In 2025, the RG policy will no longer be perceived as a formality for obtaining a licence. Today, it has become a full-fledged tool for increasing conversion, engagement, and the customer’s life cycle.
Casino Market experts talk about the role of an adequate approach to the placement of bets. You will learn how responsible gambling affects the KPI of entertainment projects and what initiatives are being implemented by the world’s leading commissions.
About the Concept
This is a set of practices and mechanisms aimed at ensuring a safe and controlled user experience.
The main goals of the RG include:
- reduction of risk factors for ludomania;
- protection of vulnerable individuals;
- support for a fair and transparent gaming environment.
The first debate about the social responsibility of operators began to arise in European countries and Australia back in the 1990s. At that time, only a few top vendors controlled their clients and provided them with self-restraint mechanisms, while small and medium businesses did not pay due attention to this issue.
In the 2000s, the situation changed. Leading regulators (MGA and UKGC) focused on creating responsible gambling policies that could be applied to both the land-based sector and the online vertical.
Since the 2010s, support for RG has been a prerequisite for obtaining a licence in Malta, the UK, Romania, Germany, Sweden, and other jurisdictions where casino solutions are legalised. Moreover, the requirements are only becoming stricter every year, especially in terms of protecting minors and socially vulnerable individuals.
Responsible Gambling Mechanisms
Key practices in regulated markets include:
- Restraints. Most often, operators set limits on deposits, bets, and losses. There are also partial restrictions on sessions (per day, week, or month) and reminders about the time spent on the entertainment site.
- Self-exclusion functions. The category includes 2 main mechanisms. Players can voluntarily limit or close access to their accounts for a selected interval (from 24 hours to an indefinite period) and also add themselves to a national or regional self-exclusion registry. An example here can be the GAMSTOP platform in the UK.
- Behavioural analytics and monitoring. At this stage, the task of entrepreneurs is to track and record atypical actions. This can be frequent deposits, spinning reels in slots at night, a sharp increase in rates, and other patterns. It is important that such clients immediately receive automatic warnings and personal recommendations. In more serious cases, the sessions should be interrupted, and accounts need to be blocked.
- Information support. Providers are required to add pages with tips on responsible gaming, offer self-diagnosis tests, post contacts of psychological and specialised organisations (GamCare, BeGambleAware, and others), etc.
- Employee training. In large iGaming companies, these issues are handled by RG departments or compliance officers. They tell staff how to recognise the signs of ludomania, how to properly interact with problem players, and what measures or solutions should be offered to them.
Benefits of RG Principles for Operators
The implementation of such a policy is not only a legal obligation, but also a powerful business tool. It affects the sustainability and financial efficiency of casino owners, helps improve image indicators, and increases trust in entertainment brands.
Increased LTV
Let us consider how responsible gaming mechanisms affect the lifetime value of customers:
- Burnout prevention. Players who do not lose control during the betting process remain active on the website longer and, as a result, bring more profit to the provider.
- Reduction in the number of problematic users. Operators interact less with those clients prone to a complete abandonment of the game. As a result, the advertising budget is spent only on people who bring good income to iGaming platforms.
- Behavioural targeting. Audience segmentation based on RG data helps to personalise solutions (content, settlement methods, and responsible gaming options). It is also an excellent mechanism for tracking the customer journey and predicting the moments when players may leave.
Enhanced Conversion and Retention
The presence of RG tools increases trust in gambling platforms, especially among beginners. They are more willing to make their first deposits and spin the slot reels, without fear of being deceived by the casino.
Entertainment resources that offer control, transparency, and 24/7 support receive more repeat visits. This is important for increasing the retention rate and the profitability of startups.
Improved Reputation and Trust in iGaming Sites
Implementation of responsible gambling mechanisms performs several tasks:
- increases customer loyalty, especially among customers with a high LTV;
- helps build trusting relationships with partners, affiliates, and financial institutions;
- growth in the number of mentions in ESG ratings, which is important for public companies.
For example, the Flutter Entertainment provider has identified RG mechanisms as a key part of its strategy. Thanks to this, operators received 8.9 points in the Sustainalytics rating, which was the best result in the Casinos & Gaming sector.
