Four Organizations That Are Helping Adults Gamble Responsibly Online
Gambling is an activity that a lot of adults have participated in a few times during their lifetime. But for some, it is an activity that is more regular in their lifestyle. It can be an addictive activity for a lot of people so it’s important that vulnerable players can receive the help, advice, and support that they need. Whether operators focus on online casinos or sports betting, each gambling operator in the UK needs to be regulated, licensed, and promote safer gambling practices.
There are also a variety of companies that can help gamblers seek reputable operators to gamble with. The POGG, an online casino reviews site, provides recommendations and reviews on which casinos are suitable for players to visit. They also provide details on which operators they do not recommend and blacklisted casinos that should be avoided. Recently, they also published a beneficial article full of tips on what beginners should know when playing at an online casino.
In the United Kingdom, there is a wide range of organizations that provide people with the appropriate advice and information that gamblers need. There are many that provide their own useful tools, training, resources, and guidance. While there are many organizations dedicated to educating people about gambling harms and risks, here are just four that are helping vulnerable adults at the moment.
Useful Tools & Organizations
The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC)
https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk
The UKGC was set up under the Gambling Act 2005 to regulate commercial gambling in Great Britain. Over the years, the organization has made huge efforts to protect vulnerable customers and regulate gambling activities. As of April last year, the organization also helped to implement a ban on credit cards for gambling.
In the UK, when a casino operator is licensed with the UKGC, they have a certain set of responsibilities that they have as a business that provides gambling to customers. One part of these responsibilities involves promoting responsible gambling and having a social responsibility to protect people from harms related to gambling. There is a range of safer gambling requirements set out by the UKGC, but here are a few:
- Self-exclusion: Responsible gambling is concerned with the protection of vulnerable gamers. Therefore, if players wish to take steps to stop their gambling, then operators must provide self-exclusion options for them.
- Interacting with customers: Operators must try to prevent gambling harms to players by identifying vulnerable players who are at risk. Businesses must identify who is at risk and interact with them to help reduce the risk.
- Prevention of underage gambling: UKGC licensed operators should have policies in place to prevent underage gambling. Operators should check the ages of customers, refuse service of a customer with a child in adult restricted premises, and more, and should monitor policy effectiveness.
BetBlocker
Founded in 2017, BetBlocker is a useful free tool that can help gamblers control their gambling activities. As the name suggests it blocks players from gambling and it can block them on over 13613 gambling websites. Gamblers can install BetBlocker on as many devices as they want and can decide how long they would like to be blocked for too. The organization relies on community contributions and donations to help develop the app.
When using self-restriction with BetBlocker, there is a wide range of options that gamblers can select and activate. Players can restrict themselves for short periods of time such as 24 hours, 2 days, 1 week, or even longer periods of time such as 3 months, 1 year, or forever if they wish. While players can extend their selected restrictions, they cannot remove a self-restriction and must wait until the restriction period has ended.
- Available on a wide range of devices: A ‘beta version’ of the free tool is available to download on many different devices. Currently, BetBlocker is available as an app with iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux, and Fire OS.
- Used for self-exclusion or parental control: This tool can be used in two different ways; self-exclusion for problem gamblers or parental control for parents. Although the tool is primarily for gamblers restricting their own access to gambling sites, parents who worry about what their children are looking at online can use the tool too.
Safer Gambling
Another useful organization in the United Kingdom is Safer Gambling. This organization is committed to helping players manage their gambling and understand the risks associated with it. Their website holds a range of beneficial information for players and outlines safety tips and warning signs that they should be aware of.
Their website and social media channels provide a variety of information that can help educate people about gambling and the harms that are associated with it. Like many UK gambling help organizations, Safer Gambling also promotes the free national helpline for players who need advice. This organization also dedicates a week every year, Safer Gambling Week, which is a cross-industry initiative that is dedicated to promoting safer gambling.
- Safer Gambling Week: During SGW every year, a range of promotional material is shared with a variety of advice, support, and key information on gambling. The purpose of the week is to create a conversation around gambling and drive awareness of safe gambling, sources for support, and useful tools that are available.
- Provides training for organizations: On their website, Safer Gambling also provides training materials and resources for individuals and organizations. In their training section, they have a range of resources for professionals, teachers, parents, universities, and more.
BeGambleAware
BeGambleAware is another useful organization in the UK and is funded by GambleAware. Gamble Aware commissions treatment and prevention services across England, Scotland, and Wales, with agencies and organizations such as the NHS. The primary mission of BeGambleAware is to keep people safe from gambling harms and helps them make informed decisions about their gambling by providing them with educational information.
Like other organizations in the UK, BeGambleAware provides a range of useful information, advice, and support on their website. There are useful sections on their website dedicated to finding the right support, support during Covid-19, how to help yourself, and how to help someone who gambles. Their website and socials also promote people’s real-life gambling stories on how gambling affected them and how they overcame their gambling addiction.
- 24/7 advice & support: There is support available at BeGambleAware’s website that is provided by the National Gambling Treatment Service. If people are struggling and need help and advice, advisers are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, on both a helpline and live online chat.
- Bet Regret: One of the campaigns that BeGambleAware is promoting at the moment is ‘Bet Regret’. The campaign encourages people to stop and think things through when participating in gambling. It suggests people should tap out of betting apps to think things through first to avoid bet regret and making rash decisions.
This article has been published in accordance with Socialnomics’ disclosure policy.
