Slot Gods set to support Safer Gambling Week 2021
Safer Gambling 2021 sees slot sites highlight tools available to curb potential problem gambling
This year Slot Gods are delighted to support Safer Gambling Week 2021, a national campaign revolving around safe and responsible gambling that runs from Monday 1st November until Sunday 7th November.
The longstanding yearly event is an industry-led campaign that sees a number of slot sites, slot developers, bookmakers, bingo clubs and casinos start conversations with their customers, staff and the wider public about how to stay safe and be responsible when gambling.
What does Safer Gambling Week 2021 raise awareness of?
Ultimately, Safer Gambling Week aims to get everyone talking about safe and responsible gambling as a whole, however, this year there is a particular focus on getting people to understand and discover the tools that are available to help people to gamble safely all year round.
In addition to promoting safer gambling tools, the campaign aims to inform players across the United Kingdom and Ireland how they can gamble more safely as well as point them in the direction of independent advice and support.
BGC launches 'Take time to Think' message
In the lead up to Safer Gambling Week 2021 the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the standards body representing betting shops, casinos and iGaming officially launched a brand new safer gambling message.
The new message ‘Take Time To Think’ will immediately replace ‘When The Fun Stops, Stop’ as the regulated industry’s key safer gambling message, marking a change in direction for the industry.
‘Take Time To Think’ was selected by the BGC because it is simple, not negatively framed, thought-provoking, easily actionable, memorable and promoted self-reflection, therefore it's more likely to have a broader appeal to players of all types.
This new message mirrors Safer Gambling Week's key goals with regards to informing the public about safer gambling tools.
How to gamble more safely
Gambling can be a lot of fun when done safely and responsibly, here are some key tips highlighted during this years Safer Gambling Week campaign that ensure you're doing so:
- Don't spend more than you can afford to spend on gambling.
- Use safer gambling tools to control both time and money spent online.
- Don't let gambling interfere with your personal relationships.
- Take regular breaks when gambling online.
- Don't chase your losses.
Key behaviours of problem gambling
Gambling addiction can creep up on anyone regardless of their background or mindset. so it's incredibly important to be able to spot the signs of problem gambling early on. Here are just a few signs that it may be time to take break:
- Hiding your gambling habits from those around you.
- Borrowing money from others to fund your gambling.
- Chasing losses by upping your stake.
- Only enjoying gambling when playing at a high stake.
- Feeling angry, anxious or depressed about your gambling habits.
If any of these points resonate with you (or someone you know) then you should consider seeking help or utilising safer gambling tools.
Tools that are available to help you gamble more safely
There are a number of safer gambling tools offered by reputable, regulated slot sites that will put players in the driving seat when playing their favourite online slots, these are as follows:
Time Limits
Players can set time limits that mean they can only play online slots and casino games for a set amount of time, when they reach the time limit they must take a break.
Reality Check tool
The Reality Check tool is a pop-up that can be enabled which informs players how much money they've gambled, and how much they've lost (or won) over a set period of time.
Cooling off periods
If players wish to take a short break from gambling (for between 24 hours and a week) they can activate a cooling off period. This stops players from logging into their account and playing online slots and casino games.
Temporary exclusions
A temporary exclusion will see players barred from accessing their account for anywhere between 1 and 3 months.
Self-exclusions
Self-exclusion is the most drastic measure a player can take to stop them from gambling. Self-excluding from a site can see them barred from their account for anywhere between 6 months and 5 years.
Sources of advice and support
If you have any worries about problem gambling you can refer to our responsible gambling page that has the details of multiple organisations that can help with addiction and debt.
In addition to the above, our responsible gambling page also has the details of software players can utilise to manage their gambling habits such as GAMSTOP, GamBlock and GamBlock.
Players can call the National Gambling HelpLine – Call FREE on 0808 8020 133.