BGC celebrates surge in safer gambling tool usage

(AsiaGameHub) –   The lobbying group attributes the increase to Safer Gambling Week, though a direct connection hasn’t been confirmed.

UK – The Betting and Gaming Council has pointed out an uptick in interaction with safer gambling tools and communications in 2025. The advocacy group reports that 153,960 account holders set around 281,000 deposit limits between November 17 and 23, 2025—marking a 41 per cent increase compared to the same timeframe in the prior year.

This period coincided with Safer Gambling Week, and the BGC implies the industry-backed initiative played a role in the higher tool usage. However, this claim lacks clarity as no comparison is made to deposit limits set at other times of the year—an oversight that could easily draw criticism from gambling opponents, especially amid complaints about the industry’s occasional use of vague statistics in lobbying.

That said, data shows Safer Gambling Week saw greater industry participation than in previous years. The BGC states the number of safer gambling messages sent to customers during the 2025 initiative was 75 per cent higher than in 2024, reaching 10.95 million. This figure includes messages delivered across all channels, such as pop-ups, direct messages, and personal emails.

The BGC also notes last year’s campaign saw a substantial rise in operator investment, with total spending on safer gambling advertising up by 68 per cent. Online impressions from related ads increased by 27 per cent to 182 million, the group added. The initiative was also supported by a record number of senior cross-party MPs and peers, including Gambling Minister Baroness Twycross, Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Nigel Huddleston MP, and Shadow Gambling Minister Louie French MP.

Grainne Hurst, Chief Executive of the Betting and Gaming Council, said: “Safer Gambling Week has once again demonstrated the positive impact this campaign can have in encouraging more customers to use the wide range of safer gambling tools available only in the regulated sector.

“These record-breaking figures underline the industry’s ongoing commitment to raising standards and ensuring the millions who enjoy occasional gambling do so in a safe and responsible environment. At a time when the illegal, harmful black market poses a growing threat to player safety, it’s vital customers stay in the regulated market, where robust safer gambling measures and protections exist.

“Our members promote safer gambling every day of the year, but uniting the entire regulated sector for one dedicated week—with support from MPs, peers, the regulator, and other stakeholders—helps amplify these messages further than ever before.”

The BGC recently claimed the amount staked with illegal gambling operators in Britain has risen to over £16bn. This would represent a two-fold increase in just two years and a three-fold rise since 2019. However, the Gambling Commission has stated it has seen no evidence of increased engagement with unlicensed gambling.

Meanwhile, the BGC recently appointed Kane Purdy, Managing Director at Gamesys Operations, as its new non-executive chair. He replaces Michael Dugher, who stepped down in January after nearly two years in the role.