SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
GambleAware has highlighted the real-life concerns of gambling addicts by launching its new public-impact campaign developed by Lucky Generals.
Branded as ‘clouds,’ the campaign sees GambleAware erect the Perspex-glassed message of “Gambling clouded everything I did”. The message is gradually obscured by smoke to convey the emotions of those who have experienced gambling addiction.
The visual campaign was launched this week at Birmingham city centre. It is a strategic move by GambleAware to alert Birmingham, which currently has 38,000 adults (55% higher than the UK average) experiencing “problem gambling” – the most severe level of gambling harm.
The campaign is the latest from GambleAware’s “Let’s open up about gambling” brand platform, which aims to reduce the stigma surrounding gambling harms.
As cited by Alexia Clifford, Chief Communications Officer at GambleAware, to Campaign UK: “Gambling can be addictive, and gambling harm can happen to anyone. That’s why our stigma campaign is so important, and we’re really proud of the positive impact this work has already had.
“This latest phase in Birmingham will build on that success and encourage anyone worried about how gambling makes them feel to reach out for free help and support available by searching GambleAware.”
In 2023, GambleAware appointed Lucky Generals as its lead creative marketing agency, tasked with initiating a new approach to raise awareness of problem gambling harms and support for vulnerable audiences.
Under Lucky General, GambleAware launched its high-impact ‘Reach Out’ campaign to portray the wide range of problems, including mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, breakdown of relationships, and financial struggles that victims of gambling harm can experience.
Nick Bird and Lee Smith, creative directors at Lucky Generals, said: “Our work with GA has always been based on speaking to people with lived experience of gambling harms. One of the key difficulties that came up repeatedly was how gambling harms cloud every aspect of someone’s life. We wanted to find a way to bring that feeling to life in a disruptive and visually arresting way.”
