What is Duty of Care?

Duty of care, in a gambling context, is the expectation that a licensed operator takes reasonable steps to protect customers from harm rather than simply accepting whatever they choose to stake. It has both a regulatory side, expressed through licence conditions on customer interaction, affordability and marketing, and a legal side, since disputes have tested how far a business must go once warning signs are visible. Typical obligations include monitoring play for markers of harm such as long unbroken sessions, escalating deposits or chasing losses, contacting the customer when those markers appear, and acting on the response — including limiting or closing an account. Duty of care does not shift responsibility for outcomes onto the operator; it sets a floor for how it must behave.