EU Framework
At an EU level, the European Responsible Gaming Standards issued by the European Lotteries for the benefit of society outlines the importance of the operators’ commitment to responsible gaming, and highlights the need to continually improve, develop and implement their responsible gaming governance, according to the principle ‘Plan, Do, Check, Act’.
MGA's Player Protection Directive
In Malta, the Malta Gaming Authority’s Player Protection Directive of 2018 sets out a number of requirements aimed at protecting society and vulnerable persons from problem gambling. The Directive obliges operators to make available easily accessible information on the risks of uncontrolled gaming, as well as information on the player support measures adopted by the operator. In addition to this, operators should, at all times, have a link on their homepage to one or more organizations that specialize in providing aid to persons who have problem gambling issues.
Gaming Operators’ Requirements
Identifying and dealing with individuals at risk of problem gambling requires specialized training. An operator should therefore ensure that it has a dedicated and robust team, in line with its scale and size, to communicate with such players in a proper and timely manner. When players at risk of problem gambling are identified, or possibly communicate their gambling problem to the employees of the operator, measures should be taken to:
- refer the player to organizations for aid;
- clarify whether the player wishes to self-exclude himself, definitely or indefinitely, from the platform, and
- decide, on a case-by-case basis, whether the matter entails the imposition of exclusion or limits