BETTER CHANGE
The future of Safer Gambling
In a year that promised seismic change in the field of safer gambling, Better Change’s engagement director, Rob Mabbett, reflects on the past 12 months and wonders… what has actually happened?
s the weather is cooling, I would like to give you a warm welcome you to this month’s Better Change article. In a year that has promised seismic change in the field of safer gambling I am sat here enjoying the comfort of a hot coffee (not the pumpkin spiced variety) on a fresh autumnal morning reflecting on the year and thinking, what has actually happened this year?
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For once in my 12 years in gambling I can probably say that the world of safer gambling has probably been one of the more stagnant areas of our industry. Amidst the excitement of new markets opening up around the world, the introduction of innovative new products to the market and the usual hustle of mergers and acquisitions there is a conspicuous silence where there once was a lot of noise regarding how best to keep our customers safe. There are a number of reasons for this, that in my opinion, inform us of what the future
18 NOVEMBER 2024
may look like for safer gambling. Keeping players safe will always be a key part of running a good business but we have to be realistic in terms of resource and the needs of the customer.
AN INDUSTRY RETICENCE TOWARDS SAFER GAMBLING. It’s not that we don’t care, far from it, but as regulation continues to impose tighter restrictions especially around spend thresholds and stake limits you have to ask the question what next? There will come a point where regulation exceeds safer gambling, by that I mean that we will have such tight controls that achieving the bare minimum in terms of compliance leaves little resource and little need (not to mention little motivation) to go above and beyond to protect players. If our strategy to prevent gambling harm, is to simply prevent gambling in the hope that it
will catch those who may be at risk of harm by imposing mandatory checks at low thresholds then we are doomed to failure. Bringing tens of thousands of people into an “at risk” category when they are not at risk is a false economy. Managing the influx of people in this bracket comes at a cost, it is de- motivating for your colleagues and your customers, it makes finding those with a genuine need of support more difficult and it stigmatises gambling to a point that where it becomes less likely that those who need help will speak out.
THERE IS A PREJUDICE TOWARDS THE GAMBLING INDUSTRY. There has been increased funding and resource thrust at safer gambling in the past few years and the rates of problem gambling seem to be at worst stable and at best falling so good news all round then! Well,
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