L’Autorité de régulation des jeux en ligne (ARJEL), the French internet gaming regulatory body, has issued guidance to online gambling operators, discouraging them from offering bonuses to players.
ARJEL pointed out that the combination of people being confined to their homes during the current coronavirus pandemic and the lack of sports and horse race betting options have driven many gamblers toward online poker. The agency is concerned about the heightened risk of problem gambling during these times.
“Echoing operators’ initiatives in the area of responsible gambling, ARJEL remains particularly attentive to the risks of excessive gambling and advises players to keep control of their gambling so that it remains a recreational leisure activity,” ARJEL said in a release on Wednesday.
To this end, ARJEL wants online poker rooms to stop offering bonuses such as deposit bonuses to players for now, as it does not want to “multiply” the incentives to gamble.
Most of the rest of the notice was directed to players, rather than operators. ARJEL laid out a laundry list of things players can do to keep their games “recreational,” and avoid escalating to potential problem gambling.
ARJEL suggests that customers set deposit, bet, and time limits with the gaming operators and to self-exclude if they feel their gambling habits are getting out of control.
Several tips are also given to help gamblers keep the games “leisure.” Similar to the above, players should set budgets and time limits. They should also not “overestimate” their “expertise,” lest they get in too deep. If players lose money, which we all do at times, they need to just accept it and not chase losses.
And when the game stops being fun, walk away. Take a breath. Find something else to do, what ARJEL calls “alternate leisure.”
ARJEL reminds everyone that they are not professional gamblers (some are, of course, but most of us are not). The point here is, again, for people not to overestimate their skill, not to think they are some poker champion who is going to make a killing every time they logon.
“It is not because we won at the start that we are stronger than chance,” ARJEL said (via Google Translate). In gambling, ARJEL warns, chance wins in the end.
And that’s an interesting point. Many poker players credit their own skill when they do well and blame luck when they lose. Thus, people tend to get carried away when they win, blinded by the rush and overconfidence, sometimes moving up into games they should not be in. But when they lose, they think it was just bad luck and start chasing losses and going on tilt.
Finally, ARJEL warns players against resorted to unlicensed sites out of boredom.
“ARJEL reminds players that no site offering casino games and slot machines is legal in France.”
