EGBA welcomes participation in European Safer Gambling Week 2024
The European Gaming and Betting Association saw more partners and regulatory authorities engage with the campaign.
Belgium.- The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) appears to have had success in its attempts to expand the presence and awareness of Safer Gambling Week in Europe. Now adopting the same dates as UK Safer Gambling Week, the fourth annual initiative ran from18 to 24 November and features events and a social media campaign.
The EGBA said 195 partners participated in the campaign, a rise of 20 per cent from 2023. The EGBA said this showed a growing commitment to safer gambling among European gambling operators. Meanwhile, eight national authorities either joined the social media campaign or took part as speakers at events – more than double the number last year.
Safer Gambling Week expands to more countries
The EGBA said this year’s initiative, which included the promotion of responsible gambling practices and safe play, expanded to 26 countries, an increase of 30 per cent from 2023. New participants included operators from Croatia, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine for the first time. It suggests that this geographic expansion was aided by the provision of graphics for social media in the local languages of 27 countries.
Speaking of social media, the EGBA says the campaign reached 3.1 million users across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X. There were 1,169 social media posts, a rise of 67 per cent year-on-year.
As for the events 3,000 attendees took part in 20 events, which saw discussions on emerging trends in artificial intelligence, reporting problem gambling prevalence and innovations in safer gambling tools and messaging. Together, the events featured 105 speakers, including senior representatives from gambling regulators in Belgium, Denmark, France and the UK.
“The initiative builds on the EGBA members’ ongoing commitment to safer gambling, highlighted by the 67 million safety messages sent to European customers in 2023. The dedicated week amplifies these efforts and fosters collaboration between operators, regulators, and harm prevention organisations,” the EGBA said.
EGBA secretary general Maarten Haijer added: “The success of this year’s edition reflects the sector’s deepening commitment to player protection. The significant increase in participation, especially from health organisations and regulatory authorities, demonstrates the common purpose and growing unity in our approach to safer gambling.
“Through this collaboration, we’ve reached a record number of Europeans with crucial safety messages during the campaign. Together, we’re making gambling safer and we already look forward to building on this success in next year’s edition.”
Meanwhile in the UK, the Betting and Gaming Council has said that 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. Football clubs including Premier League sides Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Southampton took part in the initiative.
It was the eighth year of the campaign in the UK, where it is organised jointly by the Betting and Gaming Council, BACTA and the Bingo Association.
