Safer Gambling week 2023

The gambling industry is coming together to support Safer Gambling Week. This national, cross-industry awareness campaign will run from 13th – 19th November 2023 and aims to get everyone talking about what is means to gamble responsibly, as well as directing those who need further advice and support to the right point of contact.

Safer Gambling Week, which is led by the licensed gambling industry with support from a wide range of partners will see every sector of the gambling industry in the UK taking part (bookmakers, bingo clubs, casinos and online gaming operators).

With player protection being the driving force behind the gambling reform, Safer Gambling Week is more important than ever.

This year to highlight its significance, Poppleston Allen are kicking off a series of S-A-F-E-R themed posts to help highlight the many aspects of regulation and licensing in gambling.

S – Safety First

With an election looming in the near future, questions are being asked about how many of the White Paper proposals will actually come to fruition. In an article in the latest edition of EGR Global, associate solicitor Imogen Moss predicts protective measures aimed at keeping the public safe will be highest on the government’s list of priorities.

These include the statutory levy, which partner David Inzani recently spoke to EGR about, and an ombudsman scheme, which lead partner in the betting and gaming team Nick Arron spoke with SBC News about earlier in the year.

A – Advertise appropriately

Protecting minors from being targeted by gambling advertising was the key goal of changes to Committee of Advertising Practice guidelines introduced late last year.

A number of operators have come under fire for breaching the rules throughout the course of this year and solicitor Felix Faulkner has become our resident expert on interpreting the guidance. His insight on the topic has been featured regularly in Gambling Insider, EGR, SBC News and iGamingBusiness.

F – Financial risk checks

At the start of the year lead partner in the betting and gaming team Nick Arron predicted that financial risks checks, often referred to as affordability checks, would continue to be a hot topic.

To say he was right is something of an understatement and the team’s view on the topic has frequently been sought by the industry press, with Poppleston Allen featuring in SBC News during Cheltenham Festival, the Racing Post and InterGame Ltd when the White Paper was released and Gambling Insider as the consultation documents came out.

E – Enforcement

There has been no let up in the Gambling Commission’s attempts to drive out bad practice by penalising operators that fall foul of the regulations. The Poppleston Allen team is regularly asked to comment on the penalties imposed by the industry’s regulator.

Partner Richard Bradley was featured in the February edition of EGR in an analysis of Tony Bet’s fine, while the same publication also sought solicitor Felix Faulkner’s view on William Hill’s enormous £19.2m regulatory settlement in March.

Lead partner in the betting and gaming team Nick Arron also gave his views on the licence suspension handed out to InTouch Games in September.

R – Responsible gaming

Making sure players gamble safely is one of the top priorities of our clients and we are regularly asked how businesses can stay on top of all the rules and regulations.

Our advice is always to be proactive and that prevention is better than cure. As partner David Inzani argued in this article for Coinslot, gambling companies should practice good housekeeping if they want to remain compliant. This is particularly true given the guidance on consumer protection has become stronger and more prescriptive, as partner Richard Bradley outlined in detail in a Gambling Insider article last year.

To find out more about Safer Gambling Week visit Safer Gambling Week, visit the Facebook page www.facebook.com/SGWeek or follow-on Twitter at @SGWeek