The U.K continues to experiment with different methods and regulations in order to curb the rise of problem gambling in the country.
The United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) has been under immense pressure the last couple of years to put in place measures that would reduce gambling addiction amongst children and adults.
Responsible Gambling Week Uk Magazine
The Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to problem gambling prevention. For over 35 years we’ve worked to put safeguards and support in place for those who gamble. The initiative was similarly supported by UK Gambling Commission head Neil McArthur who emphasized the tagline of the initiative – ‘Let’s talk about safer gambling‘ – and argued that the role of everyone involved in the industry is to look out for the well-being of the customer. The Responsible Gambling Week starts on Monday, November 7.
PocketWin has been recently accredited the Advanced Level 2 GamCare Safer Gambling Standard Accreditation, and with that is fully participating in this year’s national initiative for Safer Gambling Week from the 19 th to 25 th November 2020. The Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to problem gambling prevention. For over 35 years we’ve worked to put safeguards and support in place for those who gamble. The National Betting Authority is organising the 3rd Safer Gambling Week (SGW), which will be held from the 5th till the 11th of October 2020 in Cyprus, with the participation of stakeholders in the gambling industry in Cyprus and abroad.
Every year, the U.K. moves forward with a Responsible Gambling Week campaign which is mostly a refresher course for gambling operators and their employees to remind themselves of the rules and regulations in place and their responsibility to be in full compliance.
For some reason, this time around the Responsible Gambling Week initiative will be renamed to Safer Gambling Week according to insider reports from the British Amusement Catering Trade Association (BACTA), the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) and Bingo Association (BA). There is no clear information as to what is the reason behind the name change nor what it will accomplish.
What Is This All About?
The Safer Gambling Week campaign is expected to run from November 19 to 25 and will see all of the biggest gambling operators in the U.K, key stakeholders and employees pay special attention to safer gambling measures during this week. There will be a lot of artwork that will look to promote and spread the message of safer gambling with family and friends.
The BGC was very impressed with the 2019 Responsible Gambling Week as the social media stats showed over 25 million impressions during this period. The responsible gambling week initiative was started in 2016 and last year saw the biggest response which was a big positive as it showed that Brits were being educated on the tools and resources they have access to help them address their tendencies to gamble compulsively.
BeGambleAware
The 2020 Safer Gambling Week campaign is expected to be even bigger and better as bacta expects all of its members to come together and focus their attention on how they can provide even better education, resources and a commitment to protect Brits from falling into gambling addiction.
The COVID-19 lockdown in the UK forced millions of Brits to stay indoors for weeks. There are some stats which show that online gambling searches and registrations in the UK have increased significantly while some reports deny any significant increase. We will have to wait for a few months to pass and that look at official data to determine if there has been a spike in problem gambling during this lockdown period.
The UK Gambling Industry, led by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), The Bingo Association (BA) and the British Amusement Catering Trade Association (bacta), has announced that Safer Gambling Week 2020 will take place from 19th – 25th November.
The annual campaign builds on the success of Responsible Gambling Week, which began in 2017 – the first campaign to unite all sectors of the gambling industry – and marks the successful growth and evolution of the on-going awareness and education campaign, participants and supporters of which now extend far beyond the gambling sector.
The leading trade associations bring together every sector of the UK gambling industry through their membership, that work with the wide and diverse range of other supporting organisations (manufacturing, service, charities), all with the common objective of raising awareness of safer gambling behaviours and encouraging staff, customers and the wider public to discuss what it means to gamble more safely.
Let’s Talk About Safer Gambling will remain the strapline of Safer Gambling Week 2020: the tone set by this message has been well received by all supporters and has also been found, through research, to strike the right chord with the wide and diverse range of audiences that the campaign seeks to reach. In coming together with one voice, the campaign, through an ever increasing number and range of supporters, is able extend its reach, year on year, and build on and add to the work that takes place throughout the year on safer gambling, education, awareness and support.
Operators promote responsible gambling 365 days of the year, but Safer Gambling Week creates the opportunity for all businesses and organisations to start a conversation about safer gambling not only with their customers, but also with their staff and in turn their friends and family.
Michael Dugher, Chief Executive, Betting and Gaming Council, said: “As the new body representing the betting and gaming industry, the BGC is committed to driving up standards and promoting safer gambling.
“Safer Gambling Week is a fantastic initiative which the BGC are proud to play a leading role in. This awareness campaign is now in its fourth year and it has achieved a significant increase in engagement at all levels on the tools and support available to customers.
“We achieved over 25 million impressions on social media in 2019, setting a new benchmark for the campaign, which demonstrates the breadth and reach of the campaign.
“Our members are determined to raise standards and as part of this year’s campaign can point to significant changes that we have introduced, including new cooling-off periods on gaming machines, substantially increased funding for research, education and treatment; a ‘whistle to whistle’ ban on advertising during sport; new ID and age-verification checks and a ban on betting with credit cards.
“And during the covid-19 outbreak, we have published a 10-pledge action plan to promote safer gambling, while our members also voluntarily agreed to remove TV and radio gaming advertising, replacing their slots with safer gambling messages or donating them to charity.
National Center For Responsible Gambling
“As businesses emerge from lockdown, I’m looking forward to this year’s Safer Gambling Week being a tremendous success.”