How gambling addiction should be reduced during COVID-19
At the time of writing, There are approximately 19,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand with approximately 2,280 deceased. As a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic, More New Zealanders are starting to play more online casino games as a way to entertain themselves when they are not recommended to physically socialize with other people.
A negative side effect of this, which the New Zealand government is now trying to prevent, is that gambling abuse can increase as New Zealanders who have never played gambling before get their hands on it and then, in the worst case, end up stuck in the gaming swamp.
The New Zealand Civil Affairs Minister, Ardalan Shekarabi, describes that, ”it's a dangerous mix with being socially isolated and having access to hundreds of different New Zealand online casinos . ” Therefore, he has made suggestions on how online casino gambling can be reduced and thus prevent potential gambling addiction.
This means the new proposed regulation in practice
What, then, is the new regulation that is proposed and what does it mean more precisely in practice for those who may want to play online casino games? In short, there are three proposals.
The first suggestion is to make sure that casino bonuses can be a maximum of$100. This then means that if you join a particular casino online then you can only claim up to a maximum of$ 100 bonus money.
The second proposal concerns deposit limits. Previously, you have chosen how much you will be able to deposit, i.e., you set deposit limits before you deposit for the first time. The proposal is now instead to already set a limit of$ 5,000 per week maximum to deposit, equivalent to about$ 20,000 at most per month.
The third suggestion is that players must decide for themselves how long they will be allowed to play on a casino game. In other words, you now need to set a game time before you start playing.
The proposals may be approved by the Riksdag and will then take effect no earlier than$aft on June 1, 2020 and then apply throughout the year. Even the Gambling Authority will have more responsibility to ensure that New Zealanders become aware of how they (including you) can protect themselves from potential gambling abuse.
Among other things, they will draw the attention of the public more to the fact that Spelpaus there is a New Zealand national self-exclusion register where you can close yourself off from all New Zealand online casinos for a limited time.