Over the past 20 years, the iGaming industry has grown from a promising niche in online entertainment into an independent ecosystem with a complex architecture. To keep up with rapid scaling and hold the attention of their target audience, operators have actively introduced slots with intricate mechanics and bonus symbols, as well as various sports betting types.
As a result, the barrier to understanding these games has risen, and player protection has become one of the industry’s key challenges.
Key Points
Education over bans and restrictions
Global betting company 1xBet conducted a major study – the Player Protection Index Series – whose findings confirm that only 20% of players use the responsible gambling tools developed by operators. This is a problem of perception, not functionality.
- 85.7% of operators are willing to take on greater responsibility for organizing safe gambling.
- 96% of respondents believe that success can only be achieved through close collaboration with regulators.
Players in the at-risk category often do not believe they need counseling support, self-exclusion tools, or any other form of assistance. Part of this comes down to how responsible gambling tools are perceived: users see them as restrictions rather than a means of expanding their own rights and options. At the same time, 70% of operators believe that players who follow safe betting principles perform better in the long run.
It is also worth considering not just the content of player communications but also their format. Many users mistakenly treat responsible gambling warnings as spam or advertising. The reason is simple: such notifications often arrive at the wrong time.
The gap between understanding the responsible gambling problem and finding a solution
According to 1xBet’s study, 71% of operators believe that players should take responsibility for their own safe gambling practices. The paradox is that only 14% of respondents consider their own educational and awareness efforts to be highly effective. Players should certainly take the initiative, but only when they have the right tools.
Simon Westbury, Strategic Advisor for 1xBet, put it well.
“You cannot expect responsibility from a player who is kept in the dark.”
This is why operators need to shine a light through educational programs that communicate the value and importance of this approach.
The main obstacles to player education
The 1xBet study revealed several key barriers facing operators.
- 67.6% of respondents identified a lack of interest from players themselves as the main obstacle.
- 48.7% pointed to commercial pressures that make it difficult to invest in education.
At the same time, initiatives aimed at player education are often held back by regulatory restrictions. This was noted by 29.7% of operators, while 27% pointed to a general sense of apathy across the industry. That said, 60% of operators agree that player education is a key element of safe betting. Everyone in the iGaming industry is ready for change, and the right mechanisms need to be found.
What needs to change
The 1xBet study found that:
- 89.2% of operators use deposit limits, making them the most popular responsible gambling tool in the industry.
- Self-exclusion schemes remain the most effective method for responding to detected risk patterns in player behavior, with 48.7% of respondents confirming their use.
- Self-assessment questionnaires, however, are seen as less effective, with 38% of respondents saying they rarely make a difference.
The development of new approaches to building a responsible gambling culture is already underway. At the same time, operators stress that the industry needs to do more on personalization, moving away from fine print in terms and conditions and toward real in-game prompts. African operators, for instance, are already reaching out to players directly in real time after big wins, while Latin American operators are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to track behavioral risk patterns more effectively.
It is also important to integrate education seamlessly into the product experience of iGaming companies, from onboarding through to every moment of gameplay. At the same time, terminology and tools need to be standardized. The key is for all major areas to work together as a unified whole, with operators and regulators moving in step.
Based on the research findings, Simon Westbury, Strategic Advisor for 1xBet, shared his ideas on how player education and awareness should work in the iGaming industry:
- “84% of respondents to the latest installment of the Player Protection Index Series believed Player Education is the foundation of safer gambling. However, that education cannot be monolithic, we need to understand players in Africa, and LatAm do not view gambling as a means of revenue generation, and in other markets, we need to ensure that players understand the terminology of gambling, such as RTP and RNG. Finally, as an industry we need to entrain, “Safe Play” from the design to delivery stage and move from performative compliance.”
Key figures in the iGaming industry recognize the importance of player education and awareness as drivers of a responsible betting culture. Moving from formal restrictions on paper to real influence over user behavior is not only a major challenge, but also a unique opportunity for businesses to lead a new era.
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