Responsible gambling

Playing bets responsibly

Betting services offered to the public and regulated fairly are exciting entertainment and leisure activities.

Uncontrolled use of betting services can in some cases trigger addictive behavior by participating customers. Consequently, such behavior can lead to many problems, so it is essential to guard against this in order to retain the fun and excitement of betting.

Our tip: divide your money and use the opportunity to set personal limits on deposits, losses etc. – under "Limits & Locks" in your customer account. Do you know Mentor? You can use Mentor to analyze your betting behavior. Mentor gives you important information about your betting behavior and helps you to make your betting experience fun and safe.

More information at: Limits & Locks information page

More information at: Mentor

If you feel the urge to continue betting even though you want to stop, you can activate a temporary or permanent block for your customer account in your account settings.

Take our self-test regularly (also use Mentor for the self-test when logged into your customer account) and answer these questions honestly for yourself:

  • Do you often bet for higher amounts than you initially thought? YES/NO
  • Do you often feel restless and irritated when you try to avoid betting? YES/NO
  • Have you already tried to stop betting without success? YES/NO
  • Do you feel obsessed about betting or often think about betting during the day? YES/NO
  • Do you bet when you feel helpless, guilty or depressed? YES/NO
  • When you have lost a bet, do you try to recover the lost by making new bets? YES/NO
  • Have you ever lied to hide your betting behavior? YES/NO
  • Have you ever given up on/lost a relationship, job or education because of your betting behavior? YES/NO
  • Have you ever depended on others to help you out of an economically desperate situation if you lost too much on betting? YES/NO

If you answered YES to four or more questions, you should reconsider your betting habits and it could be a sign that you are no longer enjoying betting. The first step to self-help! Contact a suitable counseling center.

Counseling Centers

Counseling centers are for many people the first place to deal with problematic gambling and betting. However, family members, spouses/partners and friends who already have experience in this area may also be good contact partners.

The services and offers of counseling centers can vary from place to place. Merkur Bets assists customers with their search and lists the following centers:

Institut Glücksspiel & Abhängigkeit Wilhelm-Kreß-Straße 3, 5020 Salzburg, email: office@spielerschutz.eu, Internet: www.spielerschutz.eu

Further offers of help are available under: https://www.bmf.gv.at/steuern/gluecksspiel-spielerschutz/hilfsangebote/spielerschutz-hilfsangebote.html

Contact Responsible Gambling Department: spielerschutz@merkurbets.com

Addiction Prevention in general

Participation in betting can be addictive and- among other negative effects- can lead to psychological and family problems as well as financial difficulties. Possible reasons for this are, above all, the increased participation in betting, the diverse selection of betting and staking options, and the assumption that that the correct outcome can be predicted with certainty. Signs of betting addiction are, among others, increasingly frequent participation in betting, difficulties in stopping betting activity, increasingly higher stakes, betting a high proportion of income, and incurring debts to satisfy the betting urge. In some cases, the feeling of compulsion to continue betting cannot be suppressed.

Merkur Bets consciously acts transparently in the betting sector and responsibly addresses betting addiction issues. As one of the leading companies in the stationary and online betting business, Merkur Bets uses its unique position to act responsibly along its entire range of offers and develops innovative solutions for dealing with betting addiction.

The "Responsible Gaming" program places particular emphasis on the early detection and prevention of addictive behavior and provides a range of measures for coping with these challenges now and in the future:

  • Know-how regarding this sensitive issue is a necessary basis for tackling this problem in a sustainable manner. Regular employee trainings in the area of early detection and prevention of betting addiction is based on knowledge of recognized gambling/betting addiction experts.
  • Merkur Bets supports the customer"s self-responsibility and autonomy if supplied with the appropriate information. The option of voluntary self-restraint can be made within the parameters of the registration process as well as in the client"s account when logged in. Additionally, the customer can initiate a proactive self-limitation or block on his/her account in order to counter a tendency or increased urge to play bets. Merkur Bets supports such prevention measures and blocks customers who demonstrate compulsive betting patterns. Merkur Bets also reserves the right to set limits for the customer or to exclude the customer from participation in betting.
  • Special security measures, such as the personalized customer account or customer card or the manual review of individual customer information ensure the absence of minors in betting.
  • Merkur Bets ensures that children under the age of 18 years have no ability to participate in betting.
  • Voluntary self-restraint is Merkur Bets" philosophy regarding its commitment to responsible gaming. Excessive stimulation of playing urges by way of advertising and marketing activities is deliberately avoided.
  • Communication channels such as newsletters and mailings are not used to trigger a customer to invest beyond their means in betting offers.
  • Further to point 6, Merkur Bets explicitly avoids communicating to customers that betting is an alternative to employment or a way of earning money.
  • Content focuses on the entertainment value of betting and does not report any unrealistic income claims.
  • Merkur Bets deliberately avoids advertising with testimonials which appeal to young audiences and minors.
  • To ensure the highest level of player protection, Merkur Bets offers the Mentor tool. This tool helps customers to analyse and interpret their betting behavior.
  • Merkur Bets cares about the well-being and health of customers. Do not bet under the influence of alcohol and drugs!

