Our Approach in Detail
Why Responsible Gaming Matters at 98game – and What We Actually Do About It
Responsible gaming is a phrase that gets used a lot in the online gaming industry, often as a kind of legal requirement that platforms mention in a footer and then mostly ignore. At 98game, we have tried to approach it differently – not because we have to, but because we genuinely believe that a platform where players feel safe and in control is a better platform for everyone involved.
Pakistan has a younger demographic than many markets in which online gaming operates. A lot of the players on 98game are in their twenties, earning their first proper income, and discovering online gaming at the same time. That combination makes responsible gaming particularly important. A twenty-five-year-old in Karachi who loses track of their gaming budget after a few Aviator rounds is not a number in a report – they are a real person with real financial pressures, and how 98game responds to that situation says a lot about what kind of platform we are.
The responsible gaming tools on 98game are designed around a simple principle: information and friction. Information means making sure players know what they are spending and how long they have been playing. Friction means making it easy to stop and hard to go beyond the limits you have set for yourself. Those two things together are more effective than any amount of advice text on a webpage.
When you set a deposit limit on 98game, the platform enforces it absolutely. There is no override screen, no "are you sure you want to increase your limit?" pop-up with a single click to bypass it. If you want to increase a limit you have set, you have to wait 24 hours before the increase takes effect. That cooling-off period is intentional – it is there specifically for the moments when you are in a session and tempted to raise your own cap. The 24-hour delay gives you time to step back and reconsider without the heat of the moment pushing the decision.
Self-exclusion on 98game is equally serious. When you request a self-exclusion, it is processed within one hour. During the exclusion period, your account is locked for deposits and betting. All promotional emails and messages are stopped. If you create a new account during an active self-exclusion period, 98game will identify it as a duplicate, close it and maintain the exclusion. We do this because the whole point of self-exclusion is that it actually excludes you – not that it gives you an alternative route back in through a different email address.
We also monitor platform activity for patterns that may indicate a player is struggling even if they have not asked for help. Significant increases in deposit frequency, loss chasing patterns, unusually long sessions – these can all be signals worth investigating. Where our systems flag something that concerns us, a trained member of the 98game team will make contact with the player to check in and offer information about available responsible gaming tools. This is not surveillance; it is care. And players are always free to tell us they are fine and continue playing.
Responsible gaming at 98game also extends to our marketing. We do not use advertising tactics that target players who have shown signs of problem gambling. We do not advertise to self-excluded players. We do not send bonus offers designed specifically to encourage loss chasing. Our promotional communications are reviewed against responsible gaming standards before they are sent. None of this is visible to players directly, but it reflects the same commitment that the visible tools represent.
