Tag: Western Europe

This year’s Bacta Convention (22nd November) is shaping up to be one of the most insightful of recent times with leading politicians, the Gambling Commission’s Andrew Rhodes, Michael Dugher of the Betting and Gaming Council and the Bingo Association’s Miles Baron all accepting invitations to attend the UK trade association’s annual members’ meeting.

The Bank of England is the latest influential body to agree to be part of the showpiece event and will provide expert insight on payments trends including what the Bank is doing to protect access to cash.

Bacta has been highly encouraged by the positive response it has received from politicians, institutions and thought leaders alike. Chief Executive John White noted: “Our aim with the Convention is to bring together a corps of speakers who are authorities in their field, who are able to explain latest thinking and who can talk about the implications of both policy and related developments for Bacta members and their businesses.

“With the next UK General Election having to take place by 28th January 2025 and following the long-awaited publication of the White Paper on gambling reform I am delighted that we have been able to secure both the Minister responsible for gambling, The Rt Hon Stuart Andrew MP as well as the Shadow Minister, Alex Davies-Jones MP. Both will, I am sure, be keen to outline the direction of travel, explain policy objectives and their party’s vision for the future of land-based gambling businesses in the UK. The political theme will be extended into the evening when Bacta holds its annual Parliamentary Reception in the House of Commons.

“Betting and Gaming Council CEO Michael Dugher who during his career as a Labour Party MP served as Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Miles Baron, CEO of the Bingo Association will participate in a ‘C-Level In Conversation’ round table whilst another CEO, The Gambling Commission’s Andrew Rhodes will be making a key note speech.”

White added: “We are waiting to hear from a number of our invited guests but close to six months out of the first Convention to take place under the auspices of the newly restructured Bacta I am delighted at the calibre of attendees who have agreed to join us.”

• Lords event hosted by peer who first advocated multi-operator self-exclusion

• GAMSTOP has registered more than 380,000 users since its inception in April 2018
• May 2023 was a record month for registrations, eclipsing March 2023

Parliamentarians, regulators, gambling charities operators, and those with lived experience, gathered at Westminster to mark the fifth anniversary of GAMSTOP, the UK’s independent online gambling self-exclusion scheme.

The event on Wednesday June 14th was hosted by Lord Browne of Belmont, who first advocated a national gambling self-exclusion scheme, and former gamblers spoke about the importance of GAMSTOP in helping them overcome their problems.

GAMSTOP was launched in April 2108 and two years later it became a licensing condition for all UK operators to integrate with the scheme, in addition to operating their own self-exclusion schemes. More than 380,000 people have registered with GAMSTOP since its inception, choosing to exclude themselves from all UK operators for a period of either six months, a year or five years.

Last month was GAMSTOP’s busiest ever with a record 8,594 new consumers registering for the free service, 90 more registrations than the previous record in March 2023.

Users interviewed recently by independent research agency, Sonnet, said that GAMSTOP provided an important safety net and self-exclusion was helping their recovery. The House of Lords reception brought together former gamblers, who shared their experiences in a video played to guests.

Stacey Goodwin, from Chesterfield, who is recovering from an eight-year addiction, said:

“GAMSTOP was vital for me in my recovery. I’ve had a lot of comments during my recovery such as ‘you’re so strong’ but I don’t feel that way. The truth is that when I don’t feel in a good place, GAMSTOP is the tool that is strong for me.” 

Matt Blanks, who started gambling at 11 and lost around £700,000, said:

“GAMSTOP really is a lifeline not only for me, but for a lot of people struggling with gambling harm. It gives you the chance to stop and reflect and take away the temptation of gambling”.

Jack Scott, who has overcome his gambling addiction to become a successful endurance runner, said:

“GAMSTOP smashed through the roadblock, I was sick of the person I had become. With a tool like GAMSTOP, if it can promote you being the best person of yourself why would you not tick that box?”

Fiona Palmer, CEO of GAMSTOP, told guests:

“We are constantly looking at ways we can improve the experience for our consumers, ensuring that GAMSTOP offers secure and effective exclusion from online gambling for those who have registered. We are also looking at improving consumer journeys both in terms of enabling them to seamlessly exclude from all gambling, not just online, and ensuring that they are signposted effectively to further support and treatment should they want it”.

Speaking at the event, Professor Henrietta Bowden-Jones OBE, National Clinical Advisor on Gambling Harms for the NHS, said the UK was leading the way on self-exclusion and called for further work to be done with land based self-exclusion. She said:

“We are fighting tech with tech. Patients are frustrated by self-exclusion measures because they cannot beat them. Some patients are returning to bookmakers because that’s the only thing left to do. They are using cashback from Tesco to get around bank blocks. There’s an enormous need to block people from going into bookmakers by having a universal scheme for the country”.

The Rank Group Plc (‘Rank’) has announced that Andrew Peat will join the company as Managing Director, Rank Interactive, taking up his role later this year.

Andrew joins from William Hill where he is currently the Sportsbook Director, a role he has performed since joining the company in November 2018. Prior to joining the betting and gaming industry he was the Commercial Director at Dixons Carphone Group and the Commercial Propositions Director at tech start-up firm, Ctrlio.

Andrew will be based in Gibraltar and will be responsible for the development and execution of Rank’s UK facing digital strategy.

He will report into Jon Martin who is taking up his role as Chief Operating Officer later this Summer.

Jon Martin said: “Securing an operator of Andrew’s calibre is great news for Rank. His experience in sports and gaming, along with his track record in delivering cross channel improvements at one of the biggest sportsbook brands in the UK bodes well for the important job he will soon be undertaking in Gibraltar. Rank Interactive has enjoyed significant growth recently and Andrew’s appointment will look to capitalise on the momentum we have in the business. I look forward to welcoming him when he joins us later this year.”

Andrew Peat said: “The chance to join Rank at such a pivotal time for the digital business was too good an opportunity to turn down. The potential to build on the good work of recent years is huge, powered by Rank’s own proprietary technology and a first-class team of engaged colleagues in the Interactive team. My ambition to deliver an exceptional cross-channel experience for Rank customers in both gaming and sports is clearly shared by the team and I am looking forward to getting started.” 

National Bingo Day is back again – On Tuesday 27th June 2023 the bingo industry will be joining forces to celebrate the great game of bingo.

Following the success of the last two years, operators from both retail and online will be coming together again for the love of the game and everything that makes it special, wherever it is played. This year promises to be the best yet!

To celebrate National Bingo Day there will be a host of exclusive games, events, activities, and promotions taking place in clubs and online in the week leading up to the day itself on Tuesday 27th June.

Miles Baron CEO The Bingo Association said: “We are delighted once again to be celebrating National Bingo Day with both online and retail operators. It is positive to see the whole industry coming together again for the love of bingo. National Bingo Day gives us a unique opportunity to celebrate whilst also giving our customers a chance to win special prizes.”