Underage Gambling Prevention
You must be familiar with the ‘no one under eighteen’ symbol but for good measure, we’ve decided to start off by explaining what it stands for as it’s a common sight on the online platforms for gambling. In a nutshell, it means that no one under the age of 18 will be allowed to utilise the services offered by the site owner. You can see how this is related to negating the effect of underage gambling, right? That begs the question why even try then? It’s all about limiting the kids’ contact with the reality of online gambling. You don’t want your teenage daughter or son drooling over the glitzy facade of a gambling site, even though their access is restricted. If you happen to agree, read on to find the best ways to do that.
Block Gambling Sites via Browser
It does not matter if you use Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or any other browser. You have the option of blocking gambling sites by using a free extension. When it comes to Chrome you can use the Block Site add-on or the Personal Blocklist feature that comes with the browser.
Note that it only works for desktop browsers (PC, laptops) and it will not affect tablets or smartphones. By simply opening the web-store you will be given the option of installing Block Site. This will allow you to block either individual pages or entire websites and you will have to set up a password so that the other users cannot access or change the block list.
When it comes to Firefox, you’ll find out it is a very straightforward process as well. Once you open Firefox, open the add-on page, click Add to Firefox once you’re next to the Block Site option, click the grill menu button in the top-right corner of the browser and select Add-ons. Next thing you do is select the extensions tab, open Block Sites options page and create a password.
The address of the website you want to be blocked or restricted will be typed after the password was created. The process is finished once you click the save button. In the latest version of Internet Explorer, click the search button and then type in Family Safety – this will take you straight to a special menu.
Under User Accounts select the Add or Remove user accounts and create an account for your users. You will then be able to manage settings on the user account recently created, including blocking gambling sites. Once you select the Web Filtering option and switch it to on, you will have the opportunity of allowing or blocking certain websites. Bear in mind, you will have to type in the sites you wish to be blocked.
You can also choose to restrict certain content from being displayed and you can do so in Internet Explorer by selecting Internet options, under Content Advisor you will select Settings and then select Approved Sites. To finish the process, you need to simply type in the URL of the site you wish blocked or allowed. Click Apply and we are all set!
Block Websites via 3rd Party Software
Specially designed for keeping users safe, GamBlock has been around for almost 18 years. It was one of the original programs that would effectively block access to gambling sites. Today Gamblock is available for Windows, Android and IOS and that’s including smartphones and tablets.
Some concerning statistics say that kids and teens spend almost 7-8 hours a day using their mobile devices. Parents are not involved at all in their browsing activity and 20% of all the youngsters out there say that their parents have no idea what they do online. With this in mind, Kidslox was created.
With state-of-the-art parental controls, it has never been easier to block certain apps, browsers and even filter web content with minimal effort. It is best suited for iPhones, iPads, iPods, Android phones and every other mobile device in your home.
Easily downloadable from Google Play, App Store, Windows and Mac OS X, the software is extremely light and works like a charm when it comes to preventing underage gambling. What’s more, the master user can do so remotely, without even touching other devices.
BetBlocker is another valid choice and comes in the form of a free tool with a no-limit device installation. It’s a very handy gambling blocker tool, blocking access to over 4.200 gambling sites and the user has a unique option. The gambling sites of your choice can be blocked for a certain amount of time, let us say a few months or a few years and once the lock is active, you will not be able to access said websites until the selected restriction length has expired. It’s available for Windows, Linux and Mac. Coming soon for the iPhones and Windows phones as well.
Block Gambling Sites With Your ISP Web Filters
Many ISP’s in the UK have been blocking access to certain websites using network-level filtering to restrict users’ access to sites that fall under gambling, drugs, alcohol, bullying, hate speech and so on. This was a result of the 2010 manifesto, that was aimed at keeping kids safe online.
Parents do not need to worry about additional software or programs or complicated settings and the main advantage of this kind of content filtering is that it affects every kind of device with a browser. If you are using BT, Sky, TalkTalk or Virgin Media, here’s is what you need to do.
To enable BT Parental Controls you have to log in via username and password and chose from the pre-existing filters Light, Moderate and Strict. With Sky Broadband Shield, after you log in, you are free to use the age-appropriate web filters and manually block specific sites.
TalkTalk subscribers can block sites by category and if you decide to use the feature called Homework Time, access to gaming and social media sites will be blocked as well. That turns it into a useful gambling blocker. Finally, Virgin Media offers content filters in two major categories: Virus Safe and Child Safe. Child Safe blocks sites by category and Virus Safe is specially created to protect users from harmful sites.
At the end of the day, it pays off knowing we have so many options in filtering the kind of content our kids have access to and when it comes to keeping them safe online, there is no shortage of solutions to choose from. When it comes to the gambling-related harms that gambling may inflict on the young, don’t forget we have the Gamble Aware program by our side, ready to help at any given time.
Online Casinos Measures Against Underage Gambling
They don’t merely place on record their strong disapproval of underage gambling, the best operators are working actively to abolish it for good. Pretty much every licensed casino site takes strong exception to letting minors register, let alone gamble. There are various procedures in place to prevent that from happening. What’s more, most countries where online gaming is legal, have strict advertisement rules that are supposed to limit the exposure of minors to gambling-related content.
In actuality, every casino operator is looking to establish a healthy relationship with its clients, not just a hit-and-run. For the good or for the bad, online casino is shaping up as a multi-billion industry and as such is pretty well regulated. We wouldn’t, however, discourage you from finding a good free gambling blocker software. You know the saying ‘better safe than sorry’.
