It’s an important week ahead for the UK gambling industry. November 1-7 sees Safer Gambling Week being held. This aims to get the nation talking about how to gamble safely and it’s hoped this year will be even more successful than in 2020.
Safer Gambling Week sees all areas of the industry working together. There are the bookmakers in the High Street, online gambling sites, bingo clubs, casinos and amusement arcades all being involved.
Get ready for seven days of more awareness being spread about how to gamble more safely, where to get help and the tools that can help people always gamble safely. The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), Bingo Association and bacta (that’s the trade association for amusement arcades) are all supporting the event, which first took place in 2017.
It will be an easier task this year to tell people how important safe gambling is. 2020 saw the event take place during lockdown, so at that time, betting shops, casinos, amusement arcades and bingo clubs were closed.
Thank heavens for the internet though as that helped get the message across. There were 19 million social media impressions last year during Safer Gambling Week. That was an increase of 19% on 2019, when higher figures were also recorded.
There has been good news in the bid to help deal with problem gambling. A higher number of people are using tools such as self-exclusion and setting deposit limits. Members of the gambling industry will be keen to demonstrate the work that is put in throughout the year to promote safer gambling. That’s something not mentioned too much by those who oppose gambling.
BGC chief executive Michael Dugher has stressed that when talking about Safer Gambling Week 2021. He has mentioned how the regulated betting and gaming industry have given an increased amount towards funding that deals with research, education, and treatment re gambling problems. There’s also been the whistle-to-whistle ban on TV betting commercials during live sporting events. He was also keen to give a mention to the strict ID and age verifications checks that now take place.
One of his key aims is to talk about the importance of gambling with those who are licensed and regulated. That’s compared to the “unlicensed and illegal online black market,” where customers are not protected.
John White is the chief executive of bacta. He also believes that Safer Gambling Week will “allow the industry to showcase its year-long commitment” to helping people gamble responsibly. There will also be the chance to allow customers to find out more about “the tools that are available to them if they in anyway feel their gambling becoming problematic.”
For more information, go to https://safergamblinguk.org/
