Safer Gambling Week 2024 in numbers
Held each November, Safer Gambling Week is an awareness-raising initiative run by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the industry body which represents around 90% of British casinos and gambling businesses.
Now in its 8th year, Safer Gambling Week aims to encourage players to make use of the safer gambling tools available while also building a broader public awareness. The cross-industry campaign approach is all about sharing education, resources and support.
Key numbers from Safer Gambling Week 2024
Safer Gambling Week 2024 ran from 18 to 24 November, and yet again managed to encourage record numbers of players to engage with safer gambling tools.
According to the BGC’s roundup, published on 1 May 2025:
“Over 1.5m unique accounts used a safer gambling tool during Safer Gambling Week, a massive 22 per cent year-on-year increase”.
There was also a 14% increase in the number of deposit limits set during the campaign, and 47% of those setting deposit limits were doing so for the first time.
Social media saw “over 60 million impressions across major platforms”, marking a 23% increase from 2023’s Safer Gambling Week, which was also considered a success.
Grainne Hurst, CEO of the BGC, said:
“Safer Gambling Week has proved its worth once again by making a real impact encouraging even more punters to make the most of the broad range of safer gambling tools only available in the regulated sector.”
Implications
Safer Gambling Week 2024 looks to have been another great success. The data suggests players are embracing safer gambling tools, which is excellent news for support organisations, the legitimate industry, and players themselves.
This could be taken as a broad indication that many players are capable of moderating their own behaviour. This self-regulation might even suggest that some of the more obtrusive UK Gambling Commission regulations are unnecessarily heavy-handed.
With almost half of the deposit limits being set by first-timers, it’s clear that initiatives like Safer Gambling Week make a genuine, quantifiable difference to player wellbeing. It is an important part of a multifaceted approach to encouraging responsible gambling. This approach should centre around a system of support organisations offering year-round care, boosted by temporary drives like Safer Gambling Week.
Additional data would be required to determine whether the good habits formed during Safer Gambling Week endure through the rest of the year, but this shouldn’t undermine the success and value of campaigns such as this.
Safer Gambling Week over the years
Safer Gambling Week has widespread support beyond the BGC, most notably Baroness Twycross and MP Stuart Andrew. Endorsements from these figures have helped to establish the initiative.
However, Safer Gambling Week is not without its critics. In the past, it has been labelled a “cynical stunt” by the anti-gambling lobby, particularly by the charity Gambling With Lives. Critics claim that the initiative distracts from the deeper issues of lax regulation.
These critical voices don’t tend to offer a balanced or realistic perspective, instead favouring a fundamentalist anti-gambling approach. Such a stance is impractical, and it neglects players’ right to gamble if they choose to do so.
There’s been less comment from critics this year. With indisputable stats and a number of successful years behind it, Safer Gambling Week may have proven its worth, even to the critics.
Safer Gambling Week 2025
We expect Safer Gambling Week 2025 to take place again n November, and to continue its focus on responsible gambling. If the past few years are anything to go by, the BGC may again manage to beat its own records in terms of the number of players setting limits, accessing resources, and taking up safer gambling tools.
