Responsible Gambling: Staying Safe on Legal Poker Sites
The term is used often but deserves more attention beyond the words themselves: responsible gambling.
There are many versions of a definition for responsible gambling or, as some now call it, safer gambling. Putting together the definitions from Canada’s Responsible Gambling Council (RGC), American Gaming Association (AGA), National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), and Association of Certified Gaming Compliance Specialists (ACGCS), the result is comprehensive.
Responsible gambling is a set of methods to:
- Minimize gambling risks and negative effects for players and society
- Inform players of gambling facts, odds, and assistance
- Encourage a recreational view of gambling while playing within limits they can afford
- Promote safe and healthy gambling practices
- Develop of policies, programs, and initiatives for consumer awareness and education
- Provide information and referrals to addiction resources for treatment and recovery
The NCPG has gone further and developed online-specific responsible gambling standards. The overall definition of responsible gambling is much the same, but its recommendations for internet gambling operators is designed with igaming’s unique features in mind.
Online Poker Site Practices
The level of responsible gambling assistance and the breadth of information provided at online poker sites is often a reflection of the regulations under which they operate. The bigger the site and the larger the regulator overseeing the business, the most extensive the responsible gambling information provided.
Every site, however, no matter its size or reach, does provide some form of RG (responsible gambling) info. It may not always be easy to find, but it is there.
The best gambling sites for poker and casino games, sports betting or fantasy sports, should offer the following basic tools for players:
- At least one link or phone number to contact a gambling assistance group or organization
- A way to for a player to exclude himself or herself from access to or contact from the site
- Immediate access to a customer service representative who can provide guidance
Ideally, sites should also offer a variety of limits to put on one’s account, such as time limits, dollar amounts, or buy-in caps. Players should also be able to set a cool-down or break period, excluding themselves for days, weeks, months, or years, instead of just a lifetime self-imposed ban as the only option.
ACR Poker (formerly Americas Cardroom)
The Winning Poker Network (WPN) offers one of the most comprehensive responsible gaming programs at US-facing online poker sites.
You can use the “game restrictions” option to place limits on tournament buy-ins, disable certain games, or hide a product (such as casino games). Further, you can go to the “responsible gaming” tab and fully disable your account, which will permanently exclude you from playing on the site ever again.
There is also a list of questions, to which several “yes” answers indicate that you may want to consider that your gambling is no longer a healthy form of entertainment.
- Have you taken time from daily obligations to play?
- Has online play caused you to neglect your welfare or that of your family?
- Have you often played until your last dollar was gone?
- Have you sold anything or borrowed money to play?
- Have you often played longer than planned?
- Have you considered self-harm or suicide as a result of play?
ACR Poker offers links to Gamblers Anonymous and the National Council on Problem Gambling. There is also the NCPG helpline (1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-426-2537), which allows for a phone conversation, text messaging, or live chatting.
BetOnline
The BetOnline site, as well as its sister site Sportsbetting.ag, provides a link to “responsible gaming” information on its home page, though it requires a pop-up screen to view it.
The questions asked are meant to give you an idea of problematic gaming habits:
- Do you gamble to escape from a boring or unhappy life?
- When you run out of money while gambling, do you feel lost and in despair? And do you feel the need to gamble again ASAP?
- Do you gamble until your last dollar is gone?
- Have you lied about the amount of time or money spent gambling?
- Has gambling caused you to lose interest in friends, families, or hobbies?
- After a loss, do you feel you must try to win that money back ASAP?
- Do arguments, frustrations, or disappointments in life make you want to gamble?
- Do you feel depressed or thinking of self-harm because of gambling?
For those seeking help, BetOnline lists Gamblers Anonymous, as did ACR, and Gambling Therapy with their respective links.
To apply limits or exclusions to your account at BetOnline or Sportsbetting.ag, you must contact a Player Services representative.
Ignition Poker
As Ignition Poker and Bovada operate on the same network, their responsible gambling messages are the same. Looking at the Ignition site, there are two links at the bottom of the home page – one for self-exclusion and the other for responsible gambling.
The responsible gambling link provides guidance for preventing underage gambling and installing parental controls on computer products. There is a list of responsible gambling tips, such as avoiding drugs and alcohol while gambling, not chasing losses, and adhering to a predetermined budget.
You then have a list of 20 questions to answer, with seven or more “yes” answers indicating a propensity for problematic gambling habits. Some of the ones that differ from ones listed above are:
- Has gambling made your life unhappy?
- Does gambling affect your reputation?
- Have you felt remorse after gambling?
- Did you have a strong urge to return to gambling after winning to win more?
- Have you committed or considered committing an illegal act to finance gambling?
- Did gambling decrease your ambition or efficiency?
- Does gambling cause sleeping difficulty?
Ignition (and Bovada) list Gamblers Anonymous, NCP Gambling, and Gambling Therapy as resources with links as listed above.
Future of Responsible Gambling
If the National Council on Problem Gambling has anything to say about it, there will be higher standards across the igaming industry in the future. As mentioned, the NCPG released a list of internet responsible gambling standards that they review annually with updates. They released the latest report in December 2022.
The NCPG recommends that all online gambling operators take steps to better train their staff about responsible gambling and report on its programs annually. Further, gambling companies should reveal common myths about gambling, offer transparency regarding the house edge and game odds, name risks associated with gambling, and regularly update links to resources.
As for operators’ options for players, the NCPG suggests that all players should be able to set deposit limits by day, week, or month; set overall time and money limits; block themselves from certain game types or specific games; lower limits immediately without delays, and set instant timeouts for at least 12 hours.
The industry continues to grow, and responsible gambling practices must grow with the industry.
