Making the World a Better Place: How Online Casinos Are Giving Back to Charities
Gone are the days of online casinos being viewed as taboo, illegal and detrimental to society. Today, with the growth of online casinos, we have seen the viewpoint of many change positively towards online casinos and sportsbooks.
Over the years, online casino growth has been exponential, and today, there are hundreds of thousands of global players across various regions and jurisdictions. The best online casinos are licensed and regulated, providing all players with a secure online gambling experience.
Traditionally, online casinos’ primary service is to offer players a comprehensive online casino product with hundreds of diverse casino games such as slots, table games and live casino titles. The emergence of secure gaming and increased awareness of bonuses and promotions have now seen greater significance in providing players with fair and favorable bonuses, including match offers, free spins and weekly rewards.
However, not many will know that online casinos play a much bigger role in society than just offering players a source of entertainment. Today, top online casinos play an active role in the community and strive to improve the world. Online casinos have become key stakeholders worldwide through giving back to charities and supporting local communities.
In this article, our MDC team explores the role of online casinos in making the world a better place and unpacks some of the key areas and ventures in which these casinos have improved the standard of living for citizens. We also look ahead to what the future has in store for online casinos and their role in giving back to charities and improving the lives of millions of people.
Beyond Gambling: The Rise of Socially Responsible Online Casinos
Like how traditional businesses have incorporated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in their day-to-day activities, online casinos have also become more accessible to everyone and focus on introducing and implementing efficient Corporate Social Investments (CSI) activities.
In today’s world, everyone has to do their bit to improve the standard of living for everyone and protect the environment. Irrespective of whether that means focusing on environmental issues or feeding people experiencing homelessness, the top online casinos are all doing their part to make the world a better place.
The best online casinos are licensed and regulated, which means besides providing players with an entertaining online gambling experience, ethical gaming is a priority. All casino game outcomes are random, and thanks to Random Number Generators, players are assured that no games are rigged.
The need for fair gaming is just one aspect of society’s demands for online casinos, and another key area is charitable contributions. As mentioned, the top online casinos have excellent CSI campaigns, and charity contributions are at the top of the list, especially in improving the standard of living for the charities and organizations where the online casino operates.
The industry and the local communities enjoy the benefits of giving back to charity and making the world a better place. As we mentioned, to some, the outlook of online casinos and any gambling operator is negative. However, by helping the communities and improving the world, many will start looking at online casinos positively.
Secondly, for the local communities that are being helped, these benefits, whether financial or through assistance and goods, ensure that sustainable charitable operations can continue and the recipients of these charitable donations are being taken care of.
Disaster Relief: Helping Communities in Times of Crisis
We have seen the world plagued with calamitous natural disasters daily. Whether it is hurricanes, tornadoes, floods or humanitarian crises, something catastrophic is occurring somewhere in the world. Over the years, we have witnessed online casinos be proactive in providing disaster relief and donations to organizations.
For example, when the USA suffered through Hurricane Irene and Katrina, several top online casinos banded together and provided funding for disaster relief organizations.
Whenever a global disaster occurs, organizations like the Red Cross, UNICEF and global disaster relief organizations are at the forefront of providing assistance. While online casinos are not naturally on the ground during these major disasters, they are always active stakeholders and provide large and generous financial contributions to these organizations.
In South Africa, for example, when the province of KZN was battered with historic local flooding that displaced people and led to mass deaths, several of the leading online casinos banded together to help the province. Thanks to daily donation drives and on-the-ground assistance, over $/€5 million was raised within a few days.
Whenever disasters take place in close proximity to an online casino, such as in the local community or state, we have seen several charity-driven casino events. These are aimed at raising funds for immediate aid, and traditionally, online casinos go beyond and match the donations with their own funds.
Today, there are several global ambassadors for online casinos, such as Drake for Stake, and it is common to see these celebrities at fundraising campaigns and help provide additional support for immediate aid. The disaster relief contributions don’t just stop with providing funds; in local community disasters, it is also common to see online casino stakeholders and employees on the ground and providing day-to-day assistance.
Education and Youth Programs: Investing in the Future
Education is the key to a better world, and online casinos understand the importance of nurturing tomorrow’s world leaders. While no one under the age of 18 is allowed to gamble, that does not mean online casinos turn a blind eye to the youth.
Throughout the globe, we have seen online casinos provide ample support to the youth and organizations to promote education and empower underprivileged communities. Some of these campaigns have seen online casinos supporting scholarships, schools and digital literacy programs.
For example, in the UK and South Africa, several online casinos have provided youth bursaries and tertiary education funding. These bursaries and scholarships allow underprivileged youth who can’t afford university fees to get their funding paid for by online casinos, provided these students can keep up their grades.
