What to expect from a Safer Gambling Standard assured business

Gambling businesses have a responsibility to do all they can to protect their customers from experiencing harm. Gambling businesses that achieve the Safer Gambling Standard have elected to go through the assessment process to demonstrate that they are meeting and going beyond their regulatory responsibilities to protect their customers, because it is the right thing to do.

Here’s what to expect from a gambling business that has met the Safer Gambling Standard.

Gambling businesses that have achieved the Safer Gambling Standard should have effective customer interaction processes. As a minimum they should:

• Provide you with information and guidance on how to gamble safely
• Highlight appropriate tools to manage how much money and time you spend gambling
• Provide you with the opportunity to take a ‘time out’ when you need a break from gambling
• Provide the option to self-exclude from gambling, and the relevant information and tools to be able to do this easily
• Give you information on who to contact if you or the business thinks that you may have a problem with your gambling; you can contact the National Gambling Helpline for free on 0808 8020 133 or via web chat at gamcare.org.uk 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• Give you the option to opt-in to receive marketing (rather than opt-out), and ensure they do not send you direct marketing if you self-exclude from gambling at any point.

Further Information on the Safer Gambling Standard

The Safer Gambling Standard is updated annually to ensure that it continues to meet safer gambling related rules, regulations, and good practice.

The Safer Gambling Standard is not mandatory. Gambling businesses invest a significant amount of time and resources in evidencing that they meet the requirements set out in the Standard.

Each gambling business that has received the Safer Gambling Standard accreditation has achieved the Standard at a specific level, i.e. from Base Level up to Advanced Level 3. The level achieved depends upon how much evidence each business has provided on its approach to safer gambling at the time of the assessment.

Gambling businesses that have achieved the latest version of the Safer Gambling Standard will have been required to evidence the achievement of certain criteria that may not have been present in previous versions of the Standard. The current version of the Safer Gambling Standard is version 3.1 and you can find out more about the current requirements here.

July 2020