Innovative New Self-Protection Guidelines Complement Innovative Technology in Prague
Published October 18, 2020 by Lee R
The progressive new Czech Republic exclusion strategy is the second or three proactive regulation phases.
Emerging Czech Republic has announced the institution of a new self-exclusion program through its Ministry of Finance.
The Self-Exclusion Program
The new self-exclusion registry enabling consumers in the country to block themselves from accessing gambling services was launched as a pilot scheme from September 15th, when the window opened for players to protect themselves from their own vulnerabilities by voluntarily putting their name on a list excluding them from land-based and online gambling offerings in the Czech Republic market.
Operator Participation
Licensed operators will be integrated into the programme with a requirement to block access to their services beginning at the conclusion of the pilot stage on December 20.
Operator Responsibilities
Operators will subsequently be required to verify whether new applicants to their websites have signed up to the register, with players whose names appear on the register being prohibited from gambling or setting up another user account.
Applications of Self Exclusion
Individuals can also be added to the new self-exclusion registry if they are under treatment for problem gambling; show signs of gambling in an unsustainable way; are declared bankrupt; or are current welfare recipients from the Czech state.
Program Director Speaks
After previously seeking to have the register operational by mid-2020, Czech Minister of Finance Alena Schillerová said that the added welfare provision removes the possibility that “money paid out in benefits” would “end up in gaming machines, as is unfortunately still the case in many incidences.”
Greater Benefits
Schillerová further praised the system's exclusion of “vulnerable groups or pathological gamblers from the temptation of hard gambling” as not helping the loved ones of players as well as the players themselves.
Three-Phase Process
The register is the second phase of a greater three step progressive protection process that the Czech Republic is implementing to tackle problem gambling in the growing market.
First Step
The first step was the country's Analytical Module of the Gambling Information System (AISG), an enhanced database for strategic collection of enhanced gaming and financial data from operators to support regulatory adaptation and policy.
Third Phase
The third phase of the process entails the Ministry of Finance cooperating with public administration bodies on development and adaptation of internal processes addressing gambling-related issues.
Outlook
As a technologically progressive market, it is intriguing to welcome the Prague Republic's progressive protection and regulation model.
