EU Regulators’ Whitelist Encourages Player Safety and Channelisation

Gambling authorities in Slovakia followed in the footsteps of other successful regulators in online gambling by guiding their gamblers to the right platforms. Until recently it was easy for consumers in the Slavic region to determine which operators are unlicensed. In the past month, the Office for the Regulation of Gambling in Slovakia unveiled a whitelist containing licensed and trusted sites.

Regulators from the UK, the Netherlands, and Malta already have positive channelisation in their regions and players from these countries have public access to license registers. The Slovak gambling regulator intends for increased consumer protection and similar channelisation through the new safe list.

The release comes shortly after an announcement of a Concept of Responsible Advertising document to better regulate gambling ads in the country.

 Protection Through Empowerment

As pointed out by the general director of the Slovak gambling authority, punters in the region could track illegal gambling platforms through the blacklist featured on the Office for the Regulation of Gambling website. The whitelist, available only in Slovak, allows citizens from the region to verify the legitimacy of a platform. 

Dávid Lenčéš from the Slovakian gaming authority points out that unscrupulous operators are too creative for a blacklist to be efficient in consumer protection. According to the authority’s general director, as soon as they shut down one website, grey and black-market operators have new sites up and running to replace it. In his statement, Lenčéš said:

“They often try to motivate players with irresistible bonus offers, modern visuals, unlimited deposits, and in the case of foreign operators the perfect Slovak language. If players do not check the mandatory details of the website, they may have no reason to suspect that it is illegal content operating outside our country.”

The new whitelist enables players to confirm whether a website is from a trusted and licensed operator and ensure their safety when wagering. Since the middle of June, the authority publishes licensed websites under the ‘legal websites’ section on their page. 

 Ease of Access is Key to Channelisation 

Although Slovakia has a Gambling Act in place to protect local players, illegal providers continuously target Slovaks. Lenčéš explains the risks involved with offshore gambling and unlicensed operators. Punters may lose all their money, or at least their winnings, and because the sites infringe on Slovakian law, players have no recourse. 

The whitelist only contains gambling platforms from operators who fulfil all the obligations set forth by the Gambling Act of Slovakia. This means players can wager with peace of mind and know that their best interests are protected. Licensed websites must have player protection protocols in place to avoid unnecessary risk exposure to those at risk of harm.

Ease of access to licensed sites enables the Slovak region to improve legal channelisation following the tightened regulations on gambling advertisements.