Taivo has been responsible for designing and executing national gambling policy in Estonia through legislation since 2011, as part of his duties in Ministry of Finance. He has also been a member in Expert Group on Gambling Services since its inception by the European Commission in 2012. The purpose of Paf Responsible Gaming Summit is to increase awareness about responsible gaming by inviting the gaming industry and its stakeholders. We wish to have an open dialogue with gambling operators, partners, academics and decision makers to learn from each other and share best practices https://www.paf.com/rgsummit2015

1. Responsible gambling and
consumer protection
Taivo Põrk
29.09.2015

2. • No agreed definition for “responsible
gambling” exists;
• The same is true for “problem gambling”;
• Gambling Disorder (GD; DSM-5) is defined
as “persistent gambling behaviour leading
to clinically significant impairment or
distress” and diagnosed clinically (9
criteria) and may be classified as mild,
moderate or severe.

3. • All operators, both public and private, need
to deal with a conflict of interest between
seeking profit and protecting gamblers
from harm. Applies to regulators too, to an
extent;
• Recreational activity vs social health
problem;
• Individual freedom vs social control

4. Goals of “responsible” gambling policy
• Prevention of criminal gambling business
• (e.g. fraud);
• Prevention of underage gambling and
underage exposure;
• Prevention of gambling disorders;
• Protection of subjects with gambling
disorders;
• Prevention of severe financial losses?

5. Proportion of use disorders among users

6. • Stages of gambling: risky use -> harmful use ->
either reduction/cessation or chronic relapses.
• Transition to risky gambling: caused mainly by
environmental determinants (access, advertising,
peer relations)
• Transition to harmful gambling: caused mainly by
individual vulnerability determinants
(neurobiology, cognitive control)
• Role of gambling determinants unclear, likely
relevant in interaction with individual
vulnerability determinants

7. Estonia
- Population: ~1.3 million;
- 16 licensed gambling operators (13 licenses for games of chance,
7 for betting, 1 for skill games, 1 for lottery);
- ~60 gaming locations (casinos, arcades), ~2200 slot machines
- (down from ~170/5000+ in 2007);
- In 2014, 59% of population between 15-74 reported having
been at least occasionally engaged in gambling. 15% said they
have gambled online. “Within last 2 years”, 48% and 12%
respectively,
- Addiction risk group is 3,6%. 0,7% are probably pathological
gamblers.
7

8. Regulations
(1) Marketing
• Clear "no underage gambling" message;
• No youth-related contents, motivations, images
and campaigns;
• Ban in youth related locations, publications and
websites

9. •Objective information: chances for
winning and losses, risks, possible negative
consequences, support options;
•No unrealistic promises for winnings or
as alternative to earned income;
•No images, messages and campaigns
associating gambling with social prestige,
personal success or attractiveness;
•Transparent sponsor information

10. (2) Casino distance/spread/availabilty
regulations
• Licensing;
• Blocking illegal websites/transactions
(3) Player identification and verification, age
controls

11. (4) Gambling-related
• Information on gambling procedures,
stakes, changes for winnings and losses,
regular visual feedback on play statistics;
• Options of self-imposing deposit limits,
stop-loss limits;
• Self-exclusion;
• No credits;
• Forced random breaks?
(5) Staff training (risks, indicators,
intervention)

12. Responsibilities
Regulatory authority
• To define and control protection measures
• To monitor core gambling parameters (stakes, wins, losses,
complaints, self- and provider-based exclusion, hotlines,
treatment, prevalence figures)
• To test gambling and marketing regulations
Operators
• To implement protection measures
• To provide statistical figures and gambling related facts
Consumer
• To be “Informed Consumers” (procedures, risks, help lines,
treatment opportunities)

13. Credits
• Heavily relied on presentation by Dr
Gerhard Bühringen “Prevention of
Gambling Disorders:
Implications for Consumer Protection from
ALICE RAP” on 18.09.2015 at 12th EGGS
meeting

14. Thank you for your
attention!