BGC hails record coverage of UK Safer Gambling Week 2024
The Betting and Gaming Council says #SGWeek2024 posts gained over 60 million impressions.
UK.- The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has published what has become something of an annual tradition by now: the news that the latest Safer Gambling Week campaign achieved more online impressions than ever before. The industry lobby group says Safer Gambling Week 2024 content, which used the hashtag #SGWeek2024, achieved 60 million impressions on X (Twitter), Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
That figure would be a rise of 21 per cent against last year. Content promoted the use of safer gambling tools, intervention and treatment services. Football clubs including Premier League sides Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Southampton took part in the initiative.
Meanwhile, the Safer Gambling Week website, which links to help and provides advice on safer gambling tools like deposit limits and time-outs, receive over half a million visits. This was the eighth year of the initiative, which has since been implemented in Europe. In the UK, the initiative is organised jointly by the Betting and Gaming Council, BACTA and the Bingo Association.
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.”
Latest UK gambling reforms
UK gambling minister Baroness Twycross has confirmed a statutory levy on gambling revenue to fund the research, education and treatment (RET) of gambling harms. The levy will come into force in April 2025.
The levy will be set at 1.1 per cent of gross gambling yield (GGY) for online gambling operators and suppliers, 0.4 per cent for betting shops and land-based casinos and suppliers, and 0.1 per cent for land-based arcades, bingo operations and society lotteries, including External Lottery Managers and local authority lotteries licensed by the Gambling Commission.
Meanwhile, new online slot stake limits apply from the start of December following the end of a transition period. The limits are £5 for those aged over 25 and £2 for those aged 18 to 24, as proposed in a consultation last year.
