Continuing on from last year’s success, the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) has launched its second annual Scroll Free September campaign in a bid to encourage people to take a break from online gambling. 

This year’s campaign will have the additional focus of tackling gambling related harms with the support of BeGambleAware’s Bet Regret campaign. 

Announcing the campaign, Shirley Cramer CBE, Chief Executive of RSPH, commented: “Following the success of Scroll Free September last year, we are delighted to offer participants in this year’s campaign the opportunity to self-exclude from online gambling. 

“This paves an important step toward tackling gambling harm, by encouraging the public to take some time to reflect this September on their online behaviour and consider their actions, before making any decisions they may later regret.

“Better understanding is needed of the harms arising from gambling, who is affected and what support can be provided to prevent harms from developing or escalating in the first place. Along with the establishment of the Gambling Health Alliance, by asking the public to use Scroll Free September as an opportunity to abstain from online gambling, we hope to place gambling harm further at the forefront of public health thinking and as a serious threat to our public’s health in its own right.”

Research carried out by the UK Gambling Commission has found that close to half of all gambling activity (44%) takes place on a mobile device. The Scroll Free September campaign will therefore work alongside the Bet Regret initiative by rolling out five different campaign plans. 

The five campaign plans will range in terms of severity, with some encouraging small breaks from gambling while at work, while others suggest a complete break from gambling for a period of 30 days. 

Supporting the campaign, Marc Etches, Chief Executive of GambleAware, added: “We all need to take a break from our phones every now and again, particularly now that gambling is accessible anytime and anywhere. We’re pleased to be supporting Scroll Free September and hope it will inspire people to take a moment to think about their betting habits.”