Research

“We comprehend the importance of Responsible Gaming and the extend of excessive play issues in Greece through implementing gaming-related researches, disseminating relevant information and integrating Responsible Gaming principles into our daily operations.” The very first step of our strategy is to listen and assess our environment. In this context we continuously try to have deep knowledge on excessive play, by:

• supporting independent researches, studies and conferences that contribute to the wider understanding of problem gambling
•  utilizing the findings of the researches to design intervention programs that primarily protect minors & other vulnerable groups

Employees

“Together with our employees we safeguard the “fun of the game” Our employees are the ambassadors of our company and the gatekeepers of our reputation. In this context we continuously ensure that they understand our Responsible Gaming strategy and commitments and they recognize the vital role they need to play in player protection. Going beyond the communication of our Responsible Gaming Policy, we work towards transforming our employees into ambassadors  the following key principles:

• Building knowledge is building trust, from the inside out: Our main objective is to cultivate knowledge and skills to our employees through training programs and awareness raising campaigns to ensure that they are well equipped to look after our customers better
• Acting together with our employees: We cultivate an understanding to our employees that Responsible Gaming is their responsibility too. In this context we equip them on having conversations, answering to questions and providing assistance when required. Our focus lies on creating a well-informed taskforce that will be able to protect players, create a safe environment where players can entertain themselves at a responsible way, promote dialogue and further enhance the reputation of our company

Sales Agents

“Through our network we offer our players a safe gaming experience” We work hard to ensure that our agents share our commitment regarding Responsible Gaming, are aware of the measures we have in place and know how to apply them. In particular, we provide mandatory training for all new agents through our sales team that covers responsible play, underage protection, treatment referral and consumer protection issues. More specifically their training follows the principles of Responsible Gaming, so that they are able to:

1. Provide players with information about the rules for Responsible Gaming
2. Assist players and their relatives and friends to handle problems relating to excessive participation in games of chance by referring them to the competent services of prevention and treatment.
3. Prohibit people from playing the company’s games if they are underage or belong to socially vulnerable groups.
4. Discourage players from participating in games for long periods during the day.

“We communicate with our agents in a range of ways.” We ran awareness raising campaigns in order to inform and sensitize our sales network about responsible gaming, we send regular messages on lottery terminals which convey a constant feed of information and we upload announcements on agents’ portal advising and updating them on OPAP’s specific policies and relevant regulations. In addition, we offer to the agents and their teams’ access to a dedicated online platform where they can find information about responsible gaming issues. “We continuously monitor our network” We expect each and every one of our agents to act as our advocate and uphold the values of OPAP. If an agent falls short of what is expected of him and what has been agreed to as part of his contractually binding OPAP agreement regarding Responsible we have established a process to deal with that, including the right to terminate his contract with us.

Game Design

“We offer safe games to our players both in the online and offline environment” We believe that prevention, rather than cure, should always come first and this is why we offer to players games that are both responsible and fun to play. Training our employees and partners on responsible gaming has enabled us to create a common understanding of what types of games we can launch. Also we have incorporated responsible gaming messages to all our products in order to inform and sensitize players. In particular we ensure that all of our products display the responsible gaming logo and the Helpline number. Information about the odds of winning a prize is also featured on all our products. With regards to online games, OPAP has developed mechanisms that aim to protect the interests of the players within the framework of Responsible Gaming. In particular we have developed online self-limitation, self-exclusion and self-evaluation tools to prevent excessive playing and to forbid access to games by minors. Last but not least, in “PLAY” games in order to protect players from excessive use we have incorporated Responsible Gaming elements, such as:

•  The mandatory use of an Individual Player Card, in order to ensure that players to know what they are spending, and at what frequency, as well as to set their personal limits
• The incorporation of features on PLAY Games allowing players to control their gaming behavior: time limits and spending limits and relevant Responsible Gaming and advisory messages for players reaching these limits.
• The option of “Self-exclusion” and/or other additional constrains from participating to PLAY games, such as terminating playing session until 00:00:00 of the same calendar day (day stop button)
•  The existence of information material on the games and clear instructions on the rules governing the conduct and chances of winning for every game of chance

Players’ Education

“We enable our players and non-players to make informed decisions about our games” The decision to participate in one or more games of chance is a free and independent personal choice of every person. Thus:

