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A very interesting concept by Draftfuel and Discover, which I would like to discuss here:

Fine tech startup Draftfuel apparently launched an app and prepaid card product to tackle problem gambling, especially against the novice, the first time gamblers.

They are going to set up financial guardrails for the new players which means that :

They would be analyzing the whole spending, keeping track of the players, spendings / change/ savings, then generate data that the player can use at the end of the day and that would mean that users can not only put preexisting debit cards or credit cards but that app would monitor it and give them a value that they can spend guilt free.

What do you think about such innovation?
 https://www.gamblinginsider.com/news/14138/payments-start-up-draftfuel-reveals-financial-guardrails-to-encourage-responsible-gambling (https://www.gamblinginsider.com/news/14138/payments-start-up-draftfuel-reveals-financial-guardrails-to-encourage-responsible-gambling)

Our culture encourages people to amass huge amounts of debt on their credit card. Take on mountains of debt and loans to afford post compulsory education. Pay higher taxes, to run up bigger piles of national debt. As a result of our large appetite for debt, a huge segment of the population lacks more than $500 in savings.

In the midst of these massive spending and debt trends, we have proposals for a...  "financial guard rail". (Are you serious? Is this a joke? Better late than never I guess?)

Personally, I think circumstances have deteriorated too far for programs like this to have much of an impact. There could eventually be a counterculture movement whereby people identify negative aspects of debt. And seek to adjust their behavior and lifestyle patterns to be a little more financially responsible. The concept of a "financial guard rail" appears somewhat alien to common trends set by modern day society. Which on a fundamental level, would make me want to question it.

I get worried about this kind of thing, the person works or earns their money sweaty, we all know that money doesn't fall from the sky, to earn money we have to work a lot so it wouldn't be more sensible than the person who was in a situation of excessive spending would be to seek help from a manager or psychologist if it were the case of the addiction, but at least that person would still be managing their own money and would not have all their privacy exposed

As long as that prepaid card has a limitation for depositing, I think that can work well for the gamblers so they can not deposit more once they reach their limit for a month. It is a good idea to have that prepaid card, but a gambler can buy that prepaid card many times, especially if they reach their limit to continue playing gambling. That sounds does not tackle problem gambling, but it still faces that problem unless a gambler realizes that the real problem is limiting themselves when playing gambling.

This is good for those that cannot control themselves. There's now a tracker if they're still fine gambling according to their budget and limit that has been set by that app.

There's now some solutions that are being put to those that cannot control their spending habits with gambling. If this goes on and becomes effective, expect that there will be another project and company that will do the same product.

So instead of trying to stop the gambler from gambling, they instead put out the amount of money that they can freely gamble after subtracting everything that they possibly would need and spend + some emergency fees? That's pretty good imo. It's pretty much a general-purpose calculation that you can use in most of the finances that you would want to spend for yourself. It basically took away all the pain in the ass stuff and just gave you what you actually need lmao.

In developing countries people generally pay a lot of interest as well, even though you might be a student, you won't be able to get a student loan, you would have to go to the third parties definitely and then pay minimum 10%. The government is not even a bit kind in developed countries. They generally choose their student loans in a different way, they might have 0% but the tuition fee would be *3 times minimum. Look at uk.

Therefore when we talk about gambling, it becomes a bit too serious, it's never a good idea to gamble without thinking. I have seen some of my friends in debt for ages or some using money so inconsistently that they have immediate loans on credit cards and also no savings at all. Therefore I do think that, this app might help some people addicted to it. But then again it's something that you can do manually are well, it's all about your thinking and your will power, but might be a good addition as well.

people will always find ways to avoid limitations and do what they want

they could limit prepaid cards as one per person, but some people would be able to buy cards from others who don't want to use them

in the end we need to develop awareness and presence, this is the main way to help people who are addicted to gambling, making them realize addiction is a problem and that they would have a better life if seeking for help.
not only by limiting top-up balance.

