Responsible Gambling Week

For the first time ever, the gambling industry in Great Britain is coming together to support the launch of Responsible Gambling Week. This national, cross-industry awareness campaign will run from 12th – 18th October 2017 and aims to get everyone talking about what it means to gamble responsibly.

Responsible Gambling Week, which is led by the Industry Group for Responsible Gambling (IGRG), will see every sector of the gambling industry in GB taking part (arcades, bingo clubs, bookmakers, casinos and online). This means that over 10,000 gambling venues and online sites and 121,000 employees are set to take part in the biggest ever pan-industry social responsibility campaign.

The theme for this year’s campaign is simply, let’s talk about responsible gambling. All sectors of the gambling industry in GB work constantly to promote responsible behaviour. By coming together with one voice, they want to reach more people and get the country talking about responsible gambling, the tools that are available to keep gambling safe and fun, and where to find help and support for those who need it.

Sir Christopher Kelly, Chair of the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board, said:

Public engagement is one of the twelve priority actions identified in the National Responsible Gambling Strategy. We need to learn from the experience of consumers and their families, and to use this to make gambling safer. So I welcome the theme of IGRG’s Responsible Gambling Week “let’s talk about responsible gambling. Let’s make sure we learn as much as we can from it

John Hagan, Chairman of the Industry Group for Responsible Gambling, said:

Social responsibility is fundamental to the gambling industry’s approach, and we are all dedicated, year-round, to promoting responsible gambling. But what makes this week so special is the whole industry coming together and being vocal about social responsibility – coordinating and sharing the same messages to secure maximum impact.

We want to spark more conversations across all media and in the retail and online environments. Informed and engaging conversations between operators and their customers, amongst customers and between customers and their friends and families about what it means to gamble responsibly. The industry will also be raising awareness of what tools are available to help people gamble responsibly, and will be sharing information on how to access help and support, for those who need it.

Having the whole industry behind Responsible Gambling Week is essential to its success, and we have operators across Great Britain and across all gambling activities taking part. Their full support and involvement is what will make this exciting initiative worthwhile. It is what will help us reach more people than ever before.

To get the message out as far and wide as possible, the industry will be undertaking a range of activities throughout the week, including:

• Displaying posters, leaflets, banners and other information about Responsible Gambling Week in gambling venues, on industry websites and on social media channels, encouraging conversations about gambling responsibly
• Ensuring staff at gambling venues and online sites continue to be points of contact for their customers on how to gamble responsibly
• Working in partnership with the specialist charities, GambleAware and GamCare, to raise awareness about responsible gambling through their websites and communication channels
• Working with GamCare and its partners to establish 22 dedicated information points around Great Britain that will be open to the general public throughout the week
• Hosting online chatrooms and interactive Q&A sessions on social media through dedicated Twitter and Facebook accounts
• Holding a reception in Parliament to help brief politicians on Responsible Gambling Week, what it means to gamble responsibly and how they can share the message with their constituents

To find out more about Responsible Gambling Week visit www.ResponsibleGamblingWeek.co.uk, visit the Facebook page www.facebook.com/RGWeek2017/ or follow on Twitter at @RGWeek2017