Amid the ongoing review of the 2005 Gambling Act in the UK, the regulating bodies and the gambling industry have decided to work together towards ensuring a safe gambling environment for players. This week, the Betting Gaming Council (BGC) announced the dates for this year’s Safer Gambling Week.
The event is scheduled to take place on November 1 to November 7, 2021, bringing together the Betting and Gaming Council, the British Amusement Catering Trade Association (Bacta), and the Bingo Association. These authorities have joined forces to bring awareness and promote safer gambling for British individuals.
The Safer Gambling Week 2021 will rely on events both online and in land-based gambling facilities to inform players about responsible betting. Even though the pandemic forced venues like betting shops, casinos, bingo halls, and amusement arcades to close, Safer Gambling Week 2020 was a very successful campaign. This is why there are huge expectations for the events scheduled for this year.
During the Safer Gambling Week of last year, there was a 19% increase in social media impressions, with 19 million individuals learning about responsible gambling thanks to Safer Gambling Week posts. The number of visits on the Safer Gambling Week website was also 18% higher in 2020 compared to the year before that. Another proof for the impact of the campaign was the report from operators for a higher number of players resorting to responsible gambling tools like deposit limits and self-exclusion.
Gambling Industry Associations Come Together to Support Safer Gambling Week 2021
The idea for the Safer Gambling Week 2021 is for different regulating gaming associations to come together and raise awareness among the staff in the gaming industry, the consumers, and those who are close to individuals involved in gambling. While licensed gaming and betting operators are implementing various tools to inform their customers about safer gambling and measures that can be taken to avoid gambling-related harm, the Safer Gambling Week 2021 program aims for including even more businesses in safer gambling conversations.
The chief executive of the BGC, Michael Dugher, expressed the body’s delight to work together with other authorities for the Safer Gambling Week events this year. He added that following the great results of the event last year, the expectations for the 2021 campaign are to be even better, introducing safer gambling through different channels.
Miles Baron, chief executive of the Bingo Association also acknowledged the importance of the Safer Gambling Week event as it spreads knowledge about gambling-related harms and provides support for bingo players. The chief executive of Bacta, John White, also joined the rest of the participants in the event, showing support for Safer Gambling Week 2021. He added that while the gaming industry is already utilizing various tools to inform individuals about responsible gambling, these tools can continue to evolve, ensuring an even safer gambling environment.
The organisers of the Safer Gambling Week event this year are yet to be announced. Any organisation that would like to learn more about Safer Gambling Week 2021 or become a part of the event, can visit its official website or head to the official web page of Safer Gambling UK.
- Author
Daniel Williams
