How a quiet word with punters can prevent problems getting out of control

The repercussions of lockdown are blighting many lives and for the gambling industry one unfortunate side-effect is the planned campaigns to interact with betting shop customers in Safer Gambling Week have had to be shelved while so many outlets are closed.

For Sharon Byrne, chair of the Irish Bookmakers Association, that is a big opportunity lost. "Safer Gambling Week is an icebreaker. It's a great way for staff to mention to customers in a friendly way that perhaps they're in the betting shop a little too much," she says.

"You can put messages up on a poster or a screen and a person can choose to ignore them, but if you have a member of the shop staff saying in a polite, casual way, 'this week is about taking a look at your gambling and there's a lot of help out there for anyone who needs it', it's a nicer way to mention it to people.

"At other times you could insult someone badly if you bring up the subject of responsible gambling and they don't have an issue, or if they do have an issue it could bring out the wrong type of reaction and the staff member might feel threatened.

"This week is a way of bringing up the subject to people you're concerned about. It might not be about the time and money they spend gambling, it might be about how gambling makes a customer react – it may bring out the worst in them. There are so many things you have to look out for to spot someone who might need help."

Betting shop employees: can ordinarily bring up the subject of safer gambling with customersCredit: Matt Alexander / PA Media

That human voice providing interaction on the betting shop floor, not just with staff but with other punters, could be regarded as an indicator retail outlets remain the safest place to gamble rather than staring alone into a laptop or phone screen through the night.

However, Byrne points out online tools that can warn you when you are betting too long or too heavily have a significant role to play.

"If a person is resetting their limits online the responsible operator would see those requests and realise this person's play is changing and that we need to reach out to them.

"Online gives you the audit trail, the track record. It gives you a lot more data to be able to reach out to your customer. This week allows us to explain the tools better so people might use them more."

Byrne is well aware bookmakers' responsibilities do not end solely with trying to ensure gamblers keep their betting under control. It is also about helping to fund the organisations that are there to support those who do have serious problems.

"As an industry, we have been supporting the Dunleweyaddiction centre for some time and, with them, set up the first national gambling helpline around 12 years ago. There was criticism, though, from those saying: 'you're collecting the money and funding Dunlewey, but who are you to choose where the money is going?'

"Two years ago the Gambling Awareness Trust was founded. It's a charity that is totally independent of the betting industry and has the former government minister and senator Tom Hayes, who was instrumental in setting it up, as its chair of trustees.

"They're an eminent group of people who are well qualified to analyse the gaps in the sector and to choose who they support and to what level. So the funding is out of our hands. We collect the money from the gambling industry and the Gambling Awareness Trust spends it in the most crucial areas."

Gambling support helplines: ROI 1800 936 725, NI 08000 886 725, GB 0808 8020 133

More articles on Safer Gambling:

Will Safer Gambling Week protect players better than responsible gambling did?

Fighting on the frontline of gambling addiction as casualties rise during Covid

'I was working all hours but had no money. Just gambling to extinction'

Is the 10.30 at Mysore the bookies' idea of responsible gambling?

Regulator tells operators to believe in better responsible gambling or quit

If you are concerned about your gambling and are worried you may have a problem, click here to find advice on how you can receive help