Paf, the Åland Islands-based operator has announced that it has joined forces with four other operators on a new initiative in order to strengthen their responsible gaming efforts in Latvia.
While operating as Pafbet in Latvia, they will be working with Betsafe, Optibet, 11.lv and Feniksscasino in a move which has been put in place to improve their responsible gaming measures beyond the requirements of gambling law in the Baltic state.
Latvia’s Gambling Act has included a small number of responsibility measures. They have stated that players must set a bet limit for one game or a maximum amount for all bets within a 24-hour period. Consumers can also self-exclude from a gaming operator.
However, the new initiative will see Paf and the other operators introduce their own responsible gaming tools. The group, which together represents 90 per cent of the Latvian online gaming market has agreed to launch these measures by 30 June 2020.
Rihards Streikis, Paf’s manager in Latvia, has said that among the operator’s own targets will be to introduce new facilities for self-tests, deposit limits, closing specific game categories and publishing proactive information on responsible gaming.
Streikis said: “It will be a clear improvement on what the gambling law in Latvia requires.
“Paf’s licensed brand in Latvia 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.”
The commitment has come after Paf this month moved to lower its maximum annual loss limit from €30,000 (£25,854/$33,226) to €25,000 in an attempt to offer greater protection to its players from gambling-related harms.
Paf also introduced the initial loss limit in June 2018 and at the time estimated that it would lose 5 per cent of its income due to the feature. In May, Paf then cited the limits as the primary reason for a decline in overall revenue in 2018.
Revenue came to slip from €116.5m to €111.8m with online revenue falling from €84.5m to €80.0m in 2018. This month, Paf have commented that the lowering of the limit should cost the business about 2 per cent of its revenue, or around €2m.
