GME3: Ontario Safety Game-Changer, Scroll Control: Taming Tech Titans, & Betting on Integrity, Not Cards

In this week’s GME3 we’re looking at iGaming Ontario’s announcement regarding its’ self-exclusion partners, a new warning from the Australian Facebook whistleblower, and a surprising move from the developer of the popular indie game Balatro. Read the full stories here!

Gambling

Ontario Safety Game-Changer

iGaming Ontario has revealed its’ partners in the development of its upcoming self-exclusion system for Ontarian users. The system, which will be developed by Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360) and IXUP, will be the first of its kind in North America.

The system will allow players to self-exclude from all Ontario-regulated igaming sites at once, including OLG.ca. This serves to make it easier for those who are struggling with problem gambling to protect themselves from experiencing further harm.

Martha Otton, iGO’s Executive Director had this to say about the project:

“With IC360’s tech-first expertise in betting integrity through ProhiBet and IXUP’s demonstrated success with BetStop in Australia, we’re confident they will help us build a robust self-exclusion system for Ontarians who decide to take a short- or long-term break from gambling.”

While each igaming site in Ontario is already required to have a well-promoted, easily accessible self-exclusion system, creating a centralized system will only serve to increase availability to the Ontario player base. The heads of IC360 and IXUP have also commented on their excitement to collaborate on this project, which is a significant milestone for responsible gaming in North America.

This initiative marks a crucial step forward in promoting responsible gaming and providing comprehensive support for individuals seeking to manage their gambling habits in Ontario. Congratulations to iGO for being on the cutting edge of responsible gaming and player safety!

Media

Scroll Control: Taming Tech Titans

In 2021, an Australian whistleblower, and former data scientist for Facebook, testified before the U.S. Congress that Meta was aware of the risks that social media use posed to its’ users, especially children. She released thousands of documents detailing how the company was aware of the issues with its platforms – including the impact on teens’ mental health, the spread of misinformation, and how these services are used in human trafficking – which in turn led to many countries attempting to increase regulations on social media (as we’ve written about previously).

Now Frances Haugen is speaking out again, this time warning that Australia is wasting a “once-in-a-decade opportunity” to regulate social media properly. Specifically, she thinks that Australia’s Online Safety Act does not go far enough to reign in these tech giants.  

Haugen argues that policies that ban youth from using these platforms (as proposed in Australia, America, and other countries) will not be enough to resolve the issue. Banning under-16s from using social media will do nothing to fix the underlying issues, but merely offloads the burden to parents to ensure their kids aren’t using these apps.

Haugen continues to say that, though Australia was at one point considered a leader in online safety legislation, the government still needs to keep up with the rapidly shifting online landscape. Haugen points to content algorithms and features designed to keep you scrolling as the main contributors to the harms we see stemming from social media use. She also suggests that these companies already know how they could be curbing these harms, but choose not to due to possible losses in profit.

Frances Haugen’s warnings underscore the urgency for more robust and comprehensive regulation of social media platforms. As more countries grapple with how to effectively address the myriad issues tied to social media use, it is clear that piecemeal solutions will not be enough. The emphasis must be on holding tech companies accountable for their algorithms and design choices that prioritize engagement over user well-being.

Entertainment

Betting on Integrity, Not Cards

The developer behind the hit poker-inspired indie game, Balatro, has announced that he has taken steps to ensure that his game will never be related to actual gambling activities. 

Balatro is a game that finds players trying to make poker hands by drawing cards from a deck. But, unlike poker, Balatro does not make you compete against other players. Instead, the player is trying to score points by making the best hand possible. If you beat a score threshold you move on to the next level. Along the way players can pick up “Jokers” that modify the rules of the game, such as one that makes a flush worth double points, and even add and remove cards from their deck.

Balatro clearly does not contain any actual gambling, but the poker inspiration and aesthetic were enough to have it pulled from some digital stores as well as increase the age rating from 3+ to 18+ in the UK. LocalThunk, the sole developer of the game, has spoken out against this and also expressed clearly that they are, in fact, against gambling as a whole. But despite the painstaking care that LocalThunk took to ensure that there were no gambling elements present in the game, people can’t seem to see past the card-based aesthetic.

As a result, LocalThunk took things a step further. The developer took to X to share that they have stipulated in their will that the Balatro IP may never be sold or licensed to any gambling company or casino. As they said in the post, “from the outside this might make zero sense but I hate the thought of Balatro becoming a true gambling game so much…”

LocalThunk’s commitment to keeping Balatro free from gambling associations is clear.

By ensuring the game’s IP can never be sold to gambling companies, they’ve safeguarded its integrity, allowing players to enjoy Balatro purely for its unique gameplay while avoiding any future issues that could arise from being involved in the highly regulated world of online gambling.