The much-maligned ‘When the Fun Stops Stop’ slogan that has accompanied safer gambling campaigns for the past six years is to, well, stop.
The UK gambling operators under the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) banner will instead move forward with a programme that is centred around a new mantra: ‘Take Time to Think.’
The idea behind the campaign, which include a new set of TV adverts, will show a punter ‘pausing’ their betting before deciding to use one of the safer gambling tools, from deposit limits to self exclusion.
The thought process is that while ‘When the Fun Stops Stop’ got people thinking about betting in a more responsible way, ‘Take Time to Think’ will arm individuals with the knowledge that specific options for limiting their play are available at the vast majority of UK licensed brands.
Many stakeholders in the sector had questioned the suitability of the previous slogan for a number of years, while an independent study from the University of Warwick revealed that the safer gambling message had no obvious impact on the betting patterns of their test group.
The chief executive of the BGC, Michael Dugher, is hopeful that the new message will enable more punters to stay in control of their betting.`
“Millions of people enjoy a flutter, and the overwhelming majority do so perfectly safely and responsibly,” he said. “But that doesn’t prevent the regulated industry from continuing to do more to promote ever higher standards in safer gambling.
“Our research has shown that the ‘Take Time To Think’ message will encourage even more customers to pause and consider whether to make use of the wide range of safer gambling tools that are available. That will enable them to stay in control of their betting.”
Napoleon Loses the Battle
While precise wordplay should advance safer gambling in the UK, it’s a poorly-worded slogan that has landed Napoleons Casinos in hot water with the authorities.
The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has confirmed that the brand’s ads, which appeared on their website and Facebook page, were considered socially irresponsible for their mention of ‘unlimited’ gaming.
Three separate ads – one encouraging players to ‘enjoy unlimited gambling’, another offering ‘unlimited gaming entry’ and a third promising ‘unrestricted gambling – have all drawn the ire of the ASA.
The A&S Leisure Group, who operate Napoleons Casinos, said that the use of the term ‘unlimited’ referred to the perks that full members of the company enjoyed over casual players.
Under the terms of their UK gambling licence, which was awarded in 2007, they are allowed to admit guests with no ID or full members who had shown appropriate identification. Visitors would have limits placed upon how much they could wager on slots and at the tables, whereas full members did not – hence the use of the words ‘unlimited’ and ‘unrestricted’.
However, the Group admitted they had meant to switch the word ‘unlimited’ to ‘unrestricted’ in all of their marketing materials, but that a few anomalies had been missed.
Those ads have since been amended, and the firm has promised to the ASA that they will refrain from using ‘unlimited’ in their ads moving forward.