STEM education is another avenue through which online casinos actively provide CSR, and several campaigns are in place to combat the lack of learning resources for people experiencing poverty. From procuring laptops and computers to funding mobile classrooms, online casinos have shared some of their annual profits in improving the education system for underprivileged youth and communities.
We have seen in South Africa that online casinos have even conducted mobile workshops for needy communities to help the youth with mathematics and literacy workshops and classroom activities.
The best online casino brands understand their role and reach in the community and have the necessary means to partner with youth-focused organizations. We have seen several of the top-rated online casinos set up youth education drives and come on board as active partners for youth-focused events such as gambling awareness for the youth and NGOs assisting the youth.
Environmental Charities: A Greener Future Through Gaming
Conserving the environment is another venture in which the best online casinos are actively participating. There are several global environmental charities that provide various services, from reforestation projects to carbon offset initiatives and ocean cleanups.
It is common to see the top global online casinos provide their time to help with these events and financial assistance when called upon. Examples of successful partnerships between online casinos and environmental organizations include WWF and Greenpeace.
Online casinos have provided a number of successful charity drives to support these organizations and bring in additional funding. These include bringing online casino ambassadors to join the ocean cleanup events and hosting special events when the WWF and Greenpeace have fundraising campaigns.
Over the past four years, online casinos have also introduced specific promotions to contribute towards environmental charities. These seasonal events and promotions are tailored to environmental-themed slot and casino games. Players can win prizes such as free spins when participating in these competitions, while the online casino shares the profits with environmental organizations.
Technology plays an important role in sustainable business practices for online casinos. Unlike traditional casinos, where there are physical casinos which take up land and contribute to environmental challenges, all online casino services are virtual. The latest technological advancements ensure that online casino practices are green gaming and eco-friendly.
For example, today’s top online casinos run their servers using renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. The decrease in energy consumption contributes to reducing the impact on the environment and assists in sustainable business practices and conserving the globe.
Local Charities: Giving Back to Communities
As mentioned, online casinos play an active role in their local communities, especially since they have local staff from surrounding areas. Taking care of the relevant stakeholders is important, and uplifting the community and helping local charities is a priority.
Irrespective of whether you are a small or big charity, the best online casinos always provide assistance to local charities. One of the main ways that this is achieved is through responsible gambling awareness drives.
Everyone knows you use real money at online casinos, so the top online casinos always take care of vulnerable individuals and offer responsible gambling awareness programs in the local communities.
These campaigns teach all individuals, irrespective of whether they are active players or not, about the risks of using online casinos. They also educate people on responsible gambling tools to ensure players are safe and have an entertaining online casino gaming experience.
Food scarcity is a severe problem in many regions, and people and communities lack the basics such as food and water. Online casinos have tried to address these issues by funding local shelters and food banks, and these additional funds go a long way in addressing the food shortage for many.
Besides offering financial help, several online casinos actively participate in these shelters and hand out food parcels and water to those in need.
Another positive contribution of online casinos to local charities is through shelters. The homelessness rate is on the rise globally, especially as inflation rises and the cost of living gets higher each month.
The best online casinos have partnered with local shelters to provide hot meals to people in need and blankets and warm clothes during the bitterly cold winters. Tailored bonuses and promotions ensure that all funds are split between local shelters and charities.
For local communities, the lifeblood is small businesses and community projects. If these businesses fail, then the locals suffer immediately. To address these concerns, we have witnessed several online casinos and sportsbooks assist with small business and community projects.
For example, several leading online casinos in the US have partnered with small local businesses. They are readily available to sponsor events in the community and provide prizes for local sports meetings and tournaments.
In most regions, online gambling is a source of income for the local economy, and the tax benefits boost the government finances and fiscal policies. Several online casinos have contributed to philanthropy and leveraged their positions to improve communities.
For example, one of the leading online casino developers, Microgaming, has recently donated $/€5000 to the local Isle of Man hospice to equip the minibus that transports citizens requiring wheelchair use.
The Future of Charitable Giving in Online Gambling
We have seen the positive growth online casinos have made in making the world a better place and giving back to charities. The future is bright for these endeavours, and at Minimum Deposit Casino (MDC), we see no reason why local charities, environmental organizations and all philanthropic organizations won’t stop benefitting from the contributions from online casinos.
The best online casinos now run monthly player-driven charity models such as donation-based betting. They are matching whatever is raised to ensure charities have enough financial support.
The emergence of technology and technology advancements such as blockchain and smart contracts will ensure that online casinos can enhance their charitable contributions and provide additional secure support directly from players to local charities.
Finally, while some still view online casinos and gambling negatively, these top-rated online casinos are redefining their reputations through philanthropy. As long as these online casinos continue to better their local communities and provide necessary assistance to charitable organizations, they are making the world a better place.