Glitnor Group

Cathryn McGinty has joined the Glitnor Group as chief human resources officer, bringing over 25 years experience in senior human resources and organisational strategy to the role.

This past expertise spans multiple sectors including FTSE 250 and blue chip organisations
such as such as William Hill, BUPA, Avis, BwinParty and TalkTalk.

“Glitnor Group has a strong brand and values driven culture, which was a key consideration for me when considering my next role,” McGinty said.

“I believe in developing a strong employer brand through providing a great employee experience. I am passionate about both customer and employee experience and putting people at the heart of our business.

“Within Glitnor Group, I see a tremendous opportunity as we grow; to develop our brand alongside our employees to offer a true best in class employee experience.”

Betsoft Gaming

Betsoft Gaming has named Anna Mackney as head of account management, where responsibilities will focus on demand generation; planning, executing and measuring throughout every stage of the sales team.

In addition to driving new business forward, Mackney will also be charged with ensuring that the group’s service and customer support will both retain and expand existing customers’ exposure to the Betsoft product portfolio, in a bid to deliver and track profitable growth for clients.

Matt Avison, managing director, Betsoft Gaming, noted: “Anna is hugely professional at onboarding clients. Now, as she takes over the leadership of the team, we anticipate positive change and sustained growth as we move into new markets.”

Rank Group

The Rank Group has announced the appointment of Katie McAlister to its board as a non-executive director, with immediate effect  She will also serve on its nominations, safer gambling and remuneration committees.

McAlister is currently the chief marketing officer for TUI Northern Region (UK, Ireland and Nordic), and sits on the TUI Northern Region board. She has thirteen years of digital and marketing experience, during which time she has been responsible for digital transformation and business change programmes.

Alex Thursby, Rank‘s chair, noted: “We are delighted to welcome Katie to the Rank board. Her extensive background in digital marketing, together with her customer-focussed strategic experience, will be a real asset. The board and I are very much looking forward to working with her over the coming years.”

BoscaSports

BoscaSports has rolled-out the recruitment of Racecourse Media Group’s Ben Dowding to its board of directors; lauding the move as “another important step” in scaling up the group on an international basis.

Downding is a senior executive with over 12 years’ experience within the Horseracing and
wider sports industries, and is currently director of betting for Racecourse Media
Group having previously held roles with The Jockey Club.

Dowding explained: “I am delighted to join the BoscaSports board and look forward to supporting the team in scaling the business and technology. They have developed a cutting-edge data and rights agnostic platform allowing betting operators complete flexibility and management of their customer experience.

“The BoscaSports technology has also been a great success for stadia and venue distribution as showcased by the transformation of UK racecourse Tote screens.

“I can already see some clear technology synergies from digital into retail across multiple sports not just racing, and how this will support international growth, with the product already due to launch in Italy with media system technologies broad network of shops.

“I will also look to bring my low latency streaming experience with Stats Perform and Phenix Real Time Solutions to bear in helping develop BoscaSports IPTV solution for retail and venues.”

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The report, which primarily looks at the ways in which the gambling industry is regulated, suggested that the UK Gambling Commission and Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport should ‘be more strategic’ in the ways that it encourages licensees to protect punters.

While the report emphasised that the UKGC has implemented measures which have helped make gambling safer, it also highlighted that incentives could be utilised in order to push operators ‘to do more to make gambling safer beyond meeting minimum requirements’.

Among its recommendations, the NAO has suggested that both the regulator and government must become ‘more systematic and detailed’ in the ways that it records and analyses customer data.

The conclusions of the report found: “Gambling-related harm is a serious problem for the individual affected and people close to them. It imposes potentially significant costs on public services and society more widely, although the government has a limited understanding of these impacts. The Gambling Commission is a small regulator in a challenging and dynamic industry.

“To reduce these harms, it has increased its regulatory action (such as penalties on operators that break rules) and its collaboration with others in the field. But there is more it needs to do to identify where problems are occurring and ensure gambling operators raise their standards.

“The way people gamble is changing, with new risks emerging in online and mobile gambling and other technological developments. The Commission’s ability to ensure consumers are protected from these new risks is constrained by factors outside its control, including inflexible funding and a lack of evidence on how developments in the industry affect consumers.

“The Commission is unlikely to be fully effective in addressing risks and harms to consumers within the current arrangements.”