Without a doubt it is an interesting innovation and as the article states I think it is better suited for the people that are just starting to gamble and want to do it responsibly, I say this because someone that is sufficiently motivated to gamble their money is going to find a way around the restrictions this app offers, this is why the most effective way to deal with any problem of compulsive gambling is to realize what you are doing by yourself and then adjust your behavior, if this is done by an external source then sooner or later the person will like to be free from those restrictions and they will go back to their old ways.

Simply put, what we have until now is like a prepaid card that has been subject to an entry limit. The same is true of what the program has planned. Maybe it's not something new anymore, where we live, this limitation has become a reference so that the government knows the limits of the financial value contained in a credit card. Well, it's not much different from the restrictions on flowing funds in gambling. Therefore, gamblers who are latent and their seniors divide everything into several balance holders that are only controlled by one or two certain people.

Isn't this the same as signing an incapacity/disability certificate? When the person transfers the responsability for his own life to a third party service that is what it looks like. But in some cases I must say it can be necessary, especially if the individual doesn't have a trustful close familiar or relative who could help him with his gambling addiction issues and financial management.
On the other hand, I think everyone should do the maximum possible effort to avoid needing to rely in such services, just like someone should do his best to not get dependant on medicines or any other stuff which removes responsabilities from daily life or disconnect the person from reality.

While it is a wonderful idea, it seems to fail from the outset and I'm not sure how successful it will be really. Let's imagine it is targeting gamblers who think that they have a problem - those people are broadly going to fit into two categories, people who know they have a problem and will happily chase it or people who have enough self control to identify they've got a problem, in which case they'd know that abstinence is the correct path for them and no amount of budgeting applications will change that reality. If someone is self aware enough to identify that they need to manage their money sensibly, they're likely waking up to the fact that gambling can be a huge drain on finances and could easily manage from that point without this weird setup that doesn't restrict anything in reality.

Even the whole concept and purpose are good, I think it violates the whole point of doing gambling and is against their freedom. Responsible gambling always starts with the gambler themselves and no need for such actions that will monitor them or control their activity.

Since it's a new innovation, I can't say if it will be successful or will yield a good result in the long run.

Let's allow first to make it happen in actual and wait for the results.

That is why if the government or the company does not use a strict rule to limit the gamblers, that will be useless because, as you said, people will always find ways to avoid limitations. They can use their relatives, friends, or even their family to buy prepaid cards, which means they will continue playing gambling.

The important is how the government can develop awareness for those who often play gambling that the card is helpful to limit their time or deposit their money for playing gambling. But if they do not have that, it will not work at all. The card will help them to prevent addiction to gambling.

I'm yes ! that's have a good concept for "new gamblers" can overcome addiction in general ,but the concept will not make someone who is heavily addicted to using their platform ,because the freedom to have fun is governed by an application
gambling is not as easy as shopping in a shop market with credit card limited ! for example if I lose in a gamble so that it reaches the limit but I'm sure the next bet I'll definitely win ! how do I recover my loss on that last bet because of that limited ?should I go home and mourn my losses and debts ?

Well, this is not a new invention. In my Country, ICICI Bank has a similar facility to track and analyze your spending. But what Draftfuel is doing, has an gambling context to it. I remember, this kind of facility, proved very useful during my initial days of employment when my salary was low and I used to stay in a different city than my native.

But this kind of facility can only make you aware about your own finances. It doesn't put a hold on your spending. Novice gamblers need something that will block their gambling transactions after a certain limit.

Right if we are earning money with hard work we must the know the value of the same and don't need to spend it unnecessarily on gambling.Like if you are playing in limits for entertainment then it is fine but if you are going in sentiments and loose control over your mind that is surely bad and the reality is society needs such services because they can't control themselves and these services make profits out of your pocket only so why not control yourself.

I'm pretty sure I don't need this service, but for people who don't have enough willpower this service can help. Although on the other hand people always tend to look for workarounds when they have a problem, so I think that sooner or later they will just get an extra credit card to spend money on as before.

