The government of Guernsey has announced the launch of a Channel Islands Lottery (CI Lottery) survey, which seeks to shed light on residents’ feelings regarding the lottery and their participation in it, and it will also cover other forms of gambling. Island Global Research is the entity conducting the survey.
According to Senior Lottery Officer for Guernsey Jon Taylor, the survey will provide the CI Lottery with information that will assist in the future development of lottery games when it comes to player safety. Mr Taylor also said that the findings will be utilised along with data from the recently released Gambling Health Impact Assessment (HIA) survey, which was conducted by the Public Health Institute at Liverpool John Moores University. The HIA found that, according to data gathered prior to the pandemic, almost 80% of Guernsey’s population had spent money on gambling. Moreover, data showed that the most widespread form of gambling in the region at the time was participation in the lottery, with 67.5% of respondents claiming that they had engaged in placing lottery bets during the Channel Islands Christmas Lottery.
As previously reported by Casino Guardian, other findings of the assessment showed that scratch cards were the second most popular form of gambling and that the at-risk percentage in the region stood at 6.7%, while 0.9% of respondents were identified as problem gamblers.
The CI Lottery’s Dedication to Player Safety
While the HIA has given a much-needed overview on the state of gambling in Guernsey, it was noted in the CI Lottery survey announcement that“further evidence is needed” when it comes to how widespread gambling is in the Channel Islands, how this has affected residents’ health, and how players who are facing problem gambling issues are supported. According to Mr Taylor, the CI Lottery is in the process of “consulting with addiction service providers and public health authorities” which, just like the survey, is being done with the goal of making sure that future games will both contribute to the Channel Islands community as the lottery currently does, while ensuring player safety.
Mr Taylor also said that the CI Lottery is aiming to introduce additional responsible play initiatives. Current responsible gambling measures include the CI Lottery’s partnership with Scientific Games International which has built-in features into its scratch card products that assist in the prevention of problem gambling. These features, along with Scientific Games International’s commitment to player satisfaction and safety, are what has earned the provider’s Responsible Gaming Framework (Level 4) certificate, the highest level accreditation issued by the World Lottery Association (WLA). The Responsible Play page of the CI Lottery’s website also includes extensive information on self-assessment, i.e. advice on how individuals could determine whether or not they are suffering from problem gambling, and a self-screening tool is also provided to better aid them in finding any problems with their current gambling habits.
- Author
Daniel Williams
