Chief Executive Officer of Gambler Alert, Fisayo Oke, has warned that gaming-related harm should not be viewed only as an addiction, saying people with underlying mental health conditions may be particularly vulnerable.
Oke said individuals with conditions such as bipolar disorder could suffer gambling-related harm even without being addicted, stressing the need for early intervention and mental health support.
He spoke at the inaugural Africa Safer Gambling Week, organised by the Africa iGaming Alliance (AiA), in collaboration with gaming regulators, operators and other stakeholders across Africa.
According to him, people who seek help after gambling losses may sometimes have underlying mental health challenges that existed before they started gambling.
Oke urged gamblers to use available safeguards, including deposit, loss and time limits, while operators should monitor behaviour that could indicate potential gambling harm.
‘Prevention and intervention, that’s the most that these stakeholders can do. There is still the point of individual responsibility at the end of the day,’ he said.
Chief Executive Officer of Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority, LSLGA, a trustee of the International Gaming Regulators Association and Chairman of the Federation of State Gaming Regulators, Bashir Are said gambling should remain entertainment and not become a source of livelihood.
Are said the regulator was strengthening enforcement, public education and digital monitoring as gambling increasingly moves online.
He said the authority was particularly concerned about illegal operators because unlicensed platforms make it difficult to enforce consumer-protection measures.
Are also disclosed that enforcement teams had been deployed across Lagos to prevent underage gambling, warning that operators caught allowing minors to gamble would face severe sanctions.
On technology, the Chief Executive Officer, Safe Gaming Technologies, Kayode Lawal, said more than 800 users had voluntarily excluded themselves from gambling platforms through SafePlay within about two months of its operation.
He said users could exclude themselves for periods ranging from three months to five years or longer, while participating operators would be required to enforce the exclusion.
Lawal said SafePlay also follows up with excluded users to determine why they stopped gambling and identify those requiring further support.
Board member, Representative Africa iGaming Alliance and Head of Responsible Gaming, Betpawa, Mrs Olabimpe Akingba, said operators and regulators had developed several responsible-gaming mechanisms, but many consumers were unaware of their existence or how to use them.
She said the continental campaign was therefore intended to deliver a common message across African jurisdictions while allowing individual regulators to determine how the message should be implemented locally.
Akingba, who is also head of responsible gaming at PowerTech, said: ‘The big problem was that the customers knew nothing about it.
‘There are lots of things happening, how you can control your play, information out there. But customers don’t know about it.’
She said the campaign would focus on educating consumers that gambling should be treated as entertainment rather than a source of income or a means of becoming rich overnight
The stakeholders said the Africa Safer Gambling Week would feature public awareness campaigns, tertiary institution visits and other activities across Lagos, Nigeria and other African countries.
They said the campaign would promote responsible gambling through self-exclusion, spending and time limits, public education and access to help for people experiencing gambling-related harm.