A survey by the world’s biggest casino database, online gambling authority, and activist for sustainable gambling measures, Casino Guru, found 70% of respondents believed the company’s proposed Global Self-exclusion system (GSE) is a tool the industry needs.
The Casino Guru’s Global Self-exclusion Initiative was revealed to the public at large in March 2021. Since then, the project’s manager Simon Vincze has been engaging in initial meetings with various industry authorities and supplying the site with a steady supply of articles discussing the Initiative’s objective, plan of action, and latest developments.
Self-exclusion schemes are an integral part of the gambling industry’s effort to help prevent the proliferation of gambling addiction within its player base. However, the currently available solutions have been betrayed time and time again by the relative ease with which self-excluded players can gamble with foreign online operators.
Casino Guru felt that the solution to this issue was evident – a global self-exclusion scheme. And though creating such a system is easier said than done, the company did not waste any time laying down the groundwork for its envisioned solution.
In preparation for their latest article discussing the proposed solutions and potential concerns of the GSE, the team behind the Initiative ran an anonymous survey among a selected number of industry insiders polling them on their opinions.
Casino Guru’s findings
In total, 41 industry insiders partook in the survey. The majority, 41.5%, was neutral in regards to the current self-exclusion options. The remainder of the company’s survey sample was split directly down the middle, 29.3% feeling dissatisfied and 29.3% satisfied.
To Casino Guru’s delight, an overwhelming majority of 70% thought that the GSE was a good idea. In subsequent questions, 67.5% of people thought a global self-exclusion scheme could improve the overall reliability of self-exclusions in general, and 51.2% even felt that it could become the new industry standard.
Perhaps more than anything, the survey showed the true necessity of creating comprehensive informational content regarding the Initiative, as some respondents either misunderstood or had trouble properly grasping the subject. However, the survey also revealed several well-founded questions and concerns. All of these will be thoroughly discussed in an upcoming article on the Global Self-exclusion site, but here are two of Casino Guru’s favourites as a preview.
One common concern voiced by multiple respondents was that self-exclusion, in general, is an insufficient “cure” for problem gambling. And Casino Guru agrees. It is not enough to simply stop problem players from gambling. Instead, the GSE seeks to address the issue by cooperating more closely with problem gambling help organisations. Gamblers registering for the global self-exclusion scheme will be given the option of requesting that a social worker contacts them about their problem. Furthermore, we intend on providing individuals with the additional option of selecting the help organisation of their choice, where they wish to undergo consultations and treatment.
The second concern the company wanted to highlight was the prevalent concern that a global self-exclusion scheme may force some players towards illegal gambling. Unfortunately, this is an entirely valid worry, as it is essentially impossible to safeguard the entire market. However, the GSE can fight against this unwanted consequence by limiting the options self-excluded gamblers have for illegal gambling, creating a space that is easier to monitor and lends itself better to proactive problem gambling prevention efforts.
In closing, the topic of a global self-exclusion system is and will likely remain a source of great contention not only within the gambling sphere but among the general public as well. However, Casino Guru is not giving up on their mission and believes that activities such as these will, in time, undoubtedly bear fruit, and their vision will become a reality.
About Casino Guru
Casino Guru originally began as nothing more than a simple online casino database, seeking to provide helpful, relevant, and up-to-date information to its visitors. However, since its inception, it has grown to become the biggest of its kind. In time, the company branched out and is currently operating a successful online gambling forum, an online casino complaint centre, and publishes in-depth articles on gambling mechanics and problem gambling. Most recently, Casino Guru created an Academy for educating future employees in the gambling sphere and the Global Self-exclusion Initiative described in this article.
These activities are inspired by the company’s wholehearted belief in the need for the proliferation of sustainable gambling practices within the industry and the protection of problem gamblers.
