Are European Gambling Commissions Being Fair on Online Gambling?

Online gambling is a great way to enjoy some time playing games but it does come with some risks. It is possible to develop an addiction for gambling and some children may not understand the risks that gambling has. To help protect the vulnerable against the dangers of gambling, the European Gambling Commissions have rules and regulations that online gambling firms must follow. The online gambling laws are also implanted to try to keep gambling safe and fun.

What are the Regulations?

• A location check to ensure that gambling is legal in the country the player is in. There are many countries in the world where gambling is illegal, so if the site is caught being used there then they may lose their license.
• The customer also has to confirm they are the legal age to bet in that country, often by sending a picture of some identification. This is why it may take up to three days for the company to get back to you and allow any deposits.
• Further security checks such as ensuring the name of the account holder matches the name of the depositing method are complete too. This helps to allow for safe and legal gambling.
• Once they have signed up, there are still further tests. There is an anti-laundering test which is implanted to ensure the money being used is safe from laundering and other crime risks.
• Some places also have money limits. This is to protect the customer from gambling too much and playing for too long.
• There are plenty of safety checks to abide by, but they are all included for good reason. The European Gambling Commission has a duty to protect both companies and customers. This means doing what they can to prevent fraud, addiction, underage gambling, laundering and any other means which are not ethically correct.

Do the Safety Requirements Work?

Some people have argued that the checks are too detailed and tough to pass, almost acting as a deterrent. This should not be the case as each individual should be allowed to make up their own mind whether they want to bet, as long as they are over the legal age and in a legal area. That means they will have been around long enough to be aware of the risks involved.

Whilst it might immediately seem to an outsider that the checks cannot be too thorough on safe gambling, they do in fact need to be of a sensible balance. Having too many regulations to get through will, unfortunately, encourage some gamblers to seek illegal alternatives which are easier to access. This ultimately defeats the point of setting up the safety measures in the first place.

The safety measures which are set at the minute by the European Gambling Commission are at the right level. If they were more thorough then it would be very likely that people would head to the illegal sites which are much easier to access. These dodgy sites can be appealing as they are much more simple to get onto than the proper casinos which is a reason why they have been becoming more popular.

Helping With Addiction

A huge positive step which the European Gambling Commission have implemented is one which battles against addiction. They offer the GamStop service which is a safeguard for addicted players. It allows players to self exclude or ban themselves from a site should they feel the need to. Whilst it will not completely solve gambling addiction, it is a great step that has helped many people in the past. Credit cards have already been banned by online casinos in a bid to help with addiction.

What is the Verdict?

The European Gambling Commission is ultimately in a tricky situation. They need to ensure that gambling remains safe and legal with detailed sign up requirements. However, if those requirements are too long to complete then punters may be tempted to go to an illegal site elsewhere that they can access easier. Overall a good job is done to help gambling be as safe as possible. There is always room for improvement though, such as decreasing the time it takes to set up an online casino account that passes all the regulations.