Commenting on the report, Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said: “Licensed gambling has grown by 57 per cent – £4.1 billion – over the last decade mainly due to a massive increase in online and smartphone gambling. The risks to gamblers are changing as technologies develop.

“Yet the Gambling Commission is a small regulator in a huge and fast-evolving industry. While the Commission has made improvements, gambling regulation lags behind the industry. The Commission and government need to work together to ensure that regulation keeps pace with the risk to gamblers.”

The re[pry also added that even if the UKGC were to take the recommendations on board, it is still ‘unlikely to be fully effective in regulating a challenging and fast-changing industry within the current system.’

Meg Hillier MP, chair elect of the Committee of Public Accounts, added: “Gambling firms make billions a year, often profiteering from addicts. It’s horrifying to hear that 55,000 children could be problem gamblers.

“The Gambling Commission needs to up its game. It is not doing enough to make gambling safe and ensure firms raise their standards.

“Government must play its part too. Many cash starved local authorities are not inspecting gambling premises and DCMS have failed to give the Gambling Commission access to the funding it needs. Problem gambling can lead to terrible human suffering, its high time government, regulators and industry resolved this.”

Responding to the report, a Gambling Commission spokesperson said: “We welcome today’s NAO report and are pleased that it recognises our work in making gambling safer. We agree with the report’s assessment that we face the significant challenge of regulating a dynamic and developing industry. It also underlines the constraints that our current funding arrangements presents and we are developing proposals to discuss this with DCMS.

“We have made progress in making gambling safer, but more needs to be done. In addition to a programme of tougher enforcement and compliance activity, in the last two years we have strengthened protections including online age and ID verification, customer interaction and most recently we banned gambling on credit cards.

“We must see a reduction in the number of people experiencing harm and we are currently pushing the industry to focus on poor VIP practices, advertising technology and game design.”

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Delivering a keynote address on day two of SBC Digital North America, Lycka began by giving a regulatory breakdown of the US and Canadian market, noting that several more states have already joined the “betting club” in 2021 alone.

However, his focus soon turned towards the importance of responsible gambling measures as he highlighted the overwhelming need to introduce “robust consumer protection measures with resolute focus on responsible gambling”.  

He said: “Low and behold, what a seismic shift this has been in just three years. At the same time, as an industry, we have been sketching out a sustainable way forward that will serve us well in the long run. 

“It is becoming ever more evident that the most efficient way of achieving long-term sustainability of the North American sports betting and igaming market is by introducing robust consumer protection measures with resolute focus on responsible gambling.”  

Explaining that there are lessons to be learned from the UK and the wider European market, the SVP warned that states simply cannot “sit on the fence and wait for any storms to blow over” when it comes to problem gambling. 

Instead, he implored the industry to now take the opportunity to “get on the front foot” and take action. He continued: “If there is anything to learn from the UK and the wider European experience, it is that sitting on the fence and waiting for any storms to blow over does not pay off. 

“I strongly believe that the North American industry is best advised to actively engage with responsible gambling matters and tackle them head-on with both enthusiasm and determination. 

“In other words, we might want to get on the front foot right here, right now, in order to prevent the simmering problem gambling concerns from boiling over. 

“Let’s not forget the old sports saying that defences win championships. Shoring up our consumer protection defences will give us an even stronger momentum for further economic development in the North American markets.”

Looking to the future, Lycka explained that the onus to provide help to at-risk customers clearly lies on the betting and gaming industry – highlighting that we must also steer bettors away from the black market.

He challenged the industry to focus on the ways in which the issue of problem gambling can be addressed, noting that we must continuously identify instances which could place gamblers at risk.

Lycka said: “What is the challenger that we’re all up against? It is estimated that overall, approximately five per cent of our customers are at risk of developing a gambling problem. This doesn’t mean that all of them will, especially if we can help it. 

“Clearly, the onus on the industry – being supported by regulators and third party suppliers – is to provide help to at-risk customers. At the same time, we need to cater to the demand of all customers that can, and do, play with us responsibly. We need to do that with the view of steering them away from the black market. 

“Here is our challenge: can we have an attractive product offering while protecting our customers from the scourge of gambling addiction? The answer, I believe, is a resounding yes. Yes we can, and yes we must.

“Exactly because the answer is a resounding yes, now is a high time that we focus not only on continuous identification of the problem that we’re facing, which itself is very important, but crucially and critically also on how it can be solved.”

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Speaking to CasinoBeats, Ilienkov dives into some of the responsible gaming features available via the Softswiss online casino platform before explaining why interactions between operators and players will undoubtedly evolve in the coming years.