Accredited by the Global Gambling Guidance Group

Merkur Bets is a member of G4 – Global Gambling Guidance Group – which aims to minimize the impact of gambling and betting problems with a worldwide accreditation and certification program.

Global Gambling Guidance Group G4 Head office / Secretariat Pieter Calandlaan 317 – 319 1068 NH Amsterdam the Netherlands, Tel: +31 20 412 44 03, E-mail: info@gx4.com

Internet: www.gx4.com

Further bet relevant information

1. Possibility of complaint

The customer has the option of writing complaints to CASHPOINT"s Merkur Bets" customer service (support@merkurbets.com) at any time – with detailed information on the type of complaint. Customer service will contact the customer immediately, generally within two days. In the event of further disputes / inconsistencies, the customer can also contact the following offices:

  • Maltese Alternative Dispute Resolution Entity (Madre) under https://madre-online.eu/file-a-claim/
  • The ODR platform (https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/) allows customers to submit complaints online, handle them and react to them. Especially for disputes where the company and the customer are located in different countries, ODR offers a translation function.
  • If the customer believes that any aspect of the provision of the gaming service deemed unlawful or conducted in a manner which is unsafe, unfair or non-transparent, a complaint can be reported to the Authority"s player support portal https://www.mga.org.mt/player-hub/lodge-a-complaint/

2. Betting history

The betting data for the last 180 days can be called up under "My bets/transactions". For your full betting history, please contact our support team at support@merkurbets.com.

3. Betting rules

All aspects fundamentally relevant to betting are set out in the General Terms and Conditions of Merkur Bets Malta Ltd.

General information on the treatment of compulsive betting

1. Online advice

Online advice is a form of written advice on the Internet. The customer can determine the time and frequency of contacts himself. Advice can be given anonymously. Online advice is recommended when help is needed quickly.

2. Clinics

The treatment of gambling and betting addicts can also take place on an inpatient basis in an appropriate clinic. Depending on the addictive patterns, a specialized clinic for addictive behavior or a psychosomatic clinic may be needed. Counseling centers assist in the search for suitable therapy solutions, especially with determining the costs. The duration of inpatient treatment for gambling and betting addiction is largely dependent on personal therapy procedures, clinic concepts and costs. On average, the duration of the therapy is between 8 and 12 weeks. Persons who are employed normally receive a transitional allowance for inpatient therapy. With help and targeting use of psycho-therapeutic methods, persons addicted to gambling/betting learn alternate behavior to their gambling/betting compulsion and to question or critically examine the causes and consequences of the disorder. The goal of the therapy is to end well prepared for the phase following the clinical treatment. With regard to this, relapse prevention and local access to continuing support is especially important. Dealing with money and debts is an another focus in inpatient therapy.

3. Self-help groups

Self-help groups for gambling/betting-addicted people are now available in many cities and towns. Participants meet regularly at scheduled times to share experiences concerning their problems and experiences with gambling/betting and addiction. Self-help groups pursue an approach which takes place without professional guidance. People primarily do this voluntarily. Participation is free and therefore non-binding. Self-help groups present an important and permanent supplement as well as an essential extension of addiction support systems. The overall goal of the self-help system is for gambling/betting addicts to mutually find sustainable ways to lead their life without gambling/betting and to deal with gambling/betting offerings. Mutual encouragement and empowerment are the main focuses to build upon in self-help groups. Participants at the beginning of their withdrawal from gambling/betting can benefit by sharing with those who have longer-term experience with abstention. The knowledge that one is not alone with this problem – as well as seeing that others have managed well – is for many a helpful experience.

4. Debt counseling

The financial situation often represents for many an existential threat. Family members, friends, partners and spouses are often also affected by gambling/betting debts and their effects. Debt counseling can provide concrete and free help to handle debt and manage and develop realistic objectives for sustainable debt reduction with all those involved.

Integrity in Sports

IBIA

Merkur Bets is a member of the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA, formerly ESSA), a non-profit organization that monitors irregular betting patterns and possible manipulation of events. As part of this membership, Merkur Bets is fully involved in its early warning system, which is designed to detect such betting behavior. More information at: https://ibia.bet/join-us

Play Fair Code

Partner and expert in the fight against match-fixing and for integrity in sport

The Play Fair Code (Association for the Protection of Integrity in Sport) is an initiative of the Ministry of Sports (BMOEDS), the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB) and the Austrian Football League (ÖFBL), which was founded and institutionalized in 2012. More information at: www.playfaircode.at.