How Safer Gambling Week Is Promoting Responsible Gambling
Safer Gambling Week, an annual Europe-wide initiative organised in Britain by the Betting & Gaming Council, the British Amusement Catering Trade Association and the Bingo Association, is underway. It aims to promote responsible gambling practices.
A Safer Gambling Week message can likely greet you sometime this week.
This year, between November 18th and 24th, a broad coalition of organisations, including the European Gaming and Betting Association, online and land-based gambling operators, bookmakers, amusement arcades, bingo clubs, and casinos, will take part in the event.
The nationwide campaign is purposed to promote responsible gambling and provide advice on how to gamble safely by fostering discussions about gambling safely. It will raise awareness of tools for responsible gambling and highlight the resources available for those who might need help with gambling issues.
Increasing the Visibility of Safer Gambling
The annual campaign receives support from various stakeholders, including government bodies, MPs, gambling charities such as GamCare, and even football clubs – like West Ham United and Brighton & Hove Albion – who help spread the message through various platforms.
Social media impressions for Safer Gambling Week 2023 exceeded 50 million, indicating high public engagement. The first Safer Gambling Week, in 2017, generated seven million impressions on Twitter and Facebook.
There are great tools to help you stick to your limits, from self-exclusion to budgeting apps. For #SGWeek24, explore these options and see what works best for you. Safer gambling starts with the right support! 🛠️ pic.twitter.com/hXw65on1Rx
— Safer Gambling Week (@SGWeek) November 18, 2024
Additionally, this year, we will see a concerted effort to increase the visibility of safer gambling messages within online and land-based venues. Organisers say this is aimed at sparking a nationwide conversation about betting responsibly.
The Message From the UK’s Top Online Betting Sites
On Tuesday, when logging into one of the betting sites that our experts rate among the UK’s top online bookmakers, a Safer Gambling Week message – which is helpful information to remember at all times – provided the following information:
Gambling should be an enjoyable leisure activity, so to ensure you remain in control, it may help you to remember the following:
- You should only gamble what you can afford to lose.
- Avoid chasing losses.
- Keep track of the time and amount you spend gambling.
It also advised, “We have a wide range of account options to manage your gambling activity,” listing:
- My Activity – View key information about your account, such as your Win/Loss, Amount Staked, and Time Spent Playing, across a 7-day, 30-day or 12-month period with the My Activity Page.
- Budget Calculator – Create a monthly budget using our Budget Calculator, which takes into account your income, outgoings and gambling spend.
- Deposit Limits – You can manage the amount of money you can deposit into your account over a 24-hour, 7-day or 30-day period.
- Activity History – Keep track of your activity by accessing a history of your transactions, deposits and withdrawals, as well as your Win/Loss history.
- Reality Checks – To help you manage the amount of time you spend playing online, you can set up alerts that pop up as a reminder when you have been logged in for a specified period.
- Time-Out – If you want to take a short break from betting and gaming with us, you can do so by taking a Time-Out for a specified period of 24 hours, 48 hours, 7 days or 30 days.
- Custom Time-Out – As part of the Time-Out feature, you can set a Custom-Time Out period for a one-off or recurring period, putting you in control of when you want a short break away from gambling.
- Self-Assessment – If you are concerned that gambling has become a problem for you, it may help to complete our Self-Assessment.
- Self-Exclusion – If you want to prevent yourself from gambling for a longer period of time, you should use our Self-Exclusion option.
- Website Blocking – You can monitor or restrict access to gambling sites with software such as GamBlock or Betblocker.
Safety in Numbers and a Responsible Environment
“Ensuring safety should always be central to every aspect of gambling. However, Safer Gambling Week offers a valuable chance to emphasise this priority even further,” said Andrew Rhodes, chief executive of the Gambling Commission, ahead of this week’s planned activities, he added.
The Betting & Gaming Council’s chief executive, Grainne Hurst, added: “Safer Gambling Week is about showcasing the tools that exist in the regulated industry all year round to ensure that the millions of people who enjoy a regular flutter continue to do so in a safe and responsible environment.”
Previous years have shown that this campaign does lead to increased use of popular, safer gambling tools. During Safer Gambling Week 2023, the number of customers using safer gambling tools soared. Players setting reality checks during the week rocketed by more than 300%. Similarly, there was a 54% increase in players setting deposit limits.
Further information on Safer Gambling Week and tools for controlling your gambling can be found at safergamblinguk.org.
