BGC rolls out festive safer gambling campaign
The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the trade association for the UK gambling industry, has launched a new multimedia campaign to promote safer gambling over the festive period.
The Limits are Good campaign will focus on men aged between 18-34, with the aim of encouraging them to set deposit limits and not overindulge on betting at Christmas.
The campaign will feature a series of short digital films and associated content, each featuring a humorous but thought-provoking social situation where limits are good. Films are now live YouTube and also will be rolled out across various operator channels and in retail locations over the coming weeks.
Throughout the campaign, the BGC will promote a number of new limit-setting tools either launched or redesigned by operators in recent months. Data for the take-up of these tools will be used to help track the success of the campaign.
The BGC will also monitor the number of visits and visitors to deposit limit pages both online and in operator mobile apps.
“We set limits on what we do every day and betting and gaming should be no different,” BGC chairman Brigid Simmonds said. “Over the festive period with so many important sporting events, if people wish to have a bet it’s important not to lose track of how long you spend or the amount you have staked.
“Tools are available online and in betting shops and casinos to help you set your time and spend limits and we encourage everyone to use these. “
Gillian Wilmot, chair of the Senet Group, added: “This campaign draws on real-life gambling behaviours to promote tools which help gamblers stay within self-determined limits.
“Our behavioural research identified that most gamblers maintain a range of informal strategies to maintain control of their gambling. By formalising limit-setting tools, operators can do more to empower their customers to gamble safely.”
The new campaign comes after the BGC last week called for further education for young people and their parents to help combat underage and illegal gambling.
The BGC was responding to a University of Bristol report, which, commissioned by GambleAware, claimed UK young people will have developed regular patterns of play and gambling habits by the age of 20, with more than half of 17 year-olds gambling in some form.