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IGC - Responsible Gambling Initiative |
IGC - Responsible Gambling Initiative
The top three Internet companies will start encouraging other firms to adopt a system that will allow parents to restrict access to Web sites they find objectionable. The companies hope the system will ward off the threat of government regulation.
Currently, a parent who wishes to block Web sites from a computer must use a filtering program with a preset list of blocked sites.
The Internet Content Rating Association's model (ICRA) is more flexible. Operators flag potentially objectionable content - like female nudity or gambling - on their Web sites. Using a free filtering program, parents can approve or disapprove each category. Any sites containing content that parents find objectionable are automatically blocked. Parents can still block or allow individual sites as well.
The ICRA system is similar to the Motion Picture Association of America rating system. The basic mission of the MPAA rating system is a simple one: to offer to parents some advance information about movies so that parents can decide what movies they want their children to see or not to see. The entire rostrum of the rating program rests on the assumption of responsibility by parents.
AOL Time Warner, Yahoo and Microsoft Network have thrown their support behind the labelling system. The companies represent the three most-visited Internet destinations, and they host thousands of user-created Web pages through community sites like GeoCities.
The IGC Board of Directors voted in support of the initiative and encourages sites to consider using the ICRA self-labelling system (visit www.icra.org - the process only takes about 5 minutes). The IGC has been included as a signatory to an open letter that includes the above companies plus the likes of IBM, VeriSign, Verizon and Bell.
The IGC’s support of the ICRA initiative to provide operators with a voluntary self labeling system to assist in preventing access to gambling products by minors, reinforces one of the key elements of the IGC’s Mission, specifically, to establish fair and responsible trade guidelines and practices that enhance consumer confidence in interactive gaming products and services. It is also seen as a “politically correct” move especially in times when one of the key criticisms of the industry is the lack of controls over minors and the seemingly ever-present efforts to introduce prohibition legislation based upon such concerns.
An extract from the article titled “New Jersey Puts the Heat on Eight More Sites” – where eight online gaming operations were targeted with civil actions - (Friday, 19 October 2001, www.igamingnews.com) on the Interactive Gaming News site reinforces the tenet that concerns over access to gambling products by minors is firmly entrenched in the minds of industry “opponents”:
“State officials claim the main drive behind the investigation was the ease in which minors were able to gamble online.
"As our joint investigation revealed, there are very few, if any, safeguards in place to prohibit a minor with access to a credit card from logging on," Division of Consumer Affairs Director Mark Herr said. "We will not allow these sites that permit minors to gamble with impunity to continue to flourish."
The industry needs to make every effort to demonstrate that it is willing to adopt responsible measures. The IGC is committed to responsible gambling measures, not the least of which is the protection of children.
ICRA is an international, independent, non-profit organization with the twin mission of making the Internet safer for children, while respecting the rights of content providers.
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