Proposed Online Gambling Rules a 'Revolutionary' Approach
Last week, the group announced that technology used in online gambling now provides a format to spot risky "patterns" and control certain gambling behaviors.
"The graphical and interactive structure of the Internet provides a revolutionary opportunity to create informed customers with access to a variety of information designed to encourage safe choices and discourage unsafe behavior," said Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, a leading U.S. advocate for programs and services to assist problem gamblers and their families.
Opportunities Abound
Clearly gambling on the Internet raises some difficult issues, experts said, but it also provides opportunities for operators to deliver responsible gaming programs that "meet or exceed current standards" in the traditional gaming industry.The group said that Internet gambling operations can control the amount of money wagered, as well as set limits on deposits, restrict the duration of play, and identify and exclude players with bizarre patterns.
According to Andrew Poole, director of Online Services for GamCare, a U.K. group that addresses the social impacts of gambling, Congressman Barney Frank's Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act, will enable the U.S. regulators to implement safeguards. Poole said that Europe has shown that regulations can counteract increases in "problematic" online gambling.
According to Andre Wilsenach, CEO of the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, which governs online gambling activities of operators based in the Channel Islands, giving gamblers many choices and the means to voice grievances reduces the risk of compulsive gambling.
Others agreed, readily.
"Opponents of Internet gambling are using scare tactics and misstating research studies to argue that Internet gambling will result in higher occurrences of compulsive gambling," Jeffrey Sandman, spokesman for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative, said.The researchers also point to a recent study, "Assessing the Playing Field: A Prospective Longitudinal Study of Internet Sports Gambling Behavior," by the Harvard Medical School Division on Addictions, saying that among a sample of more than 40,000 online gambling subjects, only 1% showed "excessive gambling patterns" and most bet a dollar or two.
"The regulatory framework presented in the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act, introduced by Congressman Barney Frank, provides an effective approach to protect consumers and ensure measures are in place to combat compulsive gambling," said Sandman.
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