The UK is one of the many countries that have suffered significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The land based casino industry has lost billions in 2020 but alternatively online casino operators in the UK have had a good year.
This is because UK players who enjoyed land based casinos were forced to turn to online casinos for their gaming entertainment. A number of Brits who had never played at an online casino also tried online casino games in 2020 as they were bored during lockdown.
The massive interest in online gaming has also caused gambling addiction services to face a heavier workload. Three of the biggest gambling service organizations in the UK have come together to address gambling harm during the Christmas season and into 2021.
GamCare UK
Gamstop, Gamban and GamCare have joined forces to launch a new campaign called TalkBanStop. This campaign went live on December 17 and will focus on providing better protection to UK players during the holiday season as this is the time of the year when another spike in online gambling activity is expected.
TalkBanStop will not just cover the Christmas season but will run for a 12 month period. The results of the campaign and its impact on the UK gambling industry will then be measured to see if it needs to be continued, improved or discontinued.
The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has been working extra hard in 2020 to ensure that UK players don’t succumb to problem gambling concerns. Even before COVID-19 could hit and the lockdown could be enforced, the UK was dealing with rising problem gambling addiction stats.
The TalkBanStop campaign will give UK players access to three specific tools that will help them be better protected against problem gambling.
Three Problem Gambling Tools
These three tools focus on the primary means in which each of these three gambling services organizations help UK players. Talk encourages players experience gambling addiction symptoms to open up and get the help they need. GamCare’s National Gambling Helpline is a great way to do this.
Ban pushing UK players to take the step to self-exclude themselves from gambling whether it be for a limited time or for their lifetime. UK players can take advantage of the blocking software from Gamban.
Stop focuses on leveraging Gamstop’s services where UK players can stop themselves from accessing online gambling sites as well as stopping online casinos from contacting them.
