Norsk Tipping introduces latest responsible gaming feature
Norwegian state-owned gambling operator Norsk Tipping has again tightened its responsible gambling controls, with players now shown an overview of their playing habits when they log into their online accounts.
The operator noted that this summary of gambling activity has been available in players’ accounts for several years, but until now players have had to visit it themselves.
“Now we are going to actively show the customer their net consumption for the last seven, 30 and 365 days,” the operator’s responsible gaming advisor Tanja Sveen explained. “We believe this can increase awareness of spending habits.”
The decision to introduce “active viewing” of gambling history was taken in part as a result of conversations with customers that had lost significant amounts of money gambling.
Sveen said that when contacted about their gambling, these players are asked to estimate how much they have lost in the past year.
“[It] is common for them to guess only half of their actual loss,” she explained. “Many have an ‘aha moment’ when they discover the actual sum, then want to change their behaviour.”
She also noted that in 2018 Norsk Tipping saw the number of at-risk customers increase to 10,000, up from 6,000 in the prior year.
“[This] growth comes mainly from customers who play casino games online,” Sveen said. “Showing the customers their account overview is therefore particularly important for such high-risk games, where a game round only takes three seconds. One can play almost continuously, and it is often the case that many small gains camouflage significant losses.”
The account overviews will initially be shown automatically once a week, but customers can change the frequency to have it shown either daily or monthly. The summary is also linked to a full breakdown of customer spending.
The feature will initially be introduced for Norsk Tipping’s online channels, for customers playing medium- to high-risk games such as casino, bingo or sports betting, and those considered at-risk or problem gamblers.
Sveen said that the operator was also working on developing a similar system for land-based channels, with a view to having the same functionality live towards the end of 2019, or early in 2020.
The measures is the third new responsible gambling feature to be rolled out by Norsk Tipping in 2019. In April it introduced a new limit on players gambling with winnings over NOK20,000 (£1,856/€2,068/$2,334), noting that after a big win customers were likely to gamble larger amounts.
This was followed by the launch of two-factor verification for its Multix and Belago gaming terminals in May.
“The work on gaming responsibility is a continuous process, and we put a lot of resources into maintaining a rapid roll-out of new features,” Norks Tipping chief executive Åsne Havnelid said. “This latest measure will be important for many players and have a good preventative effect on problem gambling.
“Transparency is an important principle for Norsk Tipping's relationship with the company's customers,” Havnelid added. “Games should be a pleasant addition to everyday life – and how much money customers use to [play them] should not be a secret.”