I guess some people need an app to tell them how much money they have available and how much they can spend guilt-free! Apps can make everything easy and simple, why bother to think about it, write it down and do the math when the app can do everything for you? I am sure some people will use this app, but it's not for me... I will do it my way, as always!

If a gambler cannot mentally control himself,no app in the world is going to help him to control his gambling.
I wonder what's the business model of Draftduel.How are they going to make money by limiting the amount of money,that were spent by the gamblers?Are they going to charge a fee for using this app?Are they going to use affiliate links to promote chosen casinos?
It seems to me that this app is focused only on the fiat gambling industry,where the players are using debit and credit cards.The crypto gambling industry is left behind.
Anyway,I wish them good luck with this project.

 

In my understanding, the gamblers has to register on their app so that they can be tracked, the spending habits.

So it's still voluntary if a gambler wants to seek help from such app. But if they don't want too, well, we're all free to do whatever we want. I think there's a fee for using them.

I don't know the whole matter for that thing, maybe as they launch, they would offer limited free help.

I really don't want a company to know my spending habits and monitor all the stuffs I am doing which is literally against our privacy and this is what already in practice by google and facebook like companies, now we are going to let the more companies to influence what and where we have to spend with our money?

The individual have to take the control and if here losses it then its his responsibility to face consequences which also will make him better person in the future by not repeating again what he did in the past.

It's a good idea to make new Apps to help us gamblers. Everything that helps us improve our gambling habits is a good idea. Keeping track of our wins and losses is important in all aspects in life. I am using an excel sheet go keep track of my spending, investing and gambling balances. Having a designated App can make things a lot easier. Especially for new gamblers it's hard to see the volatility in our bankroll.

This is good for newbies and starting up but once players get the hang of it, they do not want something controlling how they bet and the amount of what they bet, especially on casinos that offer freebies and perks, when you wager or deposit more, some players do not want to be honest on how much they already deposit, they do not want to track their deposit and losses, you will only do this if you are going to stop gambling and you are dedicated to stopping gambling because your losses is a good motivation for you to stop.

interesting, you talk as if the government is interested in helping citizens, which may be true in some cases but it's not in many others
like with lotteries, if the government cared at all they wouldn't even offer this in the 1st place
but this is a really common government monopoly specially in poor countries.

The truth is that gambling requires a significant amount of tax to be paid to the government, which is why they are so vital to them. They are, I believe, the top five tax payers in our country, and if they attempt to regulate it, the government's revenue will decrease, making regulation difficult. That is why this type of subject is extremely confidential, as the majority of us required it. I believe we should act independently because we are the only ones who will suffer and the government will only benefit us.

That's actually a good innovation.
However, addicted gamblers may choose not to use the app to avoid some financial limitations. That goes for the newbies as well.
One of the best solution for such issue is when the gambling companies will cooperate with the project on identifying which gambler has been spending too much, thus give these people an advice to use the app other wise the gambling company will limit him lower than what the app allows him.
Unfortunately, gambling companies will most probably not gonna do that, because they'll gonna loss a lot of good clients for doing that.

If a person suffers from gambling addiction, he will still find a way to play in a casino.  Gambling addiction is an analogue of drug addiction.  The addict will always find a way to get himself a dose of the drug. 

Draftfuel is an interesting project.  However, he will not be able to help a person who suffers from gambling addiction.  The player can replenish the deposit of the online casino with cryptocurrency. 

And how will you control it? 

Prohibitions and controls are ineffective.  This does not solve the problem.

Lots of new gamblers need this especially those who are struggling in self-control and decision making. It's a good thing that there's an app that would guide them not to fall into too much addiction. I'm sure that I most gamblers would avoid this app that sets limits yet it will still be beneficial for those who are willing to be guided.

I agree with what you said because in terms of gambling, the emotions and greed of gamblers can be restrained and minimized, there must be self-control from themselves. even if there is an application like that, if the self-control of the gamblers is still not well controlled then everything will be in vain.
Limiting money when they lose I think is only part of the method used, but it doesn't necessarily work for all gamblers because if they lose, their emotions will increase to return the capital they have even though it only exacerbates losses.

