BGC spokesperson Wes Himes shares insights on the gambling industry under the current national lockdown in exclusive interview with Online Bingo

Wes Himes at the BGC praises the success of the measures ensuring gambling remains safe and responsible, throughout this lockdown and beyond.

• Bingo comparison site Online Bingo releases exclusive interview with Wes Himes of the BGC
• Himes speaks of the successes of the BGC regarding its safer gambling tools
• He asserts that casino venues were safe for reopening during the tier system put in place late last year
• The BCG will continue to work with the government to ensure that land-based venues can reopen when possible
• Himes expresses confidence in the regulations venues have in place to protect players from over gambling during the pandemic

In a two part series, Hannah Timoney of Online Bingo interviewed Wes Himes, Executive Director of Standards and Innovation of the BGC, to discuss the successes of the BGC and its continued mission to raise awareness for gambling harm.

In the first of the two interviews, https://onlinebingo.co.uk/news/interview-with-wes-himes-bgc, Himes discussed the success of the BGC since its foundation, and how the aims of the standards body have changed since the effects of coronavirus and lockdown shook the industry.

He talked about the BGC’s “extraordinarily positive feedback” over the year and praised the BGC’s implementation of new safer gambling tools, such as the whistle-to-whistle ban and the ad-tech code which increased the sensitivity level for access to age-related products on social media. He also hints that “there will be a number of other measures coming out around bonuses”, though did not share what that could entail.

The second interview focused on the national lockdowns. https://onlinebingo.co.uk/news/interview-with-wes-himes-part-2 Most notably, Himes spoke on the BGC’s call for land-based casinos to reopen during the tier system late last year, which he justified by insisting that casinos had “invested a tremendous amount of time and resources” into putting precautionary measures in place which were sufficient enough to mitigate infection risks.

He assures us these measures will continue if and when land-based venues are allowed to reopen, which he is eager to happen, saying “We are committed to continuing to explore with the government, as and when the time comes, what we can do to ensure that those premises can open.“

He went on to express confidence in the regulations venues have in place to protect players from over gambling, whether that behaviour is caused by the stresses of the pandemic or not. He says “these are the types of measures that we continue to raise standards on, these do help provide a very safe environment of play to the customers.”

Editor of Online Bingo, Max Wright, says “We’re thrilled to be able to speak to important members of the industry like Wes, and offer our readers some deeper context into issues like tackling problem gambling and improving legislation, which can sometimes be portrayed in an entirely negative light by the wider media.”

Online Bingo will continue to provide our audience of bingo and slots fans with informed insights from important gambling industry figureheads in order to shine a light on the decision making that affects gameplay and protects players from harm.