Safer Gambling Week 2020

This year is the fourth annual Responsible Gambling Week, but after the success of last year's event, the campaign has been rebranded. Running from November 19th - 25th, Safer Gambling Week 2020 aims to raise awareness of responsible and safe gambling habits and ignite a dialogue between customers and the industry about making an honest assessment of your gambling and making sure you have the tools to help control it.

Online Bingo also is proud to announce its new industry-leading responsible gambling hub, a portal to access the entirety of our resoponsible gambling guides, tools and industry updates that can be found further down this page.

What is Safer Gambling Week?

The week aims to educate the public on how to gamble responsibly, which it does by highlighting what tools are available to promote a safer, responsible relationship with gambling. Operators, affiliates and game providers will also be releasing information about where to access more sources of advice and support.

During the week, whether you’re visiting your favourite online casino site or an affiliate site like ours you should see a push to promote responsible gambling content, and this year Online Bingo has pushed even further to provide you with the most comprehensive and in-depth responsible gambling resource out there. 

What are we doing to help?

This year we decided to take a more outward look at the concept of responsible gambling, so we looked to see what other voices are out there are and get an insight into what is happening in the world of safer gambling all year round.  

We have conducted interviews with three industry experts and thought leaders to learn more about the pressing issues of responsible gambling in 2020 in an effort to bring the best responsible gambling content to our readers, to help them make honest and informed decisions about their gambling habits. 

We will be releasing these three interviews over the course of Safer Gambling Week 2020, and we will be sharing other stories and messages relating to responsible gambling issues too.

Check out our Safer Gambling Week 2020 interviews

• Friday 20th - Paul Pettigrew, founder of GamTalk
• Monday 23rd - Dr Minal Jain, creator of RecoverMe
• Wednesday 25th - Dr David Zendle, researcher into loot boxes and gambling

Our responsible gambling hub

We don’t just care about safe gambling one week of the month, so as a part of our responsible gambling policy we regularly release responsible gambling guides to keep our readers informed and in good stead to make the best decisions when gambling. 

We have collected all of our responsible gambling content from across the whole of Online Bingo and put it into one handy hub page for you, right here. From bank guides to responsible gambling guides, self-exclusion schemes to problem gambling services, we have information on all the best ways for you to control your spending and ensure you gamble safely and enjoyably. Check it out below! 

Responsible gambling guides

Here at Online Bingo, keeping players safe and secure is a big concern of ours. Gambling is a fun pastime for many, but problem gambling can be a risk. We have put together a whole host of guides on different aspects of responsible gambling to ensure that you have all the information you need to make sensible decisions and keep gambling fun and safe.

• How to gamble responsibly
• What does responsible gambling mean?
• The four degrees of gambling separation
• What's the difference between setting a deposit limit and self-excluding?
• If you’re gambling in isolation, do it responsibly
• How to help someone with a gambling problem
• Can gambling addiction ever be cured?
• Can gambling affect your benefits?
• Will gambling affect my mortgage application?
• Does gambling affect your credit score?

Responsible gambling tools

It’s easier to control your gambling when you know what services are out there to help you. And luckily there are many tools and services available to help you gamble safely and enjoyably. Check out our guides on controlling your spending with your bank and other services to help manage problem gambling. 

• How to set limits on your gaming
• How can you keep track of time when you are gambling?
• A beginner's guide to GamStop
• How does GamStop work?
• How does BetBlocker work?
• How banks are helping fight gambling addictions
• How to block online gambling transactions with your bank
• Using Starling's gambling controls
• Using Monzo's gambling controls
• HSBC reveals gambling transaction block options
• RecoverMe gambling addiction app now available to download

Opinion pieces

Sometimes it is important for us to touch on issues of responsible gambling with our own thoughts and opinions, and we encourage criticism of the industry and the Gambling Commission if we feel there is an injustice or any unfair treatment. Check out our opinion pieces below.

• Is the National Lottery getting a free ticket?
• ‘Technicalities’ are exposing children to gambling
• Grand Theft Auto 5's online casino is an unregulated success
• Are video game publishers unregulated gambling companies?
• The National Lottery is exposing teenagers to gambling

Loot Boxes

Loot boxes are a new paid mechanic found in video games readily available to children. As they become more prominent, their link to problem gambling has come into question. Check out our content covering loot boxes to find out more about this novel mechanic and decide for yourself whether they should be regulated as gambling. 

• The loot box debate
• Could loot boxes be classed as gambling in 2020?
• EA faces a lawsuit in response to ultimate team ‘loot boxes’
• House of Lords say loot boxes should be regulated "immediately"
• Are loot boxes gambling? Now you can have your say!

Industry updates & health check

We are committed to bringing our readers up to date information on the industry, and to provide an easy to understand explanation on the latest news. Check out our articles on industry updates to make sure you stay in the loop and are aware of any changes that can affect the way you gamble responsibly. 

• A brief history of UK Gambling laws
• GambleAware say bank blockers need to be standardised
• GamStop is to be mandatory for all online gambling sites
• Study finds that setting deposit limits mean gamblers lose less
• "When the fun stops" slogan declared ineffective by university study
• SMF calls for gamblers to prove they can afford losses
• Slot autoplay and quick spin features could be for the chop
• Big changes are coming to slot games in the UK
• Survey suggests the public are turning against gambling
• Proposed £2 stake limit panics gambling investors
• UK MPs call for £2 stake limit for online casinos
• New regulation changes for UK bingo sites
• Gambling Commission acts to improve gambling fairness and safety
• Gambling Commission increases gambling safeguards with Samaritans
• New Gambling Commission age and verification rules in effect
• Gambling operators found advertising to children online
• New report highlights gambling addiction’s role in crime
• Credit cards are now banned on online gambling sites
• Gambling credit card ban officially announced
• Gambling Commission report reveals how UK children are exposed to gambling
• Gamesys to pay £1.2m for social responsibility and AML failures
• GVC pushes for complete ban on gambling ads
• Gambling Commission hits Stride Gaming with 7.1m fine
• UK sites ordered to stop advertising "childish" slot games
• LeoVegas ordered to pay penalty fine after failing vulnerable gamblers
• William Hill fined £6.2m for breaching responsibility rules
• Are you aware that you’re gambling?
• The new safer gambling initiative
• National Lottery minimum age could increase to 18
• Should the National Lottery be an 18 and over only product?