BGC CEO: Safer Gambling Week ‘deserves support, not spite’

The annual Safer Gambling Week, a cross-industry initiative promoting responsible gambling in the UK and Ireland, kicked off on 18 November and will run until 24 November.

Now in its seventh year, the campaign aims to increase awareness about safer gambling practices. It also encourages those facing gambling-related challenges to seek support from organisations such as GamCare and GambleAware. 

A wide array of gambling operators across the industry are participating, actively highlighting the tools available to help customers stay in control of their gambling habits.

These tools include deposit limits, time limits, and self-exclusion measures, underscoring the industry’s collective commitment to prioritising customer well-being. 

Grainne Hurst, the new CEO of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), marked the occasion by addressing industry stakeholders in an open letter.

She underscored the week’s importance as an opportunity to unite all parties within the sector around a shared mission: to enhance the profile and practice of safer gambling. 

Hurst emphasised that this overwhelming majority of responsible gamblers reflect the effectiveness of industry-led initiatives to promote safe practices.

She said: “It is such a shame then, when anti-gambling campaigners, who oppose anything and everything our members do, treat Safer Gambling Week with such disdain. Safer Gambling Week works, any impartial observer would agree, and it deserves support, not spite.”

In support of her claims, Hurst pointed to data from the NHS Health Survey for England, which found that only 0.4% of the adult population struggles with gambling-related problems.

She contrasted this figure with concerns surrounding other industries, noting that such low percentages are a benchmark many sectors can only aspire to achieve. 

More room for improvement

However, Hurst also acknowledged that there is always room for improvement. Over the past four years, members of the BGC have voluntarily contributed over £170m toward combating problem gambling and related harm.

These funds have been allocated to prevention programmes, support services, and awareness campaigns, including Safer Gambling Week. 

A critical aspect of the campaign is equipping customers with the knowledge and tools necessary to enjoy betting as a leisure activity without losing control. These include measures like deposit caps and time management systems, which are prominently promoted throughout the week.

Hurst noted that such tools are absent in unregulated and unsafe gambling environments, a growing concern for the industry.

Research commissioned recently by the BGC revealed that 1.5 million people in the UK wager an estimated £4.3bn annually on unregulated black-market gambling platforms.

Unlike licensed operators, these sites often lack safeguards for responsible gambling and do not participate in campaigns like Safer Gambling Week. 

Hurst also stressed that the commitment to safer gambling extends far beyond this annual initiative. The dedication of the 109,000 individuals working across the regulated industry fuels ongoing efforts to raise standards and promote sustainability, she said.

While Hurst appeared optimistic about the progress made, she also called for continued vigilance against misinformation from critics of the industry. She argued that unfairly targeting regulated operators undermines the substantial efforts being made to address gambling-related harm. 

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