very often leads to difficulties within the family, at the place of work, with friends, with the law and in financial matters.
• In 2011, CEN introduced the “Responsible Remote Gambling Measures,” a comprehensive set of 134 practical guidelines designed to enhance consumer protection and ensure responsible conduct among remote gambling operators within the EU.
• We have policies and procedures in place as part of the TABCare program, which detail the operation of the TABCare program.
• Operators benefit from GambleAware’s resources, including innovative gambling-blocking tools and spend calculators, which empower players to take control and give the industry clear guidance on effectively implementing responsible gambling practices.

Self-report instruments can be used for evaluating problem gambling for research purposes as well as in pinup casino clinical contexts (24–30). Local initiatives, such as support groups and educational programs, are key to promoting responsible gambling. These community-based resources provide essential tools and support for both individuals and families affected by gambling problems. In 2025, it has become apparent to anyone paying attention that responsible gaming is no longer just a regulatory checkbox. Regulatory pressure is intensifying with stricter policies emerging worldwide, such as mandatory player cards (personalised cards to operate poker machines with predetermined loss limits) in Victoria, Australia, and enhanced affordability checks in the UK. Key initiatives include the Safer Gambling Commitments, a set of voluntary industry pledges to enhance player protection, promote transparency, and improve self-exclusion mechanisms.

ROGA members commit to work together on issues ranging from education, responsible gaming best practices, conscientious advertising and marketing across the industry. Gambling operators have a responsibility to maintain a safe environment by following regulations, promoting responsible gambling, and implementing player protection measures. For those struggling with gambling addiction, services like the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) provide counseling and helplines.

The International Masters of Gaming Law is a non-profit association of gaming attorneys, regulators, educators, executives and consultants from around the world who are dedicated to education and the exchange of professional information and advice. The open networking and collective experience of its members makes the IMGL an integral and effective tool for the dissemination of gaming law developments worldwide. “The government has postponed implementation, supposedly to enable the advertising companies to prepare for the loss of that business,” he said. “But it also means that the Super Bowl will be covered, other advertising bonanzas, which will have a powerful influence upon the number of gambles and the number of problem gamblers.” Canadian senator Marty Deacon, who put forward federal legislation in June that would see the banning of athletes and celebrities in sports betting advertisements nationwide, said in an emailed statement that she welcomes the AGCO’s move. When it comes to use of overall celebrities, “role models, social media influences, entertainers, cartoon figures” and any symbols that might appear to minors are now restricted, it said.

Regulated, licensed operators, however, have comprehensive standards to ensure that only those of legal age can gamble. The practical implementation of age restrictions in legal markets allows us to regulate and operate the sports betting industry responsibly, to the benefit of bettors and sportsbooks alike. Building upon the idea of how spaces and places influence sports betting practices, research in this area could also draw upon a mobilities perspective 81. Mobilities is a research paradigm in the social sciences that explores the movement of people, ideas, and things and considers the broader social implications from this 82. Mobilities research on other social practices such as driving, food consumption, and health has offered new insights on how the movement of bodies, materials, and communication shapes social outcomes 83, 84. Applying this thinking to gambling, sports betting can be practiced in multiple spaces and places and these are often not fixed.

There are no parental controls for sports programs, and within a single generation, we run the risk that sports fans will start to believe that they can’t enjoy sports without being engaged in some sort of gambling. You start playing poker with your friends and like you move from that step onto other things. Family members of gamblers meet separately in the GamAnon group to share experiences and explore ways of being supportive to gamblers who have made the decision to stop gambling.

Change comes after consultations with public,experts

Unregulated markets, meanwhile, have no such interests or concern over protecting individuals engaging in problem gambling. Taking a nexus of practices, perspective also offers a framework for understanding how affective forces, the political economy, or general understandings may suffuse such practice bundles that involve gambling. Such work could for example consider how neoliberal ideology, globalisation, and marketisation suffuse practices of gambling in the emerging economies of Africa, through alignment with ideas of status, success, and Western modernity. A nexus of gambling practices approach could also consider how certain practices such as a regular social gathering among friends may thread through the nexus and incorporate routines of gambling, drinking, socialising and so on. Longitudinal research that considers changing connections between gambling and other social practices through time, space, jurisdiction, and materiality can also help develop understanding.

Further, black market activity robs state governments of substantial tax revenues that support essential public services. Advocates and academics have raised concerns about the inundation of sports betting advertising seen in the province since Ontario opened up to independent online gambling sites last year, and decried the impact those advertisements could have on the health of young people. Another important element of gambling practice that can form the focus for research is materiality. Gambling relies on the use of a range of materials, objects, and technologies such as mobile phones, apps, machines, cards, technologies, and rules and guides. Social practice perspectives draw attention to the role and importance of materials in the performance of practices such as gambling. In effect, practice theory attaches agency and meaning to materials as they help shape practices.

Only a subset of the studies identified (27.8%) were conducted with minors and young people (11–35 years of age) as the focus. “Your going to have a lot more people saturated with this opportunity, with all these clever concepts of bonus bets, free bets and celebrity spokespersons,” Tonko told CNBC. An estimated 2 million U.S. adults meet the criteria for a severe gambling problem, according to the National Council on Problem Gambling. Another 5 million to 8 million U.S. adults are considered to have a mild or moderate gambling problem.

According to the New Gaming Act, a medical certificate is still required if a gambler wants to self-exclude indefinitely, and a valid ID Card must always be presented. Also, the Foundation now offers free blocking software to help those struggling with gambling addiction. BETBLOCKER and GAMBAN sofware can be easily downloaded and installed on various devices, including desktop computers, laptops, tablets and mobile phones. These blocking software are designed to restrict access to gambling sites and other online content that may trigger addictive behaviours. If the IR operator satisfies these criteria, the Commission will grant a licence for casino business operation. Detailed information will be required to be submitted to the Commission to check the integrity and soundness of the IR operator’s business, and out-of-pocket expenses for such background checks will be borne by the applicant.