Since 1 April, slot machine operators have been obliged to record data regarding excessive play and any interventions, and from 1 October, they have also been required to record the visiting frequency of players.
To guarantee compliance, the KSA visited 20 slot machine arcades, a sample it considered representative of the broader market. This lasted through October and November, with the KSA concluding that operators must do more.
The regulator stated that a high or increasing frequency of play are early warning signs of gambling addiction, and stressed that such signs must be recorded.
Staff may also be required to intervene according to a “staged intervention model” that starts with a conversation and can go all the way to registering a player with the ‘Central Register of Exclusion of Chance Games’ (CRUKS).
While the KSA’s audit discovered that operators are investing in access control for CRUKS and following this legal obligation closely, their other obligations “have not yet been sufficiently filled.” However, the regulator did state that many arcades are currently establishing systems to record gambling data.
“It became clear to the KSA that many arcades are in the process of setting up a system for recording data about gambling addiction that complies with the new law,” it said. “All visited arcades received individual feedback from the KSA.”
The KSA will conduct another audit to ensure compliance from April 2022. Some of the same arcades will be visited again and enforcement action taken in the event of violations.
