IGSA Creates a Responsible Gaming Committee to Elevate RG Standards

Detailing the news in a press statement, the International Gaming Standards Association (IGSA) confirmed that its board of directors has voted to create a Responsible Gaming Committee (RGC), which will further help raise standards for responsible gambling and help association members tackle problem gambling. This announcement follows the creation of an Ethical AI Committee announced earlier this year, and further strengthening IGSA’s commitment to improving the industry as a whole.

IGSA Doubles Down on Responsible Gambling Standard

Alan Feldman, a recognized expert in the fields of player protection and responsible gambling, has agreed to become a part of this new initiative.

Feldman is a distinguished fellow at the UNLV International Gaming Institute and chair emeritus of the International Center for Responsible Gaming, which already specializes in the matters that the IGSA has set out to address by forming its new committee.

IGSA chairman Earle G. Hall has outlined the new initiative and welcomed it as a much-needed and necessary decision. Hall added that IGSA would seek to create a global standard for responsible gambling based on best practices, and hailed the work put in by regulators in developing robust individual solutions tailored to their respective markets.

However, the industry as a whole would benefit if there was a unified way to address responsible gambling and leverage it internationally. He added:

Moreover, it is time to shift the paradigm to a data-driven predictability model to remove the tremendous burden on regulators and operators. We are excited by the overwhelming response by our members, affiliates, and partners to be a part of this movement.

IGSA chairman Earle G. Hall

IGSA’s Responsible Gaming Committee will be working closely with regulators and operators to ensure that it achieves its ultimate goal of strengthening responsible gambling. The framework the organizaiton seeks to establish through the RGC is called the “Responsible Gaming Maturity Model (RGMM).

Start Small and Introduce a Basic Policy

Collaboration between individual regulators has been encouraged in the past but it has been faced with some reluctance by local entities. In Europe, there has been a lot of chatter about exchanging lists of prohibited brands or blacklisted gambling websites, for example, but the unique regulatory regime of each member state in the European Union has made this a taller order than regulators have been prepared to immediately take on.

Now, the RGMM could offer a chance to strengthen this collaboration and lead to the implementation of a basic policy that will further help improve responsible gambling standards based on KPIs and quantitative data.

The future of the gambling industry is tied to responsible gambling. The sooner operators realize this, the sooner consumers will enjoy better player protection across the board. In May, IGSA recognized Light & Wonder as one of its founding members, as part of the association’s 25th anniversary ceremony.