Category: Education and Creativity: Educational.
Objective: Tackle under-age gambling and problem gambling through means of education and help, and restrict gambling operators from encouraging under-age and problem gambling.
Rationale for Consideration: A global framework for the reduction of Problem Gambling to keep the international gambling industry safe and fun.
This does not prohibit or legalise gambling! All it does is make the world gambling industry safer.
The General Assembly,
UNDERSTANDING that the gambling industry is an important part of the economies of many World Assembly members, creating employment and generating significant income for national governments;
CONCERNED that some individuals may put their livelihoods at risk by gambling excessively in a hope to get rich quick or win back losses;
OBSERVING that there are many causes behind problem gambling, such as advertising, financial problems or peer pressure;
ACCEPTING that in most cases gambling is fun and entertaining if it is done sensibly and responsibly;
DESIRING to tackle problem gambling and promote responsible gambling:
DEFINES the following for the purpose of this resolution:
• “Gambling” - the wagering of a stake (money or items of material value such as jewellery) on an event (such as lotteries or horse racing) with an uncertain outcome with the primary objective of winning additional money and/or material goods. The definition of "Gambling" does not extend to speculative investment or the financial markets for the purpose of this resolution;
• “Problem Gambling” - a situation where an individual may: feel the need to be secretive about their gambling, be compelled to gamble until their money runs out, gamble even when they have no money, be pushed to borrow, sell or steal things for gambling money, and/or their relatives are worried about the individual because of gambling;
• The “Operator” - all operators of gambling premises, lotteries or internet sites, which are based in member countries;
1. MANDATES member countries to:
a) Ensure the availability of an easily accessible help service which provides help or advice to individuals with gambling problems;
b) Ensure that treatment for gambling addiction is available for any individual who wishes to participate;
c) Establish an education programme which informs the general populace and other interested parties of local gambling laws, and gives practical advice about the risks of problem gambling;
2. MANDATES Operators which allow credit to be used as a form of payment to impose sensible deposit limits on customers’ accounts, where necessary;
3. FURTHER MANDATES member countries where gambling advertising is permitted to prohibit Operators from using advertising or marketing techniques to:
• Specifically target individuals on low income or with financial problems, such as debts;
• Present gambling as a solution to financial problems;
• Promote irresponsible gambling or misrepresent the rules of the game.
4. EMPHASISES that this resolution does not affect member countries’ choice of legalising or outlawing gambling.
Co-authored by Knootoss.
Stances made:
This is not a resolution to ban nor legalise gambling across the board.
Ms. Harper is also not sure whether it is possible in practice for gambling internet sites to understand rules and regulations of ALL member states in the WA. With 11,567 member nations as of 2:27 am, the only realistic solution would be to establish a committee to compile a list for international operators to feed through their database, a bit like updates to anti-virus software. At the moment, establishing a committee just to accomplish this is far too inefficient for the cause, so she is forced to admit that member states will simply have to keep track of new sites that pop up, or collaborate with others to form a non-canon list for which the WA cannot legally oversee.
Children are vulnerable to problem gambling, and there are gambling centres which are intended for adults only, so therefore there is a need for some form of restrictions in regards to under-age gambling.
The title of "Reducing Problem Gambling" is fixed as the aim is clearly to reduce problem gambling. "Promoting Responsible Gambling" was rejected because it did not reflect the opinion of member states which banned gambling.