Paf leads new responsible gambling push for Latvia’s largest operators
New RG agreement signed by five operators which make up 90% of Latvian market
Paf has signed an agreement with four of Latvia’s biggest gambling companies to improve responsible gambling standards in the Latvian market.
Signatories to the agreement include Paf, Betsafe, Optibet, 11.lv and Feniksscasino, with all five operators agreeing to improve RG measures beyond the current requirements of Latvian gambling laws.
The operators are all members of the Latvian Interactive Gambling Association (LiAB) and make up approximately 90% of Latvia’s online gaming market.
At present, the Latvian Gambling Act contains a number of social responsibility measures, including the requirement to set a maximum bet for one game or a maximum amount for all bets within a 24-hour period. Latvian players also have the right to self-exclude from an egaming operator.
Paf’s Latvia manager Rihards Streikis confirmed the company was looking to introduce self-assessment testing, deposit limits, the closure of specific game categories and the provision of proactive information to players on responsible gambling.
“It will be a clear improvement on what the gambling law in Latvia requires,” Streikis said.
Under the terms of the agreement, all parties agree to launch the RG tools referenced within the agreement on their respective sites by 30 June 2020.
Speaking about Paf’s role in this process, Streikis added: “Paf’s licensed brand in Latvia, Pafbet, may currently have a small part of the market, but we have the most developed responsible gaming. We are an example for the other operators.”
In its native market, Paf has actively pursued a responsible gambling agenda, introducing measures such as maximum loss limits and publishing the wins and losses of its player-base.
These measures have caused a drop in revenue for the operator of approximately €4m per annum.