Today marks the start of Safer Gambling Week, a cross-industry initiative to promote safer gambling in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
This year’s Safer Gambling Week event will run from today until Sunday 23rd October and will see the whole industry coming together in a concerted effort to raise awareness of safer gambling, the tools that are available to help and sources of further advice and support.
The Safer Gambling Week campaign is now in its fifth year and this year’s event will see a blitz of safer gambling messages both online and in land-based venues, to spark a nationwide conversation about betting responsibly.
Andrew Rhodes, Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission, said: “Any opportunity to shine a national spotlight on the importance of gambling safely and securely is important.
“Safer Gambling Week provides that platform but also gives an additional chance for operators to collaborate and share best practice around how they protect their customers.
“The safety of customers should be at the heart of each and every decision operators make.”
The annual campaign will build upon the record-breaking Safer Gambling Week 2021 during which the promotion and awareness of safer gambling tools such as deposit limits led to an increase by 17% in their use vs the previous 4-week average.
The number of social media impressions for Safer Gambling Week 2021 – hit 24.5 million, an increase of 16 per cent on the previous year.
Regulated betting and gaming operators already work tirelessly all year round to promote safer gambling, including by encouraging deposit limits and time-outs, as well as directing customers to the range of self-exclusion services that exist.
Safer Gambling Week provides an opportunity to go even further by encouraging businesses and organisations to start a conversation, not only with staff and customers, but also with their friends and family.
The annual campaign provides a consistent voice to raise awareness of safer gambling, highlighting support and the tools that are available throughout the year.
Make sure to stay connected and stay social with the Safer Gambling Week’s Twitter page.
Remember to gamble responsibly
A responsible gambler is someone who:
- Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
- Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
- Never chase their losses
- Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed
- GamCare – www.gamcare.org.uk
- Gamble Aware – www.begambleaware.org
For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to www.gamstop.co.uk to be excluded from all UK-regulated gambling websites.