Key points:
- The Safer Gambling Standard will cease at the end of the year
- GamCare Board decided last year that it would continue under a different structure
- However, services such as the National Gambling Helpline will remain unaffected
GamCare has announced that its Safer Gambling operation will cease by the end of this year.
The Safer Gambling Standard is described on its website as an “independent quality standard, accredited by UKAS, that assesses the measures gambling businesses have put in place to protect people from experiencing gambling-related harm.”
This standard was launched by GamCare in 2019, but in December 2023 the GamCare Board made the decision that the Safer Gambling Standard would continue its work under a different structure.
A strategic review was then undertaken by GamCare as it looked to find a new home for Safer Gambling services.
Good to know: The National Gambling Helpline received more calls and online chats last year than any other previous year on record
However, as a result of the findings of the review, those services will come to an end by the end of this year, with no new Safer Gambling services provided to the industry from 2025 onward.
The charity has emphasised that it will continue its efforts to reduce gambling harm with its other services carrying on as usual, including the National Gambling Helpline, underlining that “all of GamCare’s work is focused on the reduction of gambling harms, as it has been for 27 years.”
This follows on from GamCare this week calling on banks to identify and support customers impacted by gambling.
