Irresponsible gambling is a big risk, but the industry is changing those odds
Yesterday, we launched the biggest ever campaign to promote responsible gambling. More than 127,000 staff in over 11,000 gambling venues in the UK and Ireland – encompassing bookmakers, casinos, arcades, bingo clubs and online gambling websites – are currently taking part in Responsible Gambling Week.
The aim is to spark a national dialogue about what it means to gamble responsibly – conversations not just between operators and customers, but also between customers and their families and friends.
We want to make people more self-aware of their gambling behaviour, to tell them about responsible gambling tools to help keep their habit safe and fun, and, if they need support or advice, to refer them to the charity GambleAware.
With the gambling industry under close political scrutiny, I can understand why cynics might claim that Responsible Gambling Week is more about public relations than driving behavioural change. Nothing could be further from the truth, but this criticism is indicative of the industry’s tarnished reputation at present.
As a lawyer who has spent two decades at a city law firm advising the gambling industry, I have witnessed a sea-change in the collective mindset in recent years.
Responsible gambling is a standing agenda item for board meetings, staff are being trained to interact with customers who may be at risk of harm, and operators are investing in technology to help identify uncharacteristically risky behaviour on websites and machines and to enable customers to set their own limits on deposits and stakes.
As an industry, we now understand that no operator can expect to have a sustainable long-term future without putting a commitment to responsible gambling at the heart of its business.
The fact that every faction of the industry has put aside past differences to come together to drive this campaign and agree common messaging tells its own story. By speaking together with one voice, they can have maximum impact.
Everyone who now has a problem with their gambling is someone who once thought that they did not. That’s why the campaign is targeted at the widest possible audience, both regular customers and occasional players.
The slogan “Let’s Talk About Responsible Gambling” is designed to trigger conversations in gambling venues – about setting budgets and time limits, taking regular breaks, not chasing losses, and not putting gambling before family or friends – but it is not confined to them.
The message that gambling is not the answer to any problem is also being shared this week by leading football clubs, racecourses, on billboards at London Underground stations, and across social networks.
We want the hashtag #RGWeek18 to be the focal point of the campaign, and the easiest way to access down-to-earth, practical advice.
Gambling is a highly regulated industry, and levels of problem gambling are statistically stable.
But there is absolutely no room for complacency. The ambition must always be to lower those numbers, and this week shows how serious the industry is about the mission to ensure gambling that is always responsible.