After UK responsible gaming body the Senet Group relaxed the copyright to its When the Fun Stops, Stop campaign, a number of industry leaders have backed the campaign and spoken of its success in a video released today.
William Hill CEO Philip Bowcock said: “I think the campaign has worked because of the simplicity of message and because all of the industry has been behind it.”
Richard Flint, chief executive of Sky Bet, says in the video (above): “The most pleasing thing about the campaign is hearing people use it in general conversation.
“There have been quite a few examples where I have heard people say to their friends, or on TV, ‘when the fun stops, stop’.”
Also appearing in the video is Adele Duncan, chief executive of the Gordon Moody Association, which runs residential treatment programmes for gambling addicts. Duncan says: “I think [the campaign is] getting [a] message across that isn’t too ‘doom and gloom,’ a message that is quite thought-provoking, without being scary. If people are joking ‘if the fun stops’, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. A bit of humour doesn’t hurt.”
The Senet Group’s campaign is already carried by about 40 per cent of UK gambling companies. By removing certain copyright protection of the campaign branding, the Group is hoping to significantly widen and improve its visibility.
Gillian Wilmot, chairman of the Senet Group, said: “Since the launch, advertising space devoted to the messaging has had an equivalent advertising value of £16m each year. This figure could double under a more widespread use of the campaign material across the gambling sector.”
According to independent research conducted last year, the When the Fun Stops, Stop campaign has reached an estimated 82 per cent of regular UK gamblers, with 33 per cent – or an indicative five million adults – confirming that it has helped them gamble more responsibly since it was launched in 2015.
COMMENT: With responsible gambling measures – and specifically, the onus on operators to do more – seemingly enjoying higher priority than ever in the UK, this is a timely reinforcement of the When the Fun Stops, Stop campaign. The key, as the campaign gains further visibility, is to stop responsible gaming becoming the sector’s equivalent of football’s Financial Fair Play system – paid lip service but little more.
