Betting on your favourite team's game or the World Cup final? Trying your luck at a casino? It is a fun pastime for many people, and this both online and offline. For some of them, however, gambling becomes problematic and addictive and leads to major difficulties (financial, family, professional, ...). To put a stop to this problematic situation, 44,860 people in Belgium have applied for voluntary exclusion from gambling to the Gaming Commission (GC) through the EPIS (Excluded Persons Information System) system. This is an electronic system, celebrating its 18th anniversary this year, that groups all excluded persons. The EPIS system ensures that they are denied access to gaming establishments (offline and online).
The GC wanted to evaluate the EPIS system by surveying voluntarily excluded players to see if and how the system could be improved. The aim was also to gain a better understanding of the profile of players using EPIS, to understand their motives for exclusion and to map their gambling behaviour before and after exclusion. It also explored whether/how they use professional counselling services or not.
A survey was therefore organised in which 275 former gamblers participated. The results were then analysed by Gaëtan Devos and Xavier Noël, employees of UCLouvain and ULB respectively. The excluded players form the basis of the research report published on the GC website (only available in Dutch or French). The report is full of interesting data and figures that could lead to better protection of players in the future.
According to Magali Clavie, President of the GC, "It is pleasing to see that EPIS is clearly an effective tool against gambling addiction and that it improves the situation of problem players, as 90% of respondents said that their exclusion was useful to them. For instance, they were able to manage their finances better, felt better and their relationships benefited. It is also reassuring to know that almost 96% of respondents found the exclusion procedure straightforward. However, we note that the use of EPIS comes too late, namely when the problems already exist and only after players have made several unsuccessful attempts to control their gambling behaviour. We also see that some respondents continue to feel the urge to gamble or even continue to gamble effectively in places where EPIS does not apply and/or consider applying for a lifting of their exclusion. This is likely due to the fact that the temptation and supply of gambling not covered by EPIS remain high and too few gamblers seek specialised help. Therefore, the EPIS system should be extended to all types of gambling, the fight against illegal gambling should be continued, advertising for these excluded persons should be limited and both the EPIS system and specialised assistance should be made more widely known. Only then can problem players receive the best available help as soon as possible."