Responsible Gaming Should be Driven on Regulations and Innovation

The gaming industry in Kenya has taken over the atmosphere by storm. As the gaming industry becomes more and more popular, there is need for responsible gaming to be driven and regulated by the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) in Kenya.

The BCLB, created in 1998 under the Ministry of Home Affairs is mandated by law to ensure that gaming is conducted honestly, competitively and that it is free from criminal activities.

The protection of players is one of the Gaming commission’s main remits. The idea is not to ensure a profitable industry. Players are also unable to evade the commission’s watchful eye. Some of the key issues that the BCLB in Kenya will address and look into are games integrity, age and identity verification guidelines, player fund protection and lastly geo-location verification guidelines.

Games of chance just like any other goods and services are subject to individual misuse. For this reason, a number of protective laws should be implemented to protect players against these sorts of potential risks. The board bears the task of controlling and licensing gaming premises, facilitation of tax collection, authorisation of public lotteries and prize competitions, inspection and elimination of illegal gaming.

As the Betting Control and Licensing Board tackles the issue of problem gaming and trying to enforce some laws, training employees on how to spot and talk to people who seem to be addicted or have a compulsive problem becomes vital. The owners of this gaming organizations will need to train their employees to know which techniques that can be used to identify and help the players.

In the United Kingdom for instance they have boards that govern the gaming sector which has strict rules. They have gone to the point where they have set up responsible gaming committees. If the gaming industry is fully governed by the BCLB. They will be able to come up with such programs that will help players enjoy their leisure activity. 

Read: If Gaming Companies Came Together to Help the Society

Another responsible gaming, Kenya can borrow from countries abroad and how they have done it to succeed is by having the Betting Control and Licensing Board set the program or committee. Putting it in place is by writing policies and procedures, having a responsible gaming task force that meets two times a year. Also be able to partner with experts in the filed of gaming addiction to educate people on the dangers of the game. As well as the treatments of it. Moreover, if the BCLB forms up a policy they will be able to follow up and actually find out if the programs are working.

Caesars Entertainment’s Commitment to responsible gaming in the United States has led to the development of the industry’s first-ever broadcast advertising campaign focused specifically on responsible gaming. Their main commitment is to make sure that responsible gaming and address underage gaming. Their main aim is to make sure that their players enjoy gaming but for the right reasons which is to simply have fun.  If the BCLB in Kenya takes fully control, then Kenya will be able to come up with such a system. Whereby even employees are able to identify vulnerable population and low-income contributors and help them.

Another key thing that can be introduced by Betting Control and Licensing Board to Kenyans is to have a national helpline which will provide counselling and help players with gaming problems find directions for assistance in any county. This will help the gaming industry grow to be a responsible and contribute efficiently to the economy. Moreover, have an advertising program to publicize and encourage responsible gaming.

Geolocation verification guidelines will also be provided by the BCLB. Verifying geolocation is vital in enabling gaming companies to take advantage of online gaming expansion opportunities to comply with regulatory requirements. This law will require that the player is physically located in the country for them to be allowed to play. This will allow security for the players and also for the gaming organisations. In the state of New Jersey XYverify Corp received approval to provide geolocation verification services for all online gaming companies in New Jersey. It provides high accuracy results to determine player location using cell tower triangulation and GPS technology to better verify mobile device location and address. The most important reason for all this is the fact that it will block access for minors and people not located in Kenya. If the Betting Control and Licensing Board is given the go ahead then they will be able to implement geolocation tools which have the ability to verify that a potential player is actually located in Kenya. If a player fails and falls out of the geolocation system, then the player will be blocked from the gaming services.

When it comes to age and identity verification guidelines also have to be applied. To make sure that underage players are not able to access to online gaming. The BCLB can use multi-factor authentication. The method uses a person biometric identity within an encrypted smart player chip card. The biometric can be inclusive of fingerprints and voice in combination with an authenticated card across a network. It will allow a player’s identity and age to be shown. This method works well with gaming because the credential is only tied with the person gaming. Moreover, biometrics software’s matchers can have live scans to prevent underage access. Although it is a brave method which only has been tested by the Federal government in the US, with discipline the BCLB can introduce such services to Kenyans.

The fact that the gaming industry is bringing positive contribution to the economy in terms of employment and revenue generation. We should look into giving the Betting Control and Licensing Board the chance to make some changes by providing an environment for responsible gaming, create awareness and public confidence of gaming and lastly to curb illegal gaming out.