Ontario’s Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) is educating the public on how to gamble responsibly as new players join the regulated market space.
The RGC is a not-for-profit organization based in Canada but with a global reach that is dedicated to mitigating gambling harm. Best responsible gambling practices are at the core of the RGC, with the organization stating that “gambling should never come at a human cost.”
The organization’s latest attempts to educate new and existing players on best gambling practices are available on its website and come off the back of global gambling giant PokerStars entering the Ontario market.
As part of its guidance, the RGC outlines twelve top tips to consider when gambling ranging from playing sober to taking regular breaks and not chasing losses.
In addition, the RGC has also issued a guide to Low-Risk Gambling, designed to give players tips for gambling within their means. The guidelines include information on how to only gamble up to 1% of the household income, how to gamble no more than four days a month, and two to avoid gambling more than two types of games.
The RGC is committed to helping players keep gambling fun and, as such, holds operators entering the Ontario market to the highest responsible gambling standards.
For any operator to launch in the market, they must meet robust standards outlined by the regulator and RGC as what is known as RG Check Accreditation. These requirements must include:
- A solid responsible gambling policy — showing how the operator will prevent and mitigate harmful gambling behavior.
- Offer ways for players to self-exclude.
- Clearly communicate the risks of gambling to their player base.
- Marketing literature must be truthful and transparent at all times.
- Account registration and money services are all run safely.
- Offering help to players suffering from gambling addiction.
- The design of the gambling site needs to encourage low-risk behaviors.
- The operator must work with stakeholders to improve and address the harms associated with gambling.
The guidance from the RGC follows from iGaming Ontario and the gambling 101 primer they issued for new players.
The primer from iGaming Ontario outlines the importance of players choosing the right games at the right sites and provides resources for making informed decisions.
PokerStars Ontario will have met the RG Checks from the RGC to have been able to launch in the province — which they have done this past week.
PokerStars Ontario is now fully regulated and approved to offer real money cash games to players in the province.
“In many respects, Ontario is our home market, given the first-ever hand of PokerStars was played here over 20 years ago, so we are thrilled about the new regulated environment within which our players can play,” Tom Warren, Group Marketing Director for PokerStars said at launch.
PokerStars is also ramping up efforts to educate players on how to set limits on their site in the UK and US markets. Social media campaigns have run reminding players to set boundaries and take regular breaks from the action — especially during an online tournament series when the desire to gamble more might be more prevalent.
Players can find the complete set of guidance from the RGC here.
