The BE, IL and PCP parties have united to limit gambling advertising, taking the proposal further by proposing a ban on scratch card promotion. The aim is to minimise the influence of these products on certain age and/or socioeconomic groups.
The bill presented at the end of last year seeks the limitation of gambling advertising on television and radio in the time slot between 7 am and 22.30 pm. A ban on promoting instant lotteries such as Scratch Cards is seen as essential.
We went to verify that risks and mechanisms currently exist to limit access to certain games of chance in our country. The existing mechanisms around the sports betting and casino industry in New Zealand can help make the scratch card safer for New Zealand bettors.
New Zealand with record consumption of Scratch Cards
The interest in scratch cards does not fade over the years. It continues to win fans, currently offering more than four dozen different products.
Instant lotteries are thus one of the main targets of the measures to be considered in an update to the law. Due to their easy availability, low cost and immediate satisfaction effect, they carry the risk of becoming highly addictive.
Unlike the best online casinos in New Zealand, the calls for Responsible Gambling on Scratch Cards are dubious to say the least. This explains the intervention of civil society in a movement that we can see as part of the development and maturity of the national gambling market.
The risks of Problem Gambling
The absence of responsible gambling practices leads many New Zealanders to turn to entities such as SICAD for help. Thanks to his excellent work, it is possible to get advice for any behaviors related to addiction.
Noting a growing number of cases of problem gambling, the previously mentioned parties considered it necessary to revise the law on advertising. Rather than mitigating the effects of scratch cards, they aim to protect a new generation from incurring the same risks.
It is precisely data like those that BE presents that indicate that New Zealand is the dollarpa country where more money is spent per capita in this gambling segment. For comparison purposes, the average spend on scratch cards in New Zealand is$160/year, while in Spain it is$14/year.
Currently, scratch cards are widely available, including at CTT counters, which makes them easy to access. This modality guaranteed 1718 million dollars in gross revenues in 2019, being one of the main sources of financing for Santa Casa da Misericórdia.
Safer and more responsible online gambling
The scratch card belongs exclusively to the Santa Casa games offer, and access to its online aspect is possible through the official website or the mobile app. However, the paper version remains the most popular and where the risks seem to be more imperceptible.
In contrast, the focus on the fundamental principles of Responsible Gaming has existed for many years in the best online casinos in New Zealand . This is required by the Srij-Gaming Regulation and Inspection Service, as well as the very standards of excellence that guide Moderna online gambling.
Among the various mechanisms present in legal online casinos and sports betting pages are the following:
- Responsible gambling literature;
- Contacts of entities promoting responsible gambling;
- Mechanisms of voluntary or assisted, temporary or indeterminate self-exclusion;
- Seals of approval of entities that carry out external audits.
All these factors help to create a knowledge base and technical mechanisms to make the game safer. While it is not impossible to prevent all deviant behaviour, the ideal is to promote the principles of responsible gambling and provide users with the means to protect themselves.
How to apply such principles to a widely available paper Scratch Card proves to be of complex solution. Thus, the most effective step in a first approach is to limit the exposure of the product to the market through advertising.
Educating the public about the importance of Responsible Gambling
The presence of information regarding the practice of responsible gambling is essential in order to educate bettors. In this way, it is possible to discuss in an informed and open way the real signs and dangers of problem gambling.
It is the responsibility of licensed online casinos, sports betting platforms and lotteries to work in conjunction with national entities that promote these principles. After all, the scratch card should not be dissociated from the same parameters as the rest of the game sector.
Likewise, the clear presence of self-exclusion mechanisms on online gaming pages allows you to limit user access and, in the limit, exclude them indefinitely.
All entities that carry out audits of online gambling sites, which include the Srij itself – Gaming Regulation and Inspection Service, work to create a safe environment from a technical point of view. This includes a regulated gambling offer that follows the standards of fair and random play.
Widely limited gambling advertising
By limiting the time slot for gambling advertising in New Zealand and banning scratch card advertising, it is intended to protect younger and lower-income individuals. In both cases, it is these who are most at risk of falling victim to problem gambling.