CasinoBeats: The Softswiss online casino platform includes a number of player limits, can you tell us a bit about those? What do these include?

The SOFTSWISS online casino platform uses a number of native responsible gambling tools. Among the available limits are both those determined by the operator, and those initiated by the player, whether that is setting time limits and spending limits in the casino. 

One of the simplest and most common responsible gambling limits is the deposit limit, where a player can cap their deposit sum for a certain period of time: day, week or month. This limit is quite flexible and may be cancelled or changed, the player decides how strict the limit is. 

Loss limits and wager limits are also quite popular and widespread. With the former the player limits the amount they can lose in a casino, while with the latter the player sets a limit on the total sum they can bet over a period of time. 

To control the time spent in a casino, the player can set session limits. The system will then simply log you out and prevent you from logging in when the time limit has expired. A variation of a session limit is one in which the player puts a restriction on the time spent in the casino over a specific period of time. Such limits are obligatory, for example, in Greece. 

In exceptional circumstances there are self exclusion limits, which prevent the player from even logging into their account. While the previous types of limits can be changed in the player account or through a special support chat, the self exclusion limit is available with a permanent exclusion. 

In other words, this means a lifetime ban from the casino. A less extreme option is to take advantage of a cooling off period, which allows a user to log in and be in the account, but blocks the chance to place bets or make deposits.

There are a certain number of responsible gambling limits and tools that are relevant only for casinos operating under the Malta licence and some local licences. For example, the reality check. This is a pop up banner that appears after a certain period of time and shows how much a player has won and lost during the time spent in the casino. It can both be a call to action to take a break from gameplay, or a reminder to be mindful about your betting habits.

Another interesting tool is the ability to block a player automatically across all casinos operating under a particular licence. In participating casinos, the bettor is blocked in all casinos operating on Softswiss online casino platform under, for example, the Malta licence. This happens automatically to eliminate the chance of error and helps to quickly limit a particular user’s access to dozens of casinos at once. This is meant to reduce compulsive behaviour.

CasinoBeats: What was the decision process behind introducing these player limits? 

When talking about responsible gambling we should always consider two aspects of the phenomenon: the player’s responsibility and the operator’s responsibility. For the player, this means having a clear understanding that playing in a casino is a way to have fun, where a nice addition to gameplay might be winning.

We are well aware of the importance of developing the right attitude towards the game. It is best when treated as entertainment and not as a way to make money. So limits are often completely voluntary and are available to everyone without bias. At the same time, they are an important safeguard against detrimental behaviour. 

On the part of the operator, an equally important part of responsible gambling is working with minors. In our case, a lot of resources and time is spent on verifying players and identifying underage players. Teens often perceive casinos as a way to make money, so they are even more susceptible to wanting to play.

Moreover, responsible gambling has long been firmly rooted in local regulation. Casinos are obliged to comply with the laws of the countries in which they operate or are planning to obtain a licence. However, there are advantages in doing so. For example, in Latvia, the regulator gives us access to its self-exclusion database. This way we can block these players from accessing casinos operating on our software platform. This process is automated and the limits come into action quite quickly.

CasinoBeats: Why is it so important that operators are placing responsible gambling at the forefront of their business?

Responsible gambling is first and foremost about mindful interaction between a player and an operator. This is, one might say, the most responsible part of gambling and betting. 

Both the operator and the regulators in various countries and jurisdictions are constantly working to improve existing limits and their conditions. As a result, people should enjoy the game, but not lose their savings. Therefore, observing the rules of responsible gambling in the long run only works to the operators’ advantage: they have fewer interactions with regulators, they receive less player complaints, and overall fraudulent activity is reduced. 

Practice shows that a player who visits a casino for fun is, in the long run, more valuable and important to the operator than someone who has the goal of earning money or is spending too much time in a casino. After all, a legitimate operator aims to make a long-term investment in the business and player care is an essential part of that.

CasinoBeats: Where will the casino industry be in 10 years – how will player protection differ?

This is a complex question to which there is no clear answer. On the one hand, I am sure that the principles of responsible gambling will only become more relevant. The popularisation of responsible gambling, which smooths out the rough edges between players and operators, determines the development and application of various restrictions for at-risk players. 

Limits and regulation are likely to become so flexible and understandable to all that players will have an easier time of managing them on their own and, in the end, playing even more responsibly. Therefore, the interaction between operators and players will undoubtedly evolve. Who will regulate this, and how, is another matter. 

