Safer Gambling Week runs from 16 to 20 November, and companies across the UK industry have set out what they think should change in player protection. Better Change has also teamed up with US training provider RG24seven to offer UK operators a free safer gambling course, covering signs of harm, player interactions, protecting the young and vulnerable, safer gambling tools and crisis interactions.
Operators: make the tools easy to find
Michael Vella, Brand Manager at Genting Casino Online, said data can show patterns in how players use tools, “but it cannot tell us the full story of someone’s circumstances or why they have made a particular choice.” Jack Watson, Brand Manager for Zingo Bingo, said “Safer gambling isn’t a box-ticking exercise for us”.
Dom Aldworth, Head of Brand Marketing at Kinetic Digital, said AI and data analytics can help operators spot risk earlier, adding: “However, technology alone isn’t the answer.”
Payments: the illegal-market data
James Neville, CEO of Yaspa, pointed to new Gambling Commission open banking research. It found that 91% of people who repeatedly used illegal sites also gambled with licensed operators, and that 45% of people on illegal sites scored eight or more on the Problem Gambling Severity Index, compared with 6% on licensed sites. Neville said:
“These vulnerable players haven’t vanished, but operators often only see one piece of their financial picture.”
Yaspa’s own research with the Behavioural Insights Team tested signals with 733 participants and developed more than 50 markers of harm.
Land-based and students
Felix Faulkner, associate solicitor at licensing firm Poppleston Allen, said betting shops and gaming venues head into 2027 facing rising costs, Machine Games Duty changes and evolving licensing expectations. Vivi Friedgut, Founder and CEO of student money platform Blackbullion, said universities should use the week to make sure students know confidential help is available.
Source: Press Box PR.
