Collaborating with the representatives from the Gambling Sector has left us in no doubt there are a number of passionate advocates for Responsible Gambling across the industry. However, whilst there are some good examples of Responsible Gambling practice, when looked at objectively and in context, most day-to-day activity from operators is consistently poor.
Our report, with the support industry itself, makes a strong case for improved leadership around responsible gambling, more collective ownership of the key issues (with responsible gambling measures and promotional activities working more harmoniously, rather than in direct opposition to each other) and better use of marketing, design and customer insight skills from within gambling firms to improve the quality and impact of interventions.
This pioneering project, conceived by the industry itself and supported by both Gamble Aware and the Gambling Commission, was an opportunity to consolidate and share ‘good practice’. It gave us a unique opportunity to understand the whole landscape of a hugely problematic issue and throughout the participating operators were committed to identifying gaps and weaknesses in their current approaches. This openness perfectly illustrated by the fact that many gave our research teams full and unchaperoned access to venues, staff and customers – revealing a wide range of difficult issues (including staff intentionally reinforcing potentially harmful beliefs with customers).
Our role was to gather together a huge range of evidence, good practice examples & new insights – and create a positive and collaborative working environment. Our report is designed to be accessible – as the operators agree, for change to happen responsible gambling must be seen as something for everyone (all staff, from customer service to head office, and for customers of all types, not just problem gamblers).
At Revealing Reality, we believe that the same effort and skills invested in acquiring and retaining customers needs to be reflected in the ways operators protect customers from harm – and our team of researchers, strategists & creatives are committed to staying involved to support this change.
