Industry, Government and the Regulator Come Together Once Again to Back Safer Gambling Week 2023

This year’s Safer Gambling Week event will run from 13th – 19th November 2023 and will see the whole industry coming together to further promote safer gambling, by highlighting the tools available so customers can stay in control and signposting help and advice to those who need it.

Organised by the BGC, BACTA and the Bingo Association, Safer Gambling Week is now in its seventh year, and will once again see a blitz of safer gambling messages both online and in land-based venues, to spark a nationwide conversation about betting responsibly.

Gambling Minister Stuart Andrew said: “Safer Gambling Week is a good reminder of the work already underway by Government, industry and the regulator to prevent harm.

“The measures outlined in our white paper will help protect those most at risk of gambling-related harm while allowing those that choose to gamble to do so safely. We are taking action to prevent gambling addiction, improve safer gambling tools and strengthen messaging to stop people incurring potentially life-changing losses.

“We welcome the gambling industry using this week to increase uptake and awareness of this important issue.”

Andrew Rhodes, Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission, said: “Safety should be at the heart of all gambling at all times.

“But Safer Gambling Week affords the unique opportunity to draw even more attention to its importance.

“It also provides the opportunity for operators to share best practice and ensure people in Britain are provided with the safest gambling opportunities in the world.”

The annual campaign will build on last year’s successful event in October when around 200,000 accounts set deposit limits during the month, an increase of 12.5 per cent compared to the same month the year previous. Meanwhile, 61 per cent of players setting deposit limits, did so for the first time.

And the number of players actively using reality checks – on-screen alerts tracking how long customers are playing – rose by an astonishing 300 per cent.

Safer Gambling Week also smashed previous social media records, generating nearly 30 million impressions on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, a 21 per cent increase on 2021.

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 the help, support and tools that are available throughout the year.

Michael Dugher, Chief Executive of the BGC, said: “Safer Gambling Week is now a well-established annual event, promoting the vital safer gambling tools only available in the regulated betting and gaming sector and signposting help to those that need it. Core to this is our commitment to empower customers with the knowledge and tools to bet safely all year round.

“We also use the week to highlight the outstanding work that third sector organisations deliver, such as GamCare who provide treatment and operate the National Gambling Helpline, Gordon Moody who provide residential treatment and YGAM who educate young people on the dangers of harmful gambling.

“The Betting and Gaming Council is committed to building on its record on safer gambling, preventing harm and supporting those who need help. Safer Gambling Week is just one of the ways the whole industry work together to do this.”

Miles Baron, Chief Executive of the Bingo Association, said: “The Bingo Association is delighted to be working alongside BACTA and The Betting and Gaming Council to once again support and promote Safer Gambling Week.”

John White, Chief Executive of Bacta, said: “SG Week provides an opportunity to highlight what the gambling sector does all year round to ensure customers can enjoy their recreational wagering safe in the knowledge that operators are there for them and their peers if things start to get out of control.”

Each month around 22.5 million adults in Great Britain have a flutter, meanwhile, problem gambling rates in the UK are low by international standards, at 0.4 per cent of the adult population in England according to the latest NHS Health Survey.

For more information on Safer Gambling Week, please visit www.safergamblingweek.org. Safer Gambling Week social channels are also live: @SGWeek on Twitter/X, Facebook and Instagram.