The
Association of British Bookmakershas begun implementing the new
Code for Responsible Gambling and Player Protection.
This is the first time in the world that a betting shop trade association and its members has put in place a series of harm minimisation measures that go far beyond those that are legally required and given consumers new tools that will make a difference.
The Codeas been endorsed by one of the world’s leading academic gambling experts, Dr Mark Griffiths, Professor of Gambling Studies at Nottingham Trent University’s International Gaming Research Unit, who says:
“The player protection and harm minimisation measures proposed go further than anything else emanating from the UK gambling sector in the past. Some of the measures proposed are innovative and potentially world-leading and I am delighted that the ABB has taken such a proactive stance in their efforts to promote responsible gambling and minimise problem gambling.”
The Code covers a wide range of subjects, from strengthening the Safe Bet Alliance (which has helped reduce robberies of betting shops in London by 60% over the last two years and received the endorsement from the Association of Chief Police Officers), tackling money-laundering, reviewing advertising and promotions, introducing new measures on age-verification, developing a new industry standard for staff training and implementing new measures for gaming machines.
For the first time, machine players will be able to set their own monetary and time limits. When they reach either of those limits, then game play will be suspended for thirty seconds, and a message will pop up on the screen asking them if they want to stop playing.
During that thirty second break, responsible gambling messages will appear on screen and staff behind the counter will also be alerted to the fact a player has reached their chosen limit.
On top of that, all customers will receive mandatory reminders on screen when they have been playing for 30 minutes or lost £250, giving the player the opportunity to decide whether they want to continue or not. Again, staff behind the counter will be alerted that someone has reached those mandatory limits.
The Code details the timeframe for how the measures will be rolled out and how they will be monitored and reviewed. A new Responsible Gambling Committee will be set up, which will have an independent Chair and will be supported by organisations with knowledge of helping problem gamblers, including the Responsible Gambling Trust, Gamcare and the Gordon Moody Association. The new Committee will meet quarterly and consider where breaches of the code take place.
The new
Code of Conductdemonstrates once again, as our members have been doing for the fifty years that betting shops started trading on the high street, that we are socially responsible businesses, committed to ensuring our eight million customers continue to enjoy their leisure time in a safe and responsible way.
Neil Goulden, Chairman,
Association of British Bookmakers