Šimon Vincze, the Head of Sustainable and Safer Gambling at Casino Guru, alongside Dr. Margaret Carran, Assistant VP for Education Partnerships at City St George’s, University of London, have introduced the Self-Exclusion Standards Project. This initiative aims to establish standardized and transparent guidelines for online self-exclusion programs, particularly focusing on jurisdictions in Africa.
Their presentation occurred during the 32nd General Assembly of the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO), which was held in Kenya from August 24 to August 28 in partnership with the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS). In their presentation, Vincze and Dr. Carran outlined a blueprint to create robust self-exclusion guidelines that could be applied across national borders to better protect consumers from gambling-related harm.
Vincze emphasized the comprehensive nature of the project, stating, "We focused on every aspect of the self-exclusion process and its implementation at operators to ensure that players are well-informed, able to find the right tool, and use it at times when they are losing control. At the same time, we have sought to equip operators with appropriate procedures and safeguards to make sure they protect those who need it effectively."
The Self-Exclusion Standards Project stems from extensive research and proposes a three-stage evidence-based approach derived from consultations with workgroups and the public, aimed at achieving a universally recognized gold standard for these programs.
Dr. Carran added, "Creating international standards for safer gambling tools and principles would bring enormous benefits to all stakeholders. The regulators and policymakers would have a reliable, evidence-based source of what offers genuine protection; enforcement would become easier; players would benefit from a consistently high level of protection regardless of where they choose to gamble, and the public would gain confidence that the governments are indeed serious about protecting players from gambling-related harms."
Designed for easy integration across state borders, this framework could quickly enhance player welfare and bolster consumer protection standards. The authors of the project have committed to supporting jurisdictions in implementing the new framework, aiming to improve local consumer safeguards and protect players more effectively.
