Are Safer Gambling Tools Really Keeping You Safe?

Online gambling has enjoyed massive popularity for a while now. It has shifted further and further away from simply being a leisure activity where people want to relax and enjoy their time. As a result, many players have started spending enormous amounts of money on betting, and this has turned into a global issue. 

This guide will shed some light on safe gambling tools, explaining how they can increase the awareness of players. Apart from learning about the best safe gambling practices, we will also present interesting surveys on this topic.

Let’s start! 

Helpful tools

Safer gambling is one of the frequently used terms in the gambling industry. It includes a set of actions applied by operators to ensure carefree and enjoyable betting. Wagering always includes some risk, so customers should know how to estimate and deal with both winning and losing. You can understand it as prevention and start thinking about how much you want to bet, and how frequently.

Responsible gambling tools are the perfect option for gambling operators to provide a safer environment for users. By putting them in place, operators tell players to start thinking smartly and responsibly:

• Deposit Limit: If you want to stay within a certain budget, setting deposit limits makes sense. Most platforms allow you to set daily, monthly, and weekly limits. Once you want to deposit more, you will get a warning about it.
• Loss Limit: This tool works similarly to the deposit limit. You only need to decide what your loss limit is and pull out of the site once you reach it.
• Time Out: Players who cannot control their activity can block themselves from visiting certain sites. Time out usually takes 30 days, during which you don’t have access to the casino.
• Session Timer: Another helpful gambling tool is the session timer. This allows players to limit the duration of certain sessions and means your account will log out as soon as your session time runs out.
• Reality Checks: If you decide to use reality checks, you opt to receive pops up after a certain period. They warn you about time spent on the site, but they don’t prevent you from staying there!

• Self-Exclusion: Players who are careful about having a safer gambling experience can finally opt for self-exclusion. By excluding themselves from the casino, they cannot access the platform for a fixed period. This usually includes weeks or months, but permanent exclusion is another possibility.

Results of GC Survey: Limited Awareness of Safer Gambling Tools

When you first think about safer gambling practices, you may be confused. Many people consider it a contradiction. Gambling has always had some connections with risk, and you will have a lot of chances to spend your money. At the same time, gambling is often not about winning and only about 2-3% of players have a positive balance in the long run. 

Before getting started with any risk activity including betting, you should be aware of the risk and possibility of losing! Staying realistic and knowing your limits seems like a logical step here. This is where safer gambling tools can help if you only stay informed.

A survey by the Gambling Commission of Great Britain (July 2021) has shown a limited level of awareness and knowledge of safer gambling tools among players. Based on the opinion of 8000 respondents in the Yonder survey, only 13% used safer gambling tools. Younger players used them more frequently, with 26% of players aged 18-24 replying positively.

On the other hand, participants over the age of 65 used such tools only in 4% of cases. The survey also demonstrated that online gamblers were the most frequent users of safer gambling tools, with a 16% rate. As for the most preferred tool for safer gambling, players chose both deposit and loss limits. Reality check tools took second place here, with a 5% figure.

The Yonder survey also found a limited awareness of safer gambling tools. Players were mostly aware of deposit/loss limits, responding affirmatively with a 59% rate. Other tools they were aware of included time out (45%), reality checks (37%), and exclusions (29%).

Crypto Betting Survey on Safer Gambling

While the Yonder survey shows useful findings, we should also mention the results for the crypto gambling industry collected by Greo. “Safer gambling and consumer protection features in crypto-based online gambling” is the name of the study focusing on the UK market. It uses information collected from 40 cryptocurrency online gambling websites in English that were popular among users.

As mentioned in the abstract of the study, online gambling is a hefty risk factor for problematic gambling behaviors. At the same time, crypto online gambling platforms are mostly unregulated. 

This brings the risk that such sites won’t protect customers from risky gambling.

Greo researchers checked the top 40 crypto online gambling platforms. They reviewed features related to consumer protection and safer gambling practices, and found that most websites did not appropriately protect users or provide info on safer gambling tools. Additionally, age verification was not among the requirements. Also, something like below half of the platforms actually held a valid license. 

Approach Towards Safer Gambling Tools in the UK

One of the important parts of Greo’s research examined the operators’ approach toward delivering safer gambling info. The results showed that 31 online platforms (77.5%) created a safer gambling page, named “responsible gambling, “safe play”, or ” “fair play”. However, such pages included inappropriate material or were hard to access. 

Nine sites (22.5%) presented promo material enticing participation in gambling on safer gambling dedicated pages, offering free spins and bonuses on the first deposit. Three pages (7.5%) were unlinked to the brands’ websites, with two of them detectable (5.0%) only via a search engine. 

In addition to this, thirty operators (75%) included a statement of commitment to safe gambling. Twenty-seven (67.5%) platforms provided information about their safer gambling tools. Thirty-two (80%) sites contained a warning that crypto gambling can cause harm. 

However, these messages included inadequate themes.

Greo researchers also found that twenty-nine (72.5%) platforms cited a gambling help organization or self-help group. These details were not consistent across the websites and  were accessible from multiple locations. 

It is also worth mentioning that fifteen (37.5%) platforms offered a self-assessment tool to support users in identifying potential problems. 

Real-Life Example: Available Tools in the UK

With the growing importance of safer gambling tools, their availability is another important factor. The same research performed by Greo found that 25 (62.5%) operators provided at least one tool for safer gambling. Only six brands (15%) had limiting options, with five of them (12.5%) offering only deposit limits, and one (2.5%) offering loss, bet, and session limits. 

In addition, 17 operators offered cooling-off/time-out periods (42.5%), determined as any pause lasting less than six months. However, customers had to request such a tool via customer support at eight operators (47.1%).

Crypto gambling sites also provided voluntary self-exclusion (24 brands; 60%), or any break taking more than six months involving permanent self-exclusion. This tool, however, was available via customer support request at 17 operators (42.5%). 

Results of the Greo study are very useful for guiding players through their future gambling experience. By familiarizing themselves with aforementioned figures, they can know what to expect when signing and depositing their money on such sites.

As you can see, the market is full of tools to manage gambling problems and provide a safer betting environment. However, the key role belongs to players, who should embrace a smart gambling approach and implement responsible gambling practices. Knowing personal limits while making decisions based on the broader picture is one of the best tips you can get.