Safer Gambling Week Sets New Record for Promoting Safer Gambling Tools

Safer Gambling Week 2024 set new records on social media, generating over 60 million impressions across major platforms X, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Data released following this year’s successful campaign – which ran from November 18 to 24 – revealed a huge 21% increase on last year.

Meanwhile, a large number of cross-party senior MPs and peers – including gambling minister Baroness Fiona Twycross and several shadow ministers including the Shadow DCMS Secretary Stuart Andrew MP – also gave their backing to the ground-breaking campaign.

This year’s event also had the full support of the independent regulator, the Gambling Commission and its Chief Executive, Andrew Rhodes.

Among the well-known football clubs to support Safer Gambling Week 2024 were Premier League sides Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Southampton, ensuring millions of fans were reached by Safer Gambling Week’s message.

The campaign also received over half a million visits to the Safer Gambling Week website, which signposts help and advice for those who may be struggling, as well as offering advice on safer gambling tools like deposit limits and time outs.

The aim of Safer Gambling Week, which has now run for eight years, is to kickstart a national conversation between staff, customers and their friends and family, about safer gambling, as well as highlighting the range of tools that are available to help people stay in control of their betting.

BGC Chief Executive Grainne Hurst said: “These outstanding and record-breaking results prove once more that our industry is serious about promoting the safer gambling tools available to customers and signposting the help and support available to those who need it.

“Whilst we await the details on the number of people using safer gambling tools, past years have shown us that an increase in the number of social media impressions has led to an increase in the use of popular tools – like time-outs and deposit limits – that only exist in the regulated industry.

“Thanks to Safer Gambling Week, we can be confident millions of people are better informed about the ways they can safely enjoy their hobby, that’s something the entire industry can be proud of.

“As I said at the beginning of the week, our commitment to safer gambling is not just for one week of the year. It is our mission for every week of the year.”

The Safer Gambling Week campaign, organised by the Betting and Gaming Council, BACTA and the Bingo Association saw a huge push of safer gambling messages both online and in land-based venues, aiming to spark a nationwide conversation about betting responsibly.

The campaign was also supported by a number of events including the EGR Safer Gambling Forum, which provided an opportunity for our industry to share knowledge and best practice on their work on safer gambling, alongside hearing updates from safer gambling charities.

EPIC Global Solutions’ also hosted a live webinar looking into the often-taboo topic of how and why problem gambling issues among women often go under the radar.

Each month around 22.5 million people in Britain enjoy a bet, on the lottery, in bookmakers, casinos, bingo halls and online, and the overwhelming majority do so safely and responsibly.