The first internationally coordinated effort to raise consumer awareness of the risks of unlicensed online gambling will take place next month.
The International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) Monday announced its first Illegal Gambling Awareness Week, November 9–13.
IAGR outlined the initiative during a briefing at its annual conference in Lima, Peru. The week will support coordinated communications by member jurisdictions.
The central message is, “Before you bet, check whether the site is licensed where you are playing.”
“The reach of online gambling makes this a shared challenge for regulators,” said IAGR President Ben Haden in a statement. “By coordinating our consumer communications, we can help more people understand why local licensing matters and where to find reliable information before they engage with an operator.”
The IAGR stated that consumers using unlicensed sites may face unpaid winnings, limited options for resolving disputes, and misuse of their personal or financial information. Consumer also may lack access to responsible gambling protections required of locally licensed operators.
Uninformed consumers may also unknowingly fund criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking, human trafficking, terrorist financing, or other illicit activities.
R&R Partners, a Las Vegas-based independent marketing and communications agency with experience in public education and behavior change campaigns, developed the creative concept and materials for IGAW. The integrated campaign will help raise awareness of the prevalence of unlicensed gambling websites and will work to educate consumers on how the websites exploit trust and how to avoid being victimized.
The campaign materials will be available on November 6 for all IAGR members to distribute on their channels. The assets includes 30-second and 15-second videos, social media content, a draft press release, and talking points, with English and Spanish included in the initial package.
IAGR members may add their agency branding to campaign materials, post campaign content daily during the week, issue local announcements, and arrange media interviews. Consumer protection bodies, responsible gambling organizations, and other relevant organizations will also be encouraged to participate.
IAGR members may add their agency branding to campaign materials, post campaign content daily during November 9-13, issue local announcements, and arrange media interviews. Consumer protection bodies, responsible gambling organizations, and other relevant organizations will also be encouraged to participate.
The November campaign will feature CheckBeforeYouPlay.org, a free licensing information tool contributed by Sharp Vision, a Paris-based regulatory technology company that helps gambling regulators monitor markets, analyze betting and payment data, and identify unlicensed online gambling sites.
Launching November 9, the tool lets consumers enter a gambling site’s URL and check available licensing information for covered IAGR member jurisdictions, drawing on regulatory records and other verified public sources.
“People often mistake visibility for trust,” said IAGR CEO Kevin Mullally. “A professional-looking website or a recognizable name can give consumers confidence without knowing whether the site is properly licensed in that location. We want consumers to routinely check the licensing status of a site before opening an account or making a deposit.”
Regulators and organizations interested in participating can contact CEO@iagr.org.
