Let’s Put All Available Self-Exclusion Tools in Place

Despite Its Flaws, Self-Exclusion Schemes Can Be a Powerful Recovery Tool When Used along Side with Other Tools

<p>Gambling addiction is a serious problem in many countries. Although this is something that many associates with land-based casinos and high street betting shops, increased access to online betting caused the rate of addiction to explode in recent years. The increased access and less-tangible oversight of remote betting did not change any of the fundamental causes or contributing factors of addiction. It merely expanded upon a pre-existing social issue to which most countries are slow to react.</p><p>Currently, users are forced to rely primarily on self-control to manage their behaviour, doing their best to ignore aggressive advertising, emails from operators offering a huge bonus, the machines available at the local pub, and everything else that pushes them into some sort of gambling. That means hundreds of thousands of victims of addiction are fighting–and often losing–an uphill battle.</p><p>Managing problem gambling effectively demands supplementary assistance to provide a firm barrier between victims and opportunities to gamble.</p><h3>Background &amp; research</h3><p>Online gambling represented approximately 35% of total market share in the UK betting industry in 2018. This demonstrates incredible growth in the last decade. Data published by the UK Government shows total online spending grew from £816.86 million annually in 2008 to £4.9 billion in 2018. Total revenue generated by gaming software increased by 172% between 2015 and 2016 alone.</p><p>Unfortunately, rates of addiction have kept pace right alongside this fast-growing business sector. According to the UK Gambling Commission, more than 2 million people in the UK are either current problem gamblers or are at medium to high risk of addiction. Of that subset, roughly 430,000 people are already victims of a serious betting habit. But it could be even worse. Those who help treat problem gambling often tell us that in their experience, it is far worse than what these figures show.</p><p>The problem is also spreading to a wider range of individuals. Although according to the UK Gambling Commission, “men are 7.5 times more likely than women to be classed as problem gamblers,” the Gambling Commission’s data shows gambling on the rise across every demographic. The increase in gambling addiction is especially prominent among younger (16-24 year old) players, whose lack of experience and self-control can compound the problem. Additionally, while only 4% of the nation’s population gamble online, the percentage of at-risk gamblers who do is almost 35%. This places the overall rate of problem gambling in online betting at 10.6% of users</p><p>Clearly, something needs to be done.</p><h3>What about gambling self-exclusion?</h3><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://gamban.com/blog/ban-yourself-from-online-gambling">Self-exclusion</a> is the key means of mitigating the impact of problem gambling. And, on a positive note, the number of gamblers choosing to exclude themselves from online gambling companies is on the rise, as the most recent data from the UK Gambling Commission shows.</p><p>The total number of self-exclusions in online gambling: </p><ul><li>Nov 2014 – Mar 2015: 179,142</li><li>Apr 2015 – Mar 2016: 612,427</li><li>Apr 2016 – Mar 2017: 1,117,322</li><li>Oct 2016 – Sep 2017: 1,309,740</li></ul><p>Unfortunately, it’s not all good news. A growing number of cases has been reported where a breach of self-exclusion has happened. This can happen because the technology has failed because the operator didn’t honour the self-exclusion request, or simply because the player found a way to circumvent the self-exclusion process.</p><p>The total number of known breaches of self-exclusions in online gambling:</p><ul><li>Nov 2014 – Mar 2015: 12,576</li><li>Apr 2015 – Mar 2016: 36,992</li><li>Apr 2016 – Mar 2017: 73,715</li><li>Oct 2016 – Sep 2017: 86,800</li></ul><p>The key issue is clear: as interest in online gambling grows, so does problem gambling, as well as breaches of self-exclusion. Gambling addiction is already a serious problem, but reliance on traditional self-exclusion alone is not a reliable solution. A more comprehensive solution is clearly required.