The Chief Executives (CEOs) of the leading gambling companies in the UK have announced a package of Safer Gambling Commitments to address the harm gambling can cause to customers and young people. They have pledged to deliver long-term and fundamental changes in how gambling companies are run in the UK and how they empower, protect and support their customers.
The Safer Gambling Commitments represent the most comprehensive set of measures from the widest group of leaders across the sector to support the UK Gambling Commission’s National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms.
One of the first actions under the new Safer Gambling Commitments is to support a new four-year national campaign to educate young people, which will be shaped and delivered by YGAM and GamCare. Working together with young people, their parents, families and the youth professional workforce to improve awareness and understanding of the risks associated with gambling.
“These Commitments are a starting point. This cannot be done alone and relies on collaborating closely with stakeholders. Constructive partnerships with charities, support providers, academia, industry peers, government and others are key to delivery.“
The five commitments:
- Prevent underage gambling and protect young people: prevent underage gambling on their platforms and introduce the most effective protections for early stage customers of any age-restricted product category
- Increase support for treatment of gambling harm: support the scaling up of treatment services across the UK by recognised treatment providers as part of a long-term strategic plan
- Strengthen and expand codes of practice for advertising and marketing: develop and adopt the highest standards in marketing and advertising codes of conduct
- Protect and empower our customers: introduce new player protections in product design and customer engagement, making it easier for people to gamble safely
- Promote a culture of safer gambling: create a positive culture within both their businesses and the industry, where safer and well-controlled gambling is the norm
To ensure transparency, the signatories have committed that the Safer Gambling Commitments will be regularly and publicly reported on, with an independent monitoring and evaluation process consistent with the best practice approach used by public bodies, including the Gambling Commission, HM Treasury and UK Evaluation Society.
YGAM’s CEO Lee Willows, comments: “All of us at YGAM fully support the long-term safer gambling commitments and the strategic approach to protecting customers and young people and feel that the transparent way in which this programme will be reported on and evaluated is helpful to aid public understanding of its impact and further raise awareness. We are also delighted to be working with GamCare, the partnership will enable us to share insight, expertise, resources and co-ordinate efforts to maximise impact and deliver a national education programme that will raise awareness of the risks of gambling as well as help build digital resilience among young people.”
Commenting on the partnership with YGAM, Anna Hemmings, Chief Executive of GamCare, said:
“The commitment to meet GamCare’s Safer Gambling Standard and to work towards achieving our Advanced Level accreditation will drive a step-change in industry standards. We are also delighted to be working alongside YGAM to deliver our shared aspirations for youth education around gambling and the harms it can cause. Education is essential to ensuring that young people understand the risks and are able to make informed decisions about their participation in these activities.”
To find out more visit http://safergamblingcommitments.co.uk/
