Safer Gambling Week Arrives to Replace Responsible Gambling Week

Rebranding the Responsible Gambling Week intiative as Safer Gambling Week 2020, the event will take place on November 19-25 and focus on raising awareness about safer gambling practices.

Safer Gambling Week to Set New Standards and Benchmarks

In a continuing bid to make gambling safer, the Responsible Gambling Week initiative will be rebranded as the Safer Gambling Week, taking place from November 19- 25, with the focus of the initiative remaining unchanged. The new format will seek to champion responsible gambling standards as well as teach about responsible behavior while playing, and introduce various educational initiatives across the United Kingdom.

As part of the ongoing campaign to educate players and participants in gambling activities about safe practices, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), Bingo Association (BA), and the British Amusement Catering Trade Association (BACTA) have all landed their unequivocal support of the initiative.

The headline of the new initiative for Safer Gambling Week 2020 will be “Let’s Talk About Safer Gambling,” hinting at a collective approach to tackling the issue. Safer Gambling Week 2020 will have a singular focus on bringing gaming companies, customers, staff, and staff “friends and family,” and have an open discussion about the problems the industry still faces in uprooting compulsive gaming behavior.

We are proud to be partnering with @YGAMuk & @GamCare on this education & support programme for young people. This £10 million investment will involve direct provision of education to 120,000 young people & help train over 100,000 education professionals. https://t.co/LQkSMTXLTJ pic.twitter.com/arvslP2WRY

— Betting and Gaming Council (@BetGameCouncil) May 24, 2020

Commenting on these developments, Chief Executive, Betting and Gaming Council, Michael Dugher, had this to say: “As the new body representing the betting and gaming industry, the BGC is committed to driving up standards and promoting safer gambling.”

Dugher said that the BGC was proud to be part of the initiative and no less play a leading role in it. According to him, the initiative has already achieved significant results, driving 25 million impressions on social media in 2019 and establishing a new benchmark to aspire to. Moving forward, BGC and Safer Gambling Week will try to reach even more businesses and individuals, he commented.

BGC Plays Key Role in Introducing Consumer-Protection Practices in the UK

BGC remains committed to raising standards across the board, Dugher said, and he specifically pointed out to changes introduced thanks to the initiative, including the “cool down” periods on slot machines as well as various educational and research initiatives.

Dugher also commented on the whistle-to-whistle ban introduced last year, and also mentioned the new ID and age-verification checks, and not least, the suspension of credit card payments for the purposes of gambling hobbies.

“And during the COVID-19 outbreak, we have published a 10-pledge action plan to promote safer gambling, while our members also voluntarily agreed to remove TV and radio gaming advertising, replacing their slots with safer gambling messages or donating them to charity,” Dugher added, commenting on a recently-proposed plan to help vulnerable members of society ride out the lockdown period without giving in to temptation.