Are you serious?

"Method one allows users to connect their pre-existing debit or credit cards to the app, which can then be monitored for the accumulation of “spare change” from everyday purchases such as petrol and coffee." ....

Do they really think these stupid methods will curb gambling behavior and stop gambling addiction? They have just found a way to create a new "service" or card that make false promises and from which they can milk profits.  ::)

It may be useful to a restricted number of players. In general, those who gamble beyond their means or beyond what is reasonable do not need to be told about it. They will notice it immediately as the bills are unpaid or their life becomes difficult due to the uncontrolled expenses. The tool may be more useful for those who may actually be betting strongly without noticing it because they have more than enough resources or someone who would like to get controlled by family or friends.

This is a good tool for newcomers and for those who are not yet hooked on gambling this is their companion on how to gamble when they are still starting out, but after a few weeks there will be an urge to what more than the application can give, especially when there are bonuses involved in depositing and wager, they can also cheat the application by deposing with other options, advance players always have the freedom to decide how much to deposit.

I don't trust it that much when a gambler uses third parties to control his vice. It helps of course but only a little. If a gambler has the strong feeling to gamble, third parties cannot actually stop him. He could do away with credit card if it has already hit his limits and gamble with cash. Even if he has himself get banned in certain casinos, he could easily go online. I think a gambler has only himself to focus on if he really wants to tackle the problem of gambling.

This is useless and just meant to increase demands on their service on new players, they cannot address the issue of controlling gambling based on application, it's always on the player's motivation if they want to control their urge and they are the ones who can set an amount, for all we know the amount is greater than what he wants to deposit.

Maybe the government is not interested in helping citizens, but they should do that if they do not want to lose trust. But as @xSkylarx said, the government needs taxes from that industry, so they still let the business run. But the government also gives rules for the provider that if something happens to their citizens, at least, the provider will help them solve the problem.

That does not fully work as there were already many people who become addicting to gambling, which is a serious matter for the government. The government can only be aware of the gambling potency that can happen to them by educating them but it already happened to their people that I think is hard to solve. The only thing that the citizen can do is always manage their money if they want to use it to play gambling, which not many people can do.

Since when the government should prioritize those people who are dealing with gambling problems? That's another loadsh*t from them which in fact, people are the one who falls themselves on the problem. Let's disregard these tax-related things connecting to gambler's problem as it's just usual for the government to receive a tax for any business, whatever the genre or industry and that involves gambling.

As for that "new innovation" that is supposed to help a gambler, I doubt an addicted one will have an interest in using those trackers to monitor or limit their spendings.

It will work if the casino is the one who implements the system, so they can "hard limit" players' deposit. It won't work if it's just an app installed on users' phone and merely giving "advice" to users. If such advice works, people just need more fussy wife/mother.

Yeah, maybe the app can block tx and stuff, but an addicted gambler will just find a way to deactivate the feature or uninstall the app completely.

The innovation they made has a good motive, however I don't really think this will solve the gambling problems. Because once you limit the people from doing what they want, they will just try to find other ways to continue what they were doing before. People keep on finding ways most especially if they are over-attached with something. In this case, gamblers most especially the regulars will just do other strategies and techniques to bypass the tracking of their spending habits. This just limits them temporarily, but soon after, they will be able to continue and be back to their old habits.

Despite having a nice intention for creating such an app, I think we should address gambling problems such as addiction and obsession with a holistic approach. It all boils down to self-discipline and restraint in which should be honed and practiced regularly. If we will keep on relying to such methods, it will only just be a band-aid solution and will not really help the gamblers for the long term. But this would do for those who are trying to withdraw slowly from gambling.

Maybe the government should not prioritize those people but give them some portion that looks like the government is concerned with the addicted people. And yes, if they can get people's hearts, that will help them give support to the addicted people in gambling so they will want to get help from the government.

That "innovation" can really help a gambler, but that will be back to a gambler itself because all decisions will be from them. The government can not force those addicted gamblers, but the government can try to help them to cure the addicted problem.