The Bingo Association, which represents 98% of all licensed retail bingo premises in Great Britain, launched an industry-wide Code of Conduct for Social Responsibility in 2015.
The Code of Conduct, entitled Getting It Right, is a condition of membership and operators share best practice in all aspects of social responsibility.
The Bingo Association launched the licensed bingo sector's first ever, industry-wide, customer self-exclusion scheme in 2016.
The web-based system manages the records of players who have voluntarily requested to be excluded from licensed bingo premises across Great Britain.
To self-exclude from bingo venues, following an interview by a trained member of staff to ensure that the customer understands the benefits of self-exclusion, the customer is required to complete an online self-exclusion form, and a digital image of the customer will be taken, using the bingo operator’s SmartEXCLUSION tablet.
The SmartEXCLUSION tablet captures all of the necessary information required for a valid self-exclusion: - the information on the digital form, the customer’s digital photograph, the terms and conditions, and the customer’s digital acceptance, all of which form a comprehensive agreement for self-exclusion between the customer and the operator.
A copy of the completed self-exclusion form, along with the terms and conditions are shared with the customer as a record of their self-exclusion agreement.
Self-exclusion process can be undertaken in person, or customers may choose to request self-exclusion without visiting a licensed bingo premises. Once the registration process is complete, the customer's details are added to a secure national database. The bingo industry worked with leading industry membership software developers to develop a system that could be easily accessed by operators.
All licensed bingo operators participate in the Bingo industry self-exclusion scheme as part of the ten-point Bingo Association Code of Conduct.
Other commitments in the Code of Conduct include:
- To participate in The Bingo Association’s annual licensed premises Age Verification scheme or other recognised scheme.
- To ensure employees understand and are aware of Social Responsibility commitments to customers through training and intervention programmes.
- To support a responsible marketing strategy that gives clear information to
assist customers in making informed choices. - To adopt The Bingo Association’s socially responsible messaging on gaming machines.
The effectiveness of the Code of Conduct is monitored and reviewed through the Standing Compliance Committee of The Bingo Association.