SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The Senet Group, the industry-led independent body dedicated to raising betting social responsibility standards has called on the sector to adopt a responsible gambling campaign which has demonstrated high levels of engagement with UK audiences.
The body’s “When the Fun Stops, Stop” campaign has now reached an estimated 82% of regular UK gamblers, with 33%, or an indicative 5 million adults confirming that it has helped them gamble more responsibly since the campaign was launched by Senet in 2015, according to independent research conducted last year.
In letters sent today to the heads of all the trade associations representing major high street betting, casino, remote gambling, licensed arcades and bingo operators in the UK, the Senet Group has urged those companies not already carrying the messaging to incorporate it into all industry advertising and promotional channels such as TV, radio, print, outdoor and online.
Senet Group Chair, Gillian Wilmot, commented: “The When the Fun Stops, Stop campaign has proven its ability to connect meaningfully with players and to help tackle problem gambling. Some seven weeks before the football World Cup kicks off in Russia, during which an estimated £1 billion will be wagered in the UK on the competition, the gambling industry has an opportunity to demonstrate its global leadership in self-regulation by uniting behind a powerful responsible messaging campaign.
“Senet’s approach to consumer engagement reflects the lessons learnt by public information campaigns over the past 20 years, that positive messaging is more likely to resonate with our target cohort of young men between the ages of 18 and 24, where research indicates that they are more likely to be problem gamblers.”
Revised guidelines published in March 2018 by the Industry Group for Responsible Gambling (IGRG), now require all UK gambling companies to include a responsible gambling message for the full length of all television adverts from the end of June 2018. The Senet Group’s When the Fun Stops, Stop campaign has been shown to have the highest levels of consumer engagement of any responsibility campaign commissioned by the industry to date. Alongside the main tagline, the campaign also incorporates a series of practical advice such as setting betting limits, avoiding betting if you’re angry or chasing losses.
Marc Etches, Chief Executive of the charity GambleAware, added: “GambleAware welcomes this initiative by the Senet Group to make its advertising material more widely available. We believe that effective collaboration by the industry to promote safer gambling is essential to prevent gambling related harms. GambleAware is leading a new national safer gambling campaign and we are pleased to be working with the Senet Group, the industry and others to build upon and learn from the success of existing campaigns.”
The Senet Group’s When the Fun Stops, Stop campaign is already carried by about 40% of UK gambling companies as measured by sales revenues. Since the campaign launched in 2015, advertising space devoted to the messaging has had an equivalent advertising value of £16 million each year. A figure that is forecast to double under a more widespread use of the campaign material by the sector.
Figures compiled by the sector’s regulator, the Gambling Commission, estimate that 0.7% of the UK population might be problem gamblers, equating to approximately 6.6% of regular gamblers, with a further 3.9% of adults classified at either low or moderate risk. Problem gamblers are known to participate in a diverse range of gambling activities, underlining the importance of a consistent approach to consumer messaging across the sector.
The Senet Group has held the copyright to the When the Fun Stops, Stop campaign since 2015, however it is now waiving certain of these rights to ensure the entire gambling industry can make use of the material without obstacles.