• We commit to provide any necessary information relating to our games, so that the players can decide if and how they will play, by making their decision according to their personal choices and their personal background.
• We seek to use all relevant platforms possible to reach our players. To do this, we ensure all of our products display the Responsible Gaming logo and the Help Line number. Information and odds of winning a prize is also featured on all of our products
• We have placed in all of our agencies Responsible Gaming information materials readily available for players
• We have created an interactive player’s self-assessment questionnaire, with the aim to help players that have concerns about their playing habits
• We run integrated awareness raising campaigns with the aim to communicate to players that “a game is fun only when it is responsible” and the 2 basic rules:

1. Don’t play if you are under 18
2. Don’t exceed your limits

Remote Gaming Channels

“We aim to assist our customers to play responsibly in the online environment.” Our Responsible Gaming strategy applies everywhere that our products are offered. Online environment is not an exception and to that end we have made sure that online players are protected as well, following the below best international practices:

• Age and ID verification system
• Self-exclusion options for players
• Customer spend control
• Information about Responsible Gaming and sources of advice and support
• Every player can have only one account
• Players can see their betting activity in detail (e.g. winnings and losses, deposits)
• In case players request a deposit limit increase, at least 24 hours should elapse after the relevant request submission, in order to be implemented
• Information on Game odds has been incorporated in all OPAP online Game Guides.

Advertising & Marketing

“We advertise our games in a responsible way” Our commercial communication falls within a strict framework aiming at protecting consumers against the negative consequences of excessive gaming and in all cases is mild and reasonable and aims at directing Players towards the legal games networks. Our aim is to ensure that our advertising and marketing communications are appropriate to our audience and do not encourage excessive or underage play. For this reason we have established our Advertising and Marketing communication policy, ensuring that our advertising:

• does not mislead about the odds of winning and the amounts that can be won
• does not offer irrational incentives in order to attract more players with the promise that they will win anyway
• does not send the message that playing is a way of getting rich or a way out of financial difficulties
• does not offend and does not encourage racial discrimination or any discrimination regarding ethnicity, religion, gender or age
• does not associate playing games of luck with the use of substances, does not involve violence, sexual exploitation or illegal conduct

  In addition we ensure that the commercial communication and advertising activities are submitted before their implementation to OPAP three members Committee and the Hellenic Gaming Commission in order to be approved, in accordance with the existing legislation Last but not least our commercial announcements always include the following information:

•  the competent licensing Authority
•  the age limit allowed to participate in the particular game or games of chance
•  the helpline and/or other support services for issues relating to the excessive participation in games of chance
• the fact that frequent participation in games of chance exposes participants to the risk of addiction and loss of property.

Treatment Referal

“Our aim is on one hand to support people who are facing problems due to excessive play and on the other hand invest on prevention, which is always better than the cure” Although prevention is always more preferable than cure, it is not possible to ignore the fact that a minority of players will face some problems related to excessive play. For this reason, we collaborate with the Therapy Center for Dependent Individuals (KETHEA ALFA) and we offer psychological support and advice not only to players but also to their family members. It is worth mentioning that information about treatment services is included on all of our products, our communication campaigns and that our employees, partners and retailers are aware of the referral process. Furthermore, we ensure that our people are aware and can provide relevant information regarding Treatment providers to the players and their relatives and friends, when needed. In addition in collaboration with the Adolescent Health Unit, we have designed the “Youth Power” educational intervention program that addresses pre-teenage children. The program aims, through an experiential approach, to inform and educate children on a series of high risk issues such as addictive substances, gambling, alcohol, smoking, online risks, etc and help them to build sound personalities.

Report & Measure

“We constantly measure and report our performance” We have a long-lasting and deeply embedded approach to reporting and transparency, which is critical to enable us and our stakeholders to track our progress and identify new opportunities. Our Responsible Gaming is based on the World Lottery Association Principles and Framework for Responsible Gaming and we follow the European Lotteries Responsible Gaming Standards. As part of our commitment to responsible play, we include in our financial and CSR report a dedicated section regarding the initiatives we implement in the frame of Responsible Gaming. In addition we report annually, semi-annually and quarterly to Hellenic Gaming Commission on the actions undertaken and the results achieved related to Responsible Gaming.

Stakeholder Engagement

“Together with our partners we build an accepted industry” We constantly promote dialogue and seek to build consensus with our partners and the Academic community aiming to create together an even safer environment for our players to entertain themselves, always at a responsible way. More specifically:

•  We collaborate with independent academic institutions to conduct researches
•  We promote dialogue with the regulatory authority and international organizations
•  We support treatment providers and NGOs that are active on the field of Responsible Gaming
•  We promote dialogue and collaboration with key stakeholders