Responsible Gaming & Self-Exclusion

VIP Play takes responsible gaming seriously. We want our customers to have fun while gambling and betting on sports, and look at it as a form of entertainment. While the vast majority of our customers are able to do this, there is a small subset of the population that may encounter problems controlling their gambling or looking at it as a means for gaining financial wealth. Neither of which are healthy or encouraged.

Warning Signs That You May Have a Problem

Resources for Help

If you feel that you may have a gambling problem and/or can't control your gambling, there is help available that's only a phone call away. Tennessee REDLINE (800-889-9789) is a 24-hour hotline that can make referrals for people and families seeking problem gambling and gambling addiction services. For more information, contact:
Linda Mc
Corkle Director of Treatment and Recovery Services 
[email protected] 
615-944-8246
Or
Donathan Knowles 
Program Manager 
[email protected] 
(615) 927-1161
The Problem Gambling Prevention and Treatment Services Program is a multi-purpose program designed to increase knowledge about problem and/or pathological gambling for those persons at risk, their families, and the general community; to identify and assess those with problem and/or pathological gambling conditions and provide outpatient treatment services if needed; and to continually assess regional needs and coordinate outreach activities for potential service recipients. Services are provided in person or through tele-health. For more information, contact:
Dr. James Whelan, Executive Director, The Gambling Clinic 
University of Memphis, Department of Psychology 
(901) 678-3736 
[email protected]

‍
National Council on Problem Gambling
 1-800-522-4700
Counselors are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide information on available treatment and support groups in your area for both the gambler and those affected by the gambler’s problem. All calls are completely confidential.

Self-Exclusion and VIP Play’s Role in Responsible Gaming

Customers that feel that they have a problem with gambling may reach out to VIP Play to temporarily or permanently "self-exclude" themselves from using VIP Play any further. This eliminates the temptation to immediately gamble and provides a necessary break from gambling in order to seek the necessary professional help (see above for resources).

How self-exclusion / banning works with ZenSports

Customers that feel that they’re experiencing a problem with gambling can chat with us on our website or in our app, or send an email to [email protected] with the following info:

a. First and Last Name.

b. Email Address associated with VIP Play account.

c. Amount and Date of a recent bet that was accepted.

d. The destination account or wallet to send any remaining Available Balance funds.

e. Time duration for temporary self-exclusion or whether the request is for a permanent ban.

Time duration for temporary self-exclusion or whether the request is for a permanent ban.

The customer is then required to reply back to the above email and confirm that they indeed want the self-exclusion or ban.

Once VIP Play receives the above confirmation, it implements the temporary self-exclusion or permanent ban. Any remaining Available Balance funds are sent to the account provided by the customer. The customer is unsubscribed from all marketing content, and is blocked from further accessing the VIP Play app.

If a customer with a temporary or permanent ban tries to access the VIP Play app, they will receive a pop-up blocking them from accessing the app.

Employee training and awareness of problem gambling

As part of VIP Play’s efforts to ensure that any customers that feel like they’re experiencing a problem with gambling are able to get the help that they need, all VIP Play employees and contractors (not just customer service personnel) have been trained on how to spot

problem gambling, what problem gambling looks like, and how to handle both proactive and reactive problem gambling situations.

By functional area, this looks like the following:

Customer Support

All Customer Support personnel must be extra keenly capable in their ability to spot problem gamblers, as they are the most likely to encounter problem gambling throughout their customer interactions. If a Customer Support Representative thinks that a customer might be exhibiting the signs of problem gambling, they are required to escalate the situation, along with all communication and research that backs up their hypothesis, to the executive team for further investigation.

Due to the sensitivity with which customers may perceive a direct outreach about potential problem gambling, Customer Support Representatives are instructed to not do their own outreach directly to customers about this subject. Instead, Customer Support Representatives should only respond to inbound inquiries, or if they see a problem on their own without an inbound inquiry from the customer, to escalate it to the executive team.

Marketing & Sales

All Marketing and Sales personnel are prohibited from doing any targeted marketing specifically to players that have self-excluded or banned themselves from VIP Play.

In addition, our Marketing team takes great care to make sure that all branding and messaging does not target low-income demographics, promises of “turning someone’s fortunes around”, or other content that could entice someone without the means to gamble. We only want those that have the financial means and the self-control to wager on sports using our product.

Product & Development

All Product and Development work that centers around problem gambling is given the highest priority in our company. Whether it be new features or bug fixes to ensure that everyone who uses our product is not abusing or using it in incorrect ways, we prioritize this work above all else.