The Gambling Regulators European Forum (GREF) has reacted positively to the European Committee for Standardisation’s (CEN) initiative to develop a standardized monitoring of recognized causes of gambling harm.
The CEN draft standard will set out ‘markers’ of gambling harm, looking to help identify and prevent risky and problem gambling behavior.
It will provide markers of harm that operators can use to detect players exhibiting problem gambling behavior. The overall aim is to promote responsible gambling. The markers will be developed by a pan-European collaboration of academics, gambling regulators, harm prevention experts, and gambling operators.
GREF outlined in a statement: “This project will be particularly useful in CEN Member jurisdictions where duty of care rules are few or do not yet exist.”
The Forum did, however, highlight that it is comprised of jurisdictions “with very different gambling regulatory frameworks, some of which have very strict duty of care rules.” It goes on to emphasize that, in accordance with Article 2 of European Union Regulation 1025/2012 on European Standardisation, compliance with the standard will remain voluntary unless otherwise required by the regulatory authorities.
The European Gaming and Betting Association has welcomed GREF’s support. In a release, Maarten Haijer, Secretary General of EGBA, commented: “We very much welcome GREF’s support for this important initiative.”
He continued: “The development of a European standard on markers of harm will be a crucial step forward for safer gambling in Europe. It will help establish a more common understanding of problem gambling behaviours and raise the bar on player protection across the industry. Collaboration on safer gambling is crucial, and we call on all stakeholders participating in the CEN standardisation process to support its finalisation in the coming months.”
The EGBA previously held a webinar, providing a detailed discussion about markers of harm. In a release, it also revealed that the markers of harm are expected to be finalized and published by the end of the year. It believes that the standard will “provide a much-needed common definition of markers of harm.”
Safer Gambling Week 2024: A Record-Breaking Campaign
The EGBA’s 2024 European Safer Gambling Week reported record participation. The campaign, which ran from 18 to 24 November 2024, saw 195 partners get involved, including eight national gambling authorities.
The Association outlined that the campaign reached 26 countries, including debut years for Croatia, Serbia, Slovakia, and Ukraine.
Across the body’s social media campaigns, Safe Gambling Week reached over 3 million users and generated 1,169 posts, a 67 percent increase from the year prior.
In addition, 29 specialized events took place. There were 4,500 registrations and 3,000 attendees, and topics included trends in AI, problem gambling prevalence reporting, and innovations in safer gambling.
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