Casino Guru has partnered with City, University of London to determine the most effective ways
to help problem gamblers steer clear of harmful gaming practices. The results of which will help
to inform their recommendations for a new set of standards to be adopted across various
jurisdictions.

Led by associate professor Dr Margaret Carran, the project forms part of Casino Guru’s Global
Self-Exclusion Initiative which was launched back in 2021 in the hopes of protecting vulnerable

gamblers. Carran will bring her extensive player protection knowledge to the 18-month-long
project, having spent years analyzing problem gambling in the EU states.

It is an undeniable fact that more awareness needs to be raised when it comes to gambling
mindfully. As tempting as one of the largest free spins no deposit bonus may look to a player, if
it is time to call it quits and simply log out of one’s account, self-discipline needs to be practised.
But how could (and should) players go about this exactly?

The Project

The collaborative project was brought about by necessity as Casino Guru’s Sustainable and
Safer Gambling Lead and the man behind the Global Self-Exclusion Initiative, Šimon Vincze
revealed the lack of general standards for self-exclusion practices. This is because each
jurisdiction develops their own set of guidelines with every few actually following the same
standards let alone the same means of implementation.

As such the project aims to bridge the gap between the several jurisdictions and find common
ground, marking the first time that work on self-exclusion practices will be conducted at an
international level. The project will entail three phases starting off with the research and fact-
finding stage which will see the team review existing self-exclusion rules and assess their
impact to determine whether they are successful and why.

This will then be followed by the workgroup meetings phase which consists of experts with
various backgrounds going over the findings of the initial stage using their lived-in experience to
pave the way for the proposed new online self-exclusion rules.

The final stage will invite stakeholders in the industry including regulators, non-profit
organizations, trade associations and gambling operators to provide their feedback. This will
then be evaluated and taken into consideration when drafting the new self-exclusion guidelines
to be recommended for immediate implementation.

Why Now?

A recent report conducted by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) revealed that the UK’s
problem gambling rate has consistently remained at around 0.2%-0.3% throughout 2022, further
fueling the case that the UK and UKGC might be allocating too many resources to problem
gambling.

The UK problem gambling rate has been a cause of discussion with the Betting and Gaming
Council (BGC) going so far as to say that anti-gambling prohibitionists vastly overstate the
issue. However, the UKGC has maintained that the problem gambling rates have not increased
thanks to its efforts to regulate the market and not due to the operator’s proactive initiatives.

From buying a lottery ticket to playing in a casino and everything in between, according to the
BGC, around 22.5 million people in the UK place some type of bet on a monthly basis.
However, the industry’s revenue has taken a hit thanks to inflation, dropping by 8% despite an
increase of three million in registered accounts and overall bets placed.

In addition to these findings, a survey conducted by GamCare revealed that now more than ever
the cost of living crisis is pushing low-income individuals to gamble in an attempt to win money
for bills. Moreover, the current self-exclusion systems available have proven to be not very
effective with problem gamblers still able to open accounts after registering, forcing the public to
demand independent oversight of the exclusion schemes.

Final Thoughts

Despite what gambling lobbyists may try to suggest problem gambling is still a prevalent issue
in the UK and needs to be addressed. Casino Guru has always been at the forefront of this
global issue from partnering up with Gordon Moody to offer a safe gambling course to working
with Mindway AI to launch a risk assessment campaign for players. Their latest collaboration
follows a list of successful partnerships all aimed and providing a safer gambling experience.
Although it remains to be seen what will come out of the new self exclusion guidelines, the need
for them is undeniable.