</p><h3>Effective self-exclusion for problem gambling</h3><p>Problem gamblers need help, and operators are well-positioned to provide the necessary assistance. Online gambling websites have a moral responsibility to engage in harm-reduction best practices, and it’s often while on their websites, that players take the decision to reach out for help. Beyond that, though, operators also have a clear business interest to ensure safe play.</p><p>Preemptive action by businesses has long been seen as an alternative to enforced regulation. While this does involve some minor investments, the amounts are minimal when compared with the alternative.</p><p>For example, failing to act in the face of rising instances of problem gambling is likely to lead to greater scrutiny of the industry. Government regulatory bodies may enforce stricter control over the sector, leading to greater fines and penalties for operators. We are seeing this already in the UK, where the regulator issued several fines, and of record amounts, over the past months. This will damage further the reputation of the industry, creating a negative media and public impression of gambling in general, and ultimately, threatening the industry’s sustainability. As increased breaches of self-exclusion techniques underscore, there is a need for more than one approach.</p><p>A loose variety of different tools and strategies cannot guarantee greater protection. In fact, deploying technologies in an uncoordinated or haphazard manner may cause tools to overlap or interfere with one another, creating additional vulnerabilities that operators hadn’t anticipated. These tools need to work in a coordinated, targeted manner to have the greatest effect.</p><p>First, we should identify three key points at which the individual online gambler is at risk:</p><p><strong>The Person: </strong>The individual who gambles.<strong>The Device:</strong> The medium through which the individual plays.<strong>The Money: </strong>The funds used to fuel the gamble.</p><p>A working, comprehensive strategy for problem gambling will block users access at each point of vulnerability. We recommend you deploy a unique exclusion tool at each of these points:</p><h3><strong>The Person</strong></h3><p>Encourage users to enrol in GamStop. This nonprofit service allows users to exclude themselves from a growing number of UK gambling operators, based on user identity.</p><h3><strong>The Device</strong></h3><p>Blocking the device itself from accessing gambling websites is what tools like Gamban do. A growing number of gambling operators and support organisations is distributing Gamban licences to their customers and service users. The software is also available for purchase online, directly at Gamban’s website.</p><h3><strong>The Money</strong></h3><p>Working with banks like Monzo and Starling can give users the power to block transactions to their players’ accounts. This way, they cannot fund their gambling account, preventing them from playing.</p><p>Comprehensive blocking is the most effective solution available offering immediate access by players and operators. The strategies recommended above showcase demonstrated, long-term effectiveness when deployed as part of a unified front against problem gambling.</p><p>There are many other necessary steps in the process to provide genuine consumer protection against problem gambling, including education as well as more dynamic and responsive regulation. However, providing customers with the ability to exclude themselves–and make that exclusion more reliable and difficult to trick–is a critical first step.</p><p>For more information about Multi-Operator Self-Exclusion Scheme <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://gamban.com/blog/ban-yourself-from-online-gambling">read on here</a>.</p><h3>Sources:</h3><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/news-action-and-statistics/Statistics-and-research/Statistics/Industry-statistics.aspx">https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/news-action-and-statistics/Statistics-and-research/Statistics/Industry-statistics.aspx</a></p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://data.gov.uk/dataset/e7032815-5990-4439-b5c8-8553cf5b7fdd/uk-gambling-industry-statistics">https://data.gov.uk/dataset/e7032815-5990-4439-b5c8-8553cf5b7fdd/uk-gambling-industry-statistics</a></p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/PDF/survey-data/Gambling-behaviour-in-Great-Britain-2015.pdf">https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/PDF/survey-data/Gambling-behaviour-in-Great-Britain-2015.pdf</a></p><p>http://tuck-fac-cen.dartmouth.edu/images/uploads/faculty/andrew-king/selfreg.pdf</p>

