As Safer Gambling Week 2024 gets into full swing, the UK and Ireland’s gambling operators are rallying behind what has quickly become one of the industry’s most significant events for raising consumer awareness.
While responsible gambling has been a constant industry theme for years–and an integral part of licensing compliance–Safer Gambling Week sees the gambling industry double down and make a concerted effort to engage consumers, promote safer gambling and increase the use of safer gambling tools.
Now in its eighth year, Safer Gambling Week launched on November 18 and will run until the 24. It is organised by three of the industry’s headline trade bodies: the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), BACTA, and the Bingo Association.
Reaching Consumers
Over the course of this week, safer gambling messages will be rolled out online and at land-based gambling establishments as the industry unites to spark a nationwide conversation about responsible gambling and cut through the misunderstandings that often exist around betting.
This messaging has proved highly effective at reaching consumers, with Safer Gambling Week 2023 smashing records and generating over 50 million impressions on social media.
According to UK Shadow Sports and Gambling Minister Louie French, Safer Gambling Week is crucial for raising safer gambling awareness because it is “one of the most effective methods the industry has found to convey the safer gambling message to the 22.5 million adults who enjoy betting each month”.
Increasing Uptake
With a sizable focus on promoting deposit limits, time checks, and self-exclusion, one of the primary aims of Safer Gambling Week is combatting the fact that many consumers remain unaware of how to use responsible gambling tools and their benefits – some also have negative perceptions of these tools.
BGC Chief Executive Grainner Hurst said, “Previous years have shown that this campaign leads to increased use of those popular safer gambling tools.”
And she’s spot on.
According to the metrics from last year’s event, during Safer Gambling Week 2023, reality checks shot up by a whopping 300 percent–and that was for the second consecutive year–plus, over half of all players setting deposit limits were new to the feature. These results demonstrate the considerable impact Safer Gambling Week has on increasing player engagement with safer gambling tools.
Alongside increasing the uptake of responsible gambling tools, Nick Arron, Lead Solicitor at Poppleston Allen–a legal firm specialising in UK licensing–stressed that Safer Gambling Week is also a significant chance to “signpost the professional help and support services that are available to those who need them”.
Valuable Opportunity
While the main aim of Safer Gambling Week is to get players talking about safer gambling, according to Andrew Lee, COO of the QiH Group–a leading iGaming affiliate company– it is also “a valuable opportunity to stay engaged with the broader industry conversations and hear from the community on responsible gambling”.
Collaboration Proves Powerful
With campaigns and promotional materials already rolling out across digital and land-based gambling spaces, Safer Gambling Week 2024 is set to be bigger and more impactful than ever before.
In addition to driving consumer awareness, this week is also a fantastic opportunity for operators to strengthen public and consumer trust by showcasing their commitment to and achievements in safer gambling.
Or, as New Gambling Minister Baroness Twycross reminds the industry, “Safer Gambling Week is a good opportunity to recognise the important work being done to help protect those at risk of gambling harms.”
