Self-exclusion lists are a long-standing tool to keep problem gamblers from stepping inside a casino. Sports betting companies are now aligning themselves with firms that offer something similar for online sites.
Unibet will let its U.S. customers use software from U.K.’s Gamban to ban themselves from gambling sites on multiple devices. FanDuel did likewise with software that blocks thousands of licensed and unlicensed gambling sites, including new ones which might crop up, according to the Associated Press.
“Educating customers about the importance of gambling responsibly and within limits is a business imperative and ethically the right thing to do,” said Carolyn Renzin, chief risk and compliance officer with FanDuel Group.
This is a long time coming said Jack Symons, Gamban’s co-founder. “As the largest real-money gaming provider in the United States, FanDuel Group is making a statement of intent and throwing down the gauntlet to operators across the industry to offer self-exclusion support for their vulnerable customers.”
Most sports betting and online casino companies provide some type of actions for problem gamblers, among them cool-down periods in which customers can have their accounts suspended for a length of time.
Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, supports such moves.
“Self-exclusion is one part of what should be a comprehensive network of problem gambling prevention, education, treatment, enforcement, research and recovery services in every state.”
