Safer Gambling Week Returns 17th to 23rd October 2022

Annual Gaming Industry Initiative Announces Return

Safer Gambling Week is an event that takes place once a year with online and land-based gambling companies teaming up to hammer home the importance of responsible gambling. Organised by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), Bacta, the Lotteries Council and the Bingo Association, the industry gets together to promote safer gambling and to point out the tools that are available to customers to help them stay in control of their spending.

Michael Dugher, chief executive of the BGC, said: “Safer Gambling Week is now an established annual event. We know that rates of problem gambling are low and are now falling, which is great news, but Safer Gambling Week is further evidence of the regulated industry’s determination to keep raising standards.

BGC members demonstrate their commitment to safer gambling every day through initiatives such as the whistle to whistle ban on TV betting commercials during live sport and strict ID and age verification checks. Safer Gambling Week is a great opportunity to highlight this fantastic work – and emphasises the difference between the regulated industry and the unlicensed and illegal online black market, which has none of the safeguards which are commonplace among our members.”

Five Years of Important Messages:

The event is now in its fifth year and this year’s event will run slightly earlier than previous years, from October 17^th to the 23^rd. In 2021, following Safer Gambling Week, gambling tools such as deposit limits and stake limits were up 17% on the previous year and the BGC says it wants to build on that record-breaking surge in 2022.

Miles Baron, chief executive of the Bingo Association, said: “Safer Gambling Week is an important part of the bingo industry’s commitment to social responsibility and provides a useful focal point for highlighting activity and support that is available throughout the year. As venue-based businesses, the sector recognises the important opportunity we have to promote safer gambling messages and engage directly with customers.”

In 2021, the number of social media impressions for Safer Gambling Week hit 24.5million, again this was up some 16% on Safer Gambling Week 2020. Another positive was the 79% increase in traffic (on the previous year) to the Safer Gambling website. In March 2022, a Gambling Commission report concluded that the number of problem gamblers in the UK was down 0.2%, down 0.4% on the previous figures, which means these initiatives are working.

John White, chief executive of Bacta, said: “Safer Gambling Week once again allows the industry to showcase its year-long commitment to safer gambling. It also brings customer focus to the tools that are available to them if they in anyway feel their gambling is becoming problematic. Those tools continue to grow as we learn more about safer gambling and form part of our ambition to cement social responsibility at the heart of our offer to the consumer.”

Source: “UK: Dates Announced for Safer Gambling Week 2022”, Focus Gaming News. May 27, 2022.