An adequate attitude toward betting is part of the S (Social) block. It combines initiatives to care for health, protect consumers, as well as support inclusion and gender equality.
Comprehensive implementation of ESG policies performs several tasks:
- increases the firm’s rankings on international platforms (Morningstar, MSCI, Refinitiv, and others);
- attracts investors and banking institutions, especially in Europe and the UK.
Reduction of Legal and Financial Risks
The addition of RG instruments can:
- minimise the chances of getting fines and losing a licence;
- simplify the certification process;
- accelerate entry into prestigious regulated markets (Sweden, the Netherlands, and France).
In 2022, the Entain provider was fined £17 million by the UKGC due to weak RG control. To rehabilitate itself, the company implemented a proprietary system for monitoring abnormal gaming. The result of the innovations was an increase in the level of repeat deposits by 18% during the first 6 months of operation.
Legislative Framework
Let us consider the state of affairs in the key regulated markets and relevant changes in 2025:
United Kingdom (UKGC)
The UK is a jurisdiction with strict RG requirements.
Local authorities perform the following tasks:
- oblige operators to ensure full protection of the clients’ funds;
- prohibit advertising on radio and TV;
- require providers to register all users in a single self-exclusion system, GAMSTOP.
From October 31, 2025, entrepreneurs must offer each customer the opportunity to set limits before the first deposit and remind them about it every 6 months.
Fines for violating RG rules in the UK are also among the highest in Europe. At the time, financial sanctions were imposed on Entain, William Hill, and other top companies.
MGA (Malta Gaming Authority)
This country makes the following demands on licensed operators:
- Availability of self-control mechanisms. These are limits on deposits, losses, bets, and time; notifications about the duration of sessions and breaks, as well as functions for self-exclusion from entertainment resources.
- Mandatory staff training. The main focus should be on identifying signs of ludomania and interacting with vulnerable players.
- Annual RG report. The document should contain metrics for the use of responsible gaming tools, data on interventions, details on the staff training, information on the number of returns, etc.
At the beginning of 2025, the MGA introduced a new regulatory model, based on evidence and outcome-focused approaches.
The local authorities also created a special department — Player Protection Hub. Its main tasks include:
- analysis of user behaviour;
- processing of complaints;
- initiate checks of operators when deviations from the RG policy are detected.
In 2025, the MGA also included responsible gambling in the ESG policies.
According to the innovations, entrepreneurs are required to disclose their initiatives in public reporting. Large B2C companies (software vendors and payment service providers) must additionally describe the specific impact of RG tools on the behaviour of customers and their retention.
Sweden (Spelinspektionen)
Like other EU countries, it has a centralised state self-exclusion system — Spelpaus.
Licensed casino owners are required to:
- connect their portals to the Spelpaus API;
- check all users against the database at the time of registration and login;
- immediately block the access of clients who have chosen the self-exclusion option (the limitations period can be from 1 month to infinity).
At the beginning of 2025, more than 120,000 customers were registered in Spelpaus.
Spelinspektionen conducts both scheduled and unscheduled inspections (especially in response to complaints from gamblers).
Entrepreneurs are required to:
- keep logs of all RG interventions;
- provide full reports on the use of self-monitoring tools;
- demonstrate staff training and the presence of persons who are in charge of the implementation of appropriate practices.
Sweden has some of the highest fines in the EU for non-compliance with the responsible gambling policy. The size of sanctions can reach €1 million. Besides, there is a risk of losing a licence.
The Main Things about the RG Mode
Such practices are a mandatory component of the regulated casino market.
Key aspects that entrepreneurs should take into account:
- Among the most popular mechanisms, we can name limits (on the amount of bets, the deposit, and the time spent on the website), self-exclusion functions, behavioural analytics, and monitoring. Restrictions on advertising and employee training are also considered RG initiatives.
- Support of responsible gambling principles is beneficial for operators. Their implementation increases LTV, conversion, and customer retention, improves reputation in the market, reduces legal or financial risks, etc.
- The legislative framework often changes. The leaders in the RG area are UKGC, MGA, Spelinspektionen, and other European regulators.
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