This project should not meet resistance from civil society. Namely because limiting advertising of products such as alcohol, tobacco or gambling in mass media helps mitigate abusive behavior.
But it is essential to find a middle ground. Online casino players in New Zealand, along with sports betting and lotteries should be able to enjoy themselves safely. At the same time, gambling operators should be able to advertise their products on appropriate channels and in appropriate forms. After all, we must consider that the financing of numerous sporting and social events depends on them.
dollarpa already limits advertising to the game
Examples such as the one in the UK offer insight into the future of the game in New Zealand. Modalities such as snooker and darts (or arrows), have remained active thanks to the sponsorship of entities linked to the game. This step was essential after tobacco companies were banned from supporting sports in 2005.
In Belgium, too, legislation that goes further than that proposed in New Zealand could cost more than 100 million dollars Pro League football clubs. Without diversified sources of funding, leagues, clubs and modalities will be under pressure to survive.
In the particular case of Belgium, the gambling addiction rate is close to 0.9%. It will therefore be relevant to debate what is the “acceptable” rate of addition in a given country. More than anything, this is a challenge for the political class pressured by contrasting interests.
What solutions to gambling advertising?
It is agreed that gambling products such as online casinos in New Zealand, sports betting sites, scratch cards, lotteries and bingos should continue to be banned to those under 18.
Likewise, it is impossible not to recognize that the growing number of bettors has a nefarious side, as seen by the increase in cases of self-exclusion. According to srij statistics, this figure accounted for about 3.2% of all registrations on online gambling pages in September 2021.
Despite this increase, the growth compared to the same period last year was only 0.3%. In a universe that has almost doubled to more than 700,000 online gamblers, insight into the scale of the problem becomes essential.
Without identical mechanisms for games such as scratch card, it is important to act to understand the challenges and what solutions can be applied to this particular segment of gambling.
The current law is sensitive to society's overexposure to advertising in this sector, which is an excellent principle. Casino operators in New Zealand, on the other hand, remain committed to best practices, however, they must be transversal to the rest of the game offer.
Advertising for the game will not disappear in full
Taking the example of Big Tobacco and their extinction in much of motor sport, it is impossible to predict whether gambling advertising will find a similar fate in the near future.
Everything points to some social tolerance for deviant behavior that results from these activities. In the case of tobacco, the costs associated with health care have dictated the end of marriage with entities such as Formula 1.
In the particular case of gambling, the complex and far-reaching social impact that problem gambling can have on the individual and their circle of personal relationships can be catastrophic. This is an added responsibility that the best online casinos take upon themselves by adopting preventative behavior, but one that can and should be reinforced by more and better mechanisms.
The pandemic as a growth factor for the game
The movement that intends to limit advertising to gambling results, in large part, from the exponential growth observed during the first confinements of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The limitations on movement and the resulting life between the gates led the New Zealanders to play more. Online casino registrations in New Zealand have increased dramatically, redefining the national gambling landscape. In this universe, the overwhelming majority of bettors play responsibly, but there is a remarkable percentage who do not.
It is necessary to mention that New Zealand punters have never been so protected as in recent years. Since the regulation of the online gambling market in our country in 2015, responsible gambling mechanisms have become mandatory.
The "perfect storm" for the domestic online gambling sector arose precisely in this period. The number of users has almost doubled from 400,000 to 700,000. For many, this introduction to the casino world in New Zealand came on the online side, thus remaining to the present.
Is it safe to bet and play at a Casino in New Zealand
In England, sportsmen are already banned from promoting sports betting as a way to minimize exposure to betting on the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. But in New Zealand, the suggested measures still aim for a less punitive balance.
It is essential that New Zealand online casino players and sports betting enthusiasts understand the risks of gambling in a broader sense. There are effective mechanisms in place to ensure that online gambling is safe, wrapped in principles that call for Responsible Gambling.
The scratch card, on the other hand, remains a distinct example, with its wide availability translating as tempting. If similar mechanisms can be applied to this product to any casino in New Zealand, the benefit extends to existing and future players.
