The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has revealed it is going to be working in conjunction with Conscious Gaming to ultimately launch a new online gambling tool called ‘PlayPause’. So what is it, and what is its aim?
Responsible gaming is mentioned time and time again in conjunction with licenses being granted for online gambling. This new tool is viewed as being a cool way to push forward with this concept.
A Boost to Responsible Gaming
The main focus of this new tool is to enhance the concept of responsible gaming as PlayPause is also known as a self-exclusion tool. Focused entirely on Internet gambling, it’s hoped that it will provide the people of Pennsylvania with a greater sense of control over their gambling before it becomes a problem.
Pennsylvania is the first state to implement this tool, but it’s clear that they won’t be the only one. Conscious Gaming offers it at no cost to operators, but they are a non-profit organization, so that’s not a surprise.
The fact that the PGCB is behind this move is a clear sign as to how seriously the regulatory board is taking the entire concept of stopping problem gambling. The only surprise is that Pennsylvania is the first state to incorporate it into what the state itself offers from a gambling perspective.
The Concept of Self-Exclusion
According to Conscious Gaming, PlayPause allows regulators and casinos to quickly identify those players who have self-excluded themselves from taking part in online gambling. This will allow them to go ahead and effectively stop those individuals from placing bets while reminding them that they volunteered to put themselves on this list.
The intention is to promote wellness and preventing gambling from becoming a problem. Also, individuals that sign up to participate in PlayPause can also volunteer to have their appearance on the system to then spread to other states as they open up to the tool. This is intended to take the concept of self-regulation to a new level, and it will surely prove to be a hit for anybody attempting to deal with their self-control concerns.
How it Works
The tool uses geolocation that prevents individuals from participating in iGaming depending on their location. That is where it can eliminate the possibility of people betting when they are not in their home state since the tool picks up where they are located and stops them in their track.
This is viewed as providing players with something of a protective bubble no matter where they are in the country. As more companies buy into the concept of responsible gaming, then this one single tool could become a mainstay in making sure people don’t get themselves into some kind of trouble.
Launching around Christmas, this fits in with the legal requirements for responsible gambling to be included in any plans no matter the state. Exactly how many people will sign up to use the tool remains to be seen, but with active promotion from the PGCB, then individuals may hear more about PlayPause in the near future.