Many countries impose strict regulations on the gambling sector, which is reasonable and understandable. However, these are not standardised rules. They differ from country to country, which creates hardships for casino businesses. Therefore, it seems to me, in terms of  regulation of responsible gambling we have room to grow. 

CasinoBeats: What can we expect from the Softswiss online casino platform in 2022? 

This year we have quite ambitious plans, not only in relation to functional improvements to the Softswiss online casino platform, but also regarding the geographical expansion of our operations. We are now working to make the platform more flexible, giving operators more freedom in terms of customisation and allowing them to make adjustments depending on the characteristics and needs of their casino. 

We also intend to automate many processes, which will let us concentrate on more important and complex tasks. In this case, I’m talking about player verification and cash outs.

Globally, of course, we expect to enter new markets. We are in the process of obtaining several local licences, which will be a welcome addition to existing ones and will particularly please our clients and partners. 

This is one of the main trends of the last few years, so we are working quite hard in this regard. For example, in 2021 Softswiss obtained local licences for Serbia, Greece, and Nigeria. I’m sure 2022 will be just as successful. 

Last but not least it is the development of the crypto casino solution. We see a growing interest in this operation format and are confident that crypto casinos are the future. We have a lot of experience in crypto gambling as Softswiss was the first company to develop a bitcoin optimised casino solution. 

Right now the Softswiss crypto casino solution offers 3,000+ cryptocurrency optimised games from over 40 game providers and the numbers are constantly increasing.

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Forming part of the country’s safer gambling strategy, the initiative has grown significantly since its formation in 2012. 

It has also been integral to a host of regulations that have been brought in to bolster the region’s overall approach to social responsibility.

At the start of 2020, licensed online gambling providers and land-based casinos became obliged to refer to the scheme across all of their gambling products. This practice also became a requirement for land-based betting in 2023. 

When signing up for ROFUS, players are presented with multiple choices on the duration of the self-exclusion period. This varies between 24 hours, one, three or six months. Of these, the most preferred option seems to be six months, with 17 per cent of players going for that compared to the 12 per cent who choose three months. A total of 7 per cent have self-excluded for one month. 

An additional option exists where players can self-exclude permanently. Furthermore, Spillemyndigheden emphasised that this is the predominant choice for Danish players, with 64 per cent – or 32,000 from the total 50,000 signees – opting in for that instead.Another measure to reduce gambling harm in Denmark is the StopSpillet helpline introduced in 2019, since which Spillemyndigheden says has received a total 2,933 inquiries about problematic gambling behaviour – spanning from players, to friends, to family members.

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The measures have been implemented by the casino operator as part of an investment into gambling harm prevention and transparency.

Supported by the Victorian Government’s YourPlay scheme, the carded play technology was rolled out over the past month and is now fully operational at Crown Melbourne.

All guests who use an electronic gaming machine at the casino will be required to obtain a valid Crown Player Card, which helps to track and monitor play and assist players in managing their gambling activity.

Features of carded play include time and spending limits; the ability to track and monitor play and spending; player safety checks with actionable insights for those who may be engaged in prolonged or unsafe gambling; and access to safer gambling support information and resources.

“Crown Melbourne is committed to providing an environment where our guests can enjoy themselves and have confidence in the support and safeguards available to them,” commented Mike Volkert, CEO of Crown Melbourne.

“Through our collaboration with the Victorian Government and our Crown PlaySafe program, carded play provides a roadmap for our industry, and is a significant step forward in realising our shared vision.

“The changes are part of a number of world-leading reforms being implemented across Crown, and we look forward to the positive impact carded play will have on our guests and the broader community.”

Crown PlaySafe was introduced by Crown Resorts earlier this year, a responsible gambling initiative to help reduce gambling harm at its casinos.

PlaySafe introduced new advertising guardrails to reflect updated harm minimisation principles, online self-exclusion across its three Australian resorts, new community partnerships and cashless gaming on electronic table games at Crown Sydney.

The operator noted that mandatory carded play on EGMs at Crown Perth is also in the works.

Ciarán Carruthers, CEO of Crown Resorts, added: “Crown’s ambition is to operate the safest casinos in the world, and we are proud to pioneer this transformative and world-first shift with the introduction of carded play at Crown Melbourne.

