Safer Gambling Week 2023 provides opportunities to reflect on how the concept has progressed

As Safer Gambling Week (November 13-19) commences, EPIC Risk Management will be taking time throughout the week to reflect on where safer gambling has progressed over the past decade, and where it may potentially continue to evolve in the years ahead.

Recognised on a UK-wide level as Safer Gambling Week (#SGWeek23) and on a continent-wide basis as European Safer Gambling Week (#ESGW23), the awareness period allows every organisation with a passion for reducing gambling-related harm to showcase the ongoing methods that are in place to minimise risk and increase safety.

As a result, we are engaging with numerous trusted partners and clients over the course of the week to share their views on what the concept of safer gambling means to them, where they have seen industry-wide improvements in the ten years since EPIC was founded in 2013, and how we may still be able to improve ‘SG’ practices for the benefit of everyone.

A key figure in EPIC’s delivery of safer gambling training and consultancy is Dave Sproson, head of safer gambling, who previously worked within the gambling industry following his own lived experience of serious gambling-related harm, and he has seen a definite progression in the approach to SG within the past decade.

“When I first got into the gambling industry nearly a decade ago, there was very little in terms of safer gambling,” he admitted.

“It’s incredible to see just how far as an industry we have come in the last ten years, from safer gambling being barely an afterthought to operators having mammoth-sized teams dedicated to the early detection and prevention of harm.

“Safer Gambling Week is a week of collaboration, of sharing success and failure stories. As an industry, we have far more to gain when sharing best practices and promoting a ‘collaboration not competition’ mindset.

“Whether you work directly for an operator, as a treatment provider or a consultant, it’s in all of our best interests to work together and ensure a sustainable industry for the future.”

Throughout Safer Gambling Week, EPIC will be highlighting the thoughts of both our team and partners on safer gambling via a series of video content, thought pieces and selected quotes, which will appear on our social networking platforms during the heightened awareness period.

We will also be hosting a special webinar on ‘The Evolution of Safer Gambling’, which begins at 4pm GMT/11am ET on Thursday 16th November, featuring our harm prevention managers Craig Cornforth and Alan Smart alongside programme facilitators Patrick Chester and Ryan Tatusko.

They will evaluate the premise of safer gambling from both a UK and US perspective, analysing where approaches differ between the different countries, and will take questions from anyone tuned into the free discussion.

To register your attendance for the webinar, please click here and complete a short registration form in order to receive alerts and Microsoft Teams links ahead of the start time to ensure you can log on and be part of the discussion.