Is Self-Excluding from online Gambling the right choice for me?

Let’s put all available self-exclusion tools in place. Managing problem gambling effectively demands supplementary assistance to provide a firm barrier between victims and opportunities to gamble.

What Can You Do, to Give Yourself the Best Chance of Recovery?

Tips for Those Asking How to Stop Gambling

<p>Gamban has been designed by people (gamblers) with first-hand experience in problem gambling. While our primary focus is software development and creating practical barriers to online gambling, we wanted to share some of our own ideas for recovery and minimising the risk of gambling relapse.</p><h2>Gamban can remove the gambling temptation</h2><p>Before we started Gamban we heard stories of people freezing credit cards in blocks of ice to create a ‘temptation buffer’ and a lady who, knowing she’d gamble only on weekends, would send her payment cards in the post to herself on a Friday, so they would arrive on Monday. We experimented with parental control systems where a friend was needed to look after a code and we explored other, more expensive and restrictive gambling-blocking software. We hope, with Gamban, you don’t feel you need to resort to these methods. We also hope, in time, that you don’t even need Gamban. We see Gamban as a tool that can help people on their path to recovery, quite possibly alongside other forms of treatment. Like the dating site, Match.com famously celebrate drop-offs in user numbers as a sign that people are finding love, we like to think that those who no longer require our software are out of the ‘danger zone’. That said, many choose to keep Gamban on their systems for ongoing peace of mind. After all, the cost of Gamban is negligible compared to the cost of online gambling addiction.</p><p>Here are some ideas that you may find helpful:</p><h3>A new email address</h3><p>You may continue to receive gambling-related emails and enticing 500% bonus offers after closing your account. It may be easier to start using a different ‘clean’ email address. Give yourself a fresh start – but don’t forget to update your Gamban account with your new email.</p><h3>Self-compassion</h3><p>Learning to understand, tolerate, like and love yourself is a crucially important aspect to recovery. It’s important to understand that self-compassion does not mean self-indulgence. The objective is not to give yourself permission to gamble but to forgive yourself if you fall. Setting unreachable standards can be less than useful in recovery from gambling addiction. For more information on self-compassion and for some useful exercises visit http://self-compassion.org/ (one useful, if a little strange, exercise involves sending a letter to yourself from the perspective of a close and empathetic friend).</p><h3>Draw a line</h3><p>It’s OK; you’re never going to get that money back. It’s gone. The worst thing is to continue chasing. Learn and move on. You may be searching for someone to give you that reassurance that everything will be OK. If you are reading this with that mindset, then take this onboard: it’s what you do now that matters.</p><h3>Know you will never win</h3><p>You might win occasionally but what you win is almost certainly going back… and then some. One of the worst things that can happen to a gambler is a big win. You’re either chasing losses or worse, chasing wins. The best advice is to stay away completely. The cost of advertising, licensing, buildings, salaries – you gamble long enough, you lose – it’s that simple. This alone probably isn’t enough to make you stop – and we understand that.</p><h3>Give control away</h3><p>You may need someone to handle access to money in your state of vulnerability. Discuss this with parents, friends, family, partners – anyone you completely trust. Failing this, being accountable to someone else by showing them your bank statements means there is someone else included in your path to recovery.</p><h3>Distraction</h3><p>It may be too hard to stop ‘cold turkey’ with no other distractions or alternatives to gambling. Quite simply, you aren’t going to find anything to rival gambling in terms of excitement. It’s designed to transition you from a high to a low and back again. Try to reduce the requirement for stimulation from an activity by engaging in more activities that involve ‘flow state’. Get ‘absorbed’ in video games, play cognitive strategy games or engage in something more meditative like puzzle games. The jury’s out on free-to-play gambling games and whether they act as a relapse risk or as ‘methadone-to-heroin’.</p><h3>Mindfulness</h3><p>Using an application like Headspace can be extremely helpful in understanding your mind and slowing the response between thought, feeling and behaviour. Countless medical professionals suggest mindfulness as an effective option for problem gamblers. For more general information on Mindfulness (and getting better sleep!), visit <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.nestmaven.com/sleep/aids/mindfulness/">https://www.nestmaven.com/sleep/aids/mindfulness/</a></p><h3>Create digital barriers</h3><p>By signing up to GAMSTOP (Spring 2018), you reduce the options for gambling with UK based gambling sites and with Gamban installed you reduce access to all gambling sites and applications. Download Gamban at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.gamban.com/register">https://www.gamban.com/register</a></p><h3>Create physical barriers</h3><p>Where do you gamble? In the bedroom? In the lounge? Then ban your computer from the bedroom and lounge. It may be easier for you to set rules on where you use your computer than how you use your computer, to help combat the urge to gamble.</p><h3>Shaving is saving</h3><p>By ‘shaving’ off the middle 8 digits and security code of your credit or debit card, you remove the ability to make online payments. This may not be possible if you do the majority of your shopping online but if you can remove the ability to spend online then this might help. You may also need to close PayPal and other payment methods to enforce this barrier.</p><h3>Talk</h3><p>Whether you want to talk on the phone, message via live chat, email or talk face-to-face, there are plenty of options available. It is entirely likely that your gambling activity is symptomatic of another [deeper] problem and for this, we highly recommend therapy. Some helpful resources include; <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.gamcare.org.uk/get-support/talk-to-us-now/?cn-reloaded=1">The National Gambling helpline</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.gamblersanonymous.org.uk/">Gamblers Anonymous</a> and GamAnon. </p><p>Ultimately, we believe there is a place for will-power – or more accurately, ‘won’t-power’ – but effective barriers can be helpful on the path to recovery from gambling addiction. Download Gamban at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.gamban.com/register">https://www.gamban.com/register</a></p>

12 Practical Tips For Problem Gamblers

We believe there is a place for will-power – or more accurately, ‘won’t-power’. Learning to understand, tolerate, like and love yourself is a crucially important aspect to recovery.

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Is Self-Excluding from online Gambling the right choice for me?

12 Practical Tips For Problem Gamblers

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Is Self-Excluding from online Gambling the right choice for me?

12 Practical Tips For Problem Gamblers

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