Protecting players with bonuses

Adaptation to the conditions of changing legislation in the gambling industry

Recall that in 2020, a decision was made in Germany on a tolerant attitude towards iGaming services. It caused a mixed reaction. One side expressed their approval, hoping that it would bring more confidence and a level playing field for responsible licensed operators not only in Germany but in the industry as a whole. The other side took a wait-and-see attitude.

However, it is clear from most of the industry comments that online gambling regulation has improved significantly over the past 15 years.

In addition, following the reform of the Gambling Law passed in 2005 during the tenure of former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, many other countries have made a successful transition to introducing licensing conditions for gambling operators and providers. The main goal that they pursued was to ensure complete protection of consumers in the gambling field, including responsible bonuses, and provide them with the best user experience.

Since the entry into force of the law in the UK, several countries in Europe have followed suit and put the law into practice: Italy in 2007, Denmark in 2012 and Spain in 2013.

However, even after that, the regulation of gambling continued to improve. As a result, the United States in 2018 allowed individual states to regulate online sports betting and casino games. The following 2019, they were joined by Sweden and Latin American countries, including Colombia and Brazil.

For example, during the pandemic, when the number of users on gambling sites has skyrocketed, several countries have come out with a call to increase the responsibility of the game through restrictions on advertising, on deposits and bets, on bonuses and product changes, including spin times and cooldown periods between sessions. As a result, companies that wanted to stay in the gambling field took appropriate measures, including deeper technical changes in games and platforms, to ensure the protection of players.

Tightening the rules threatens unpredictable results

Now, many gambling experts agree that the time has come to change the approach to strengthening the protection of players, especially vulnerable users. Protection should primarily relate to the bonus policy and rewards offered by operators to players.

However, there are those who believe tightening the rules is expensive not only for players in terms of user experience, but also for the sustainability of the entire gambling industry.

In the Swedish market, for example, game licensing companies and casino owners have come together to call on the government to change its strict stance on new limits on the number of players on their sites.

However, some experts believe that instead of protecting players, the new measures could have the opposite effect. For example, data from the Swedish trade organization BOS showed that the number of players on licensed sites fell to 52%. And the rest of the potentially at-risk consumers have simply turned to unlicensed companies on the black market. The latter, by the way, offer unlimited bonuses and rewards, but without practical protection and any guarantees.

It is important to understand that there is an equally fine line between encouraging entertainment and encouraging consumers to be in the game for an inordinate amount of time.

Therefore, when it comes to rewarding players, responsible iGaming operators in the industry have had to strike a balance in protecting users without compromising their entertainment while looking after their own business. Players should be able to withdraw their funds without unreasonable conditions, but at the same time, operators should have good control over their customers’ transactions, providing them with privacy protection, protection and fairness of all financial transactions carried out.

Striking a balance between protection and fun

It is known that all companies providing gambling services operate on the basis of two important principles. This is the protection of the players and a fair reward. While there is no perfect plan, some countries, including the UK and some US states such as New Jersey, have been able to strike a more harmonious balance.

For example, in the UK, all major iGaming products are allowed, but the licensing regime is very strict. Therefore, if any company or individual violates the law, then penalties in the form of large fines are applied to it. In order to minimize the number of violators, the new rules are well communicated to stakeholders and sent to them with advance warning.

Gambling regulation policy should successfully address the following objectives:

• exclusion of causing serious damage to consumers, both moral and psychological;
• control of access to gambling for “problem” persons. This category includes both people who cannot control themselves, the size and volume of bets, and scammers
• who seek to take control of other people’s money;
• implementation of technologies that provide constant monitoring of the client base, bet sizes, casino costs, etc.

Thanks to the high standards and regulations in place in the UK, gamblers are able to play and earn rewards in an open and increasingly responsible environment. Gambling was expected to move even further in 2024 following the revision of the Gambling Law, as well as the consideration of advertising, sports sponsorship, VIP schemes and online betting cap deals.

The same situation was observed in several US states, including New Jersey. Online and offline casino owners also offer consumers a wide range of betting products within a safe and responsible environment. At the same time, the owners of gambling establishments and their visitors receive mutual benefits.

Despite the “juvenile” age of this market, estimated at two years, many businessmen have taken their place under the sun. They manage to comply with the law, provide a high level of service, and conduct an honest policy. Many casinos offer visitors a wide range of bonuses, for example:

• free spins;
• free games or free bets;
• deposit bonuses when online casinos double deposits up to $500;
• cashback bonuses for new customers on their first deposit, etc.

Responsible bonuses

Let’s take a look at how bonuses and player incentives fit into the structure of globally regulated markets. In fact, the legal framework in the gambling industry is constantly changing. Therefore, companies operating in this area should pursue a flexible policy. This requires the mandatory use of technology that can be adapted to the needs of any local market that your company focuses on.

At first glance, European countries are pursuing approximately the same policy in the field of gambling regulation. However, in fact, each of them has a different approach to bonuses. For example, in Denmark, promotions must be provided to all players on equal terms within a set range of amounts. The promotion must be offered to at least 100 players. In addition, the passivity of the player should not deprive him of the opportunity to receive bonuses.

Despite the differences in the gambling markets of different countries, the common unified requirement is open and transparent marketing. Operators are required to ensure that the content of messages does not mislead consumers and that all bonuses, rewards and other marketing incentives are provided to consumers in a transparent and fair manner.

In order for companies providing services in the gambling field to be successful, high-quality software is necessary.

It should solve the following tasks:

• exercise full control and visibility in real time from one central system;
• track every aspect of player behavior, including bonus abuse, fraud, cheating, etc.;
• reward valuable customers;
• track both casino cost control and potentially problematic player behavior, such as violations of responsible gambling principles, the desire to take over other people’s money, etc.

Through the use of quality software, companies gain control over every aspect of their own responsible bonus strategy, including player targeting, cost management, bet sizes, and more.

In addition, casino owners are faced with the challenge of choosing and integrating best practices in order to find a positive balance between generating profits, providing bonuses and protecting players. It is also important to ensure that user actions are controlled through the use of easy-to-use processes and transparent information to the target audience.

The functionality of the software offered by our company allows players to easily remove bonus and promotional emails, SMS messages and notifications if they wish. System APIs can also be used to automate terms and conditions.

The mission of the operators is to provide players with an informed choice that they can make using simple bonus tools and features, as well as easy access to clear, concise and transparent terms and conditions for all promotions for their products and services.

Conclusion

Achieving a balance between creative and marketing promotion in gambling plays an important role against the backdrop of a growing number of territories that impose new and / or additional restrictions on gambling products, including rewards and bonuses.

In order to succeed in the gambling industry, the owners of a gambling establishment must ensure that users can not only enjoy their time here, but also do it in the safest and most responsible environment.