“The implementation of carded play begins a new era of transparency and commitment, helping to reshape the gambling landscape and ensure our guests are better able to manage and play within their personal limits.

“Carded play will help to foster a safer, more enjoyable experience for all and revolutionise the way our guests engage with gambling and entertainment.”

Carruthers is reportedly being investigated internally by Crown for overruling security staff and allowing intoxicated players back onto the casino floor after they had been removed. 

The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission has stated that it will review the outcome of the internal probe as well.

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Analysis from EGBA noted that the third annual European Safer Gambling Week – November 13-19 – saw a record number of participants and new highs in safer gambling promotion.

For the third edition of the initiative, several events took place to raise awareness about safer gambling and offer advice to players, alongside a social media campaign spanning Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.

European Safer Gambling Week 2023 had over 160 partners participating across various areas of the gambling industry, including operators, trade associations, harm-prevention organisations, and national gambling authorities.

The initiative was promoted in 20 different countries with a record eight million safer gambling messages across social media, an uptick of 430 per cent in comparison to 2022. Messages included signposting players to resources such as safety tools and tips, translated into over 20 national languages.

“We’re pleased to report that this year’s European Safer Gambling Week was a resounding success, setting new records for participation and engagement across Europe,” noted Maarten Haijer, Secretary General, EGBA.

“From Spain to Latvia, organisations came together throughout the week with the common purpose of raising awareness about safer gambling.

“We’re encouraged by the increased participation and support from a range of stakeholders this year and we believe this reflects a growing recognition of the importance of safer gambling across Europe.”

In addition, 18 local safer gambling-themed events occurred throughout Europe during the week. The events offered a platform for industry experts, academics, harm-prevention organisations, experts by experience, and representatives from various national gambling authorities to share insights and discussions on safer gambling practices, regulation, and research.

Haijer added: “At EGBA, we’re committed to promoting a strong culture of safer gambling, and the discussions we had during the week will help set our agenda for the next year. We’re looking forward to building on this momentum in 2024.”

The Betting & Gaming Council has also recently published data on UK Safer Gambling Week, stating that the promotion of the initiative has increased by 70 per cent year-over-year with more than 50 million social media impressions.

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CasinoBeats: What is the first thing that we should be looking to do when it comes to creating a policy on responsible advertising?

Sergiy Shchelkov: We must ensure that the susceptible users are separated from the responsible ones. The technology that allows it is there, and the policy should consider the well-being of the users that may interact with such advertising. The overall nature of the advertising mustn’t be misleading and must be clearly understood by the end user.

Before creating ads and targeting, it’s crucial to understand why bans occur in different regions. Although these bans may differ by location, they commonly share similar causes:

• It is essential to forbid advertisements that are specifically directed toward children who are below the legal age. 
• It’s important to promote a healthy gambling culture. Encouraging responsible gambling is crucial, so it’s essential to mandate the inclusion of messages promoting it. With such messages, players can make informed choices and avoid the pitfalls of compulsive gambling.
• Ensure that advertising doesn’t exploit vulnerabilities or mislead consumers. 
• Ensure that all advertising complies with legal standards and regulatory guidelines.

To deal with it, I recommend trying advanced targeting techniques: setting audience segmentation criteria to reach users and excluding inappropriate demographics by geotargeting. Also, implement frequency capping to control the number of times a particular user sees a gambling ad within a specific time frame. Epom ad server provides these features, and it helps prevent overexposure and minimise the potential negative impact of ads for our clients. 

CB: Where do we start? Common pitfalls in advertising. Can you give us some examples and ways in which they can be avoided?  

SS: You should start with a clear strategy and act in iterations; never go all in on something new and seemingly exciting. It’s much better to go step-by-step and analyse everything and make incremental changes to make sure that your goals are being reached. The message should be transparent, accurate, and not misleading. 

I want to highlight the main pitfalls I often meet. 

1. You are ignoring the importance of mobile responsiveness and providing a poor user experience in betting advertisements. To avoid it, start by ensuring that all betting advertisements are optimised for mobile devices, providing a seamless and user-friendly experience. Test ads on various devices and screen sizes to identify and address issues. Prioritise fast loading times and easy navigation to enhance user satisfaction. 
2. You are focusing too heavily on portraying unrealistic or exaggerated winning scenarios in advertisements. It’s a really big mistake if you want to advertise responsibly. Pay your attention to this very promptly. Your advertising content has to provide a realistic portrayal of the risks and rewards of betting. Avoid misleading messaging that emphasises only positive outcomes. Strive for transparency and honesty in advertising to build trust with the audience.
3. Ineffective targeting can result in ads being shown to inappropriate audiences, including minors, vulnerable groups, or individuals with gambling-related issues. Use robust targeting features to reach the intended audience while excluding inappropriate demographics. Implement strict age-verification processes. Regularly monitor and analyse ad performance, making adjustments to ensure compliance with regulations and responsible advertising standards.

