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UK – Trade associations form the Industry Group for Responsible Gambling

By - 24 March 2014

Trade associations in the five sectors of the British gambling industry have joined together to form the Industry Group for Responsible Gambling (IGRG).

The new group will allow the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB), British Amusement & Catering Trade Association (BACTA), Bingo Association (BA), National Casino Forum (NCF) and Remote Gambling Association (RGA) to work together on responsible gambling initiatives.

With the associations having worked together for some time already, the establishment of the IGRG will provide a structure to better promote socially responsible gambling in the British market.

The new group will also provide a cross-sector forum to consider matters of common interest associated with the three licensing objectives in Section 1 of the Gambling Act 2005.

The IGRG’s first matter of business will be to undertake a stock-take exercise of responsible gambling initiatives, with various companies, industry groups and associations set to be reviewed.

The IGRG said the project would highlight good practices that could be shared across sectors and inform any future decision about work that the associations could undertake collaboratively through the IGRG.

In addition, the group will also focus on overseeing the review of the Gambling Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising, following a request by Maria Miller, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

“The trade associations have been working together constructively for some time, especially on consumer protection issues, and the establishment of IGRG is a natural evolution of that,” RGA chief executive Clive Hawkswood said.

Tracy Damestani, Chief Executive of the NCF, added: “There is an enormous amount of work being done by companies and the various trade bodies. Formalising our relationships and looking at the work across all the sectors should ensure that we deliver the best and safest products across the industry.”

Dirk Vennix, Chief Executive of the ABB, also added: “When we launched our new Code for Responsible Gambling and Player Protection in October 2013 we wanted to make a difference to customers who are at risk of problem gambling and we are confident we will. “We hope this group will build on the learnings from the ABB’s Code and form a hub for ground-breaking cross-sector initiatives in the future.”

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