What steps can we all be taking to reduce the carbon footprint of our advertising?

• Behavioural targeting and personalisation: Optimise the performance of your ads by implementing advanced targeting techniques and personalising them according to the audience’s behaviour and interests. It reduces wasted impressions and minimises unnecessary energy consumption.
• Ad tech optimization: Evaluate and optimise advertising technologies, including ad servers and DSPs, to ensure they operate efficiently and minimise resource consumption.
• Dynamic creative optimization: Use DCO to create personalised ad experiences in real-time, reducing the need for multiple static creatives and potentially lowering overall ad serving costs.
• Programmatic advertising efficiency: Ensure programmatic ad campaigns are optimised for viewability, ad fraud prevention, and other efficiency measures to reduce unnecessary resource usage.
• Ad fraud prevention: Invest in robust ad fraud prevention technologies and practices to reduce wasteful ad impressions and improve the overall efficiency of your advertising campaigns. 

CB: What are your top five tips for creatives when addressing responsible advertising, and why are they important? 

SS: As I mentioned before, the content matters a lot. Clear and appropriate messaging is crucial to ensure the audience understands the content without ambiguity. So, I recommend paying attention to these five tips when creating a campaign for different channels (mostly universal for every region): 

• For search ads, it is vital to feature “18+” clearly in the ad text and prioritise safe gambling messages. 
• Sponsored/paid ads are better for targeting the 25+ demographic. And focus ads on the entertainment aspect of gambling rather than promoting it as a guaranteed way to achieve success or financial gain. 
• Make sure you’re targeting 18+ people and using age-verification mechanisms to keep underage audiences out. 
• If you’re using YouTube content ads for promotion, be sure that all content and channels are rated 18+. Viewers should log into accounts that are age-verified.
• It is best to avoid animation styles resembling kids’ content and cuddly or exaggerated characters, such as animals from fairy tales or gambling nods.  

CB: And finally, what’s the shape of things to come for advertising in the gambling sector? What does the future look like? 

SS: The mobile gambling market is projected to reach $250.4bn by 2027, with an annual CAGR of 17.8 per cent. I highly recommend focusing on mobile ad formats and responsiveness, ensuring a great user-friendly experience. Mobile gambling is especially in high demand in Africa because internet speeds are slow. And the demand continues to grow in this geo. 

GEOs are also expanding in the gambling market. It’s also a significant push to optimise the advertising strategy according to the audience’s interests and requests, providing A/B testing. Epom ad server clients often use this feature by testing campaigns using 30+ ready-to-go ad formats for their ads. 

By the demand of our clients, I’m sure native ads and pushes will be on top for years. Native still converts well and allows adverts to narrow your targeting segments by the geos demographics. Push formats maintain good volumes and adhere to a loyal content policy, making them a must-watch for push traffic, especially with the upcoming Safari update covering iOS users. It’s also a good idea to try new ad formats to attract new players in the competitive advertising space. 

And we have to be ready to face a VR experience in gambling. VR is popular in the gaming sector, so there is room for improving the user experience for betting businesses to add more entertainment to the igaming sector. And, of course, AI will play a key role in enhancing the user experience by tailoring games to individual player preferences and styles. 

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The seventh iteration of the initiative runs from November 13-19, and aims to unite the industry via the promotion of tools and resources available to enable players to stay in control and signposting help and advice to those that need it.  

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

“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.”  

SGW 2023, organised by the Betting and Gaming Council, Bacta, Lotteries Council and Bingo Association, will look to build on “last year’s successful event”.

This saw around 200,000 accounts set deposit limits during the month, an increase of 12.5 per cent year-on-year. In addition, 61  per cent of players set a deposit limit for the first time.  

Furthermore, the event also “smashed previous social media records”, generating nearly 30 million impressions on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, a 21 per cent increase on 2021.  

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.”  

Safer Gambling Week aims to provide 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. 

“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,” commented Michael Dugher, Chief Executive of the BGC. 

“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.”    

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