Gala Bingo Joins Betting Watchdog Senet Group

By Brodey Sheppard - September 08, 2016

If you are one of the faithful players of online bingo games for real money, then you will be pleased to know that Gala Bingo has announced that it is joining UK independent betting watchdog the Senet Group.

The Senet Group

The Senet Group is an independent body that promotes responsible betting standards. It was established in September 2014. The group was created by four of Britain’s leading gaming companies – Ladbrokes, Coral, William Hill and Paddy Power – in response to public concerns on betting and betting advertising. The goal of the group is to ensure that all the marketing aspects regarding betting is socially responsible.

The Senet Group creates high impact television and multimedia campaigns to help prevent these betting problems. They group launched the BADBETTY campaign in the spring and summer of 2015 to educate people playing bingo in the UK about the risks of betting and how to stay in control. This was followed by a second campaign, called GAMBLESMART. It was launched in November and December 2015. The campaign involved sharable videos and other content posted online to highlight responsible betting behaviour. These are examples of how the Senet Group takes measures aimed at protecting vulnerable players.

Gala Bingo on Responsible Betting

Simon Wykes – the chief executive of Gala Bingo’s parent company, Gala Leisure – said that Gala Bingo places a great emphasis on responsible betting. He said that joining the Senet Group will help the company work with like-minded operators. Visit Gala Bingo online and check out what the site has to offer.

“Bingo is recognised as being a community-based activity at the softest edge of gaming,” Wykes said. “As such, we place great importance on responsible gambling and can see the merits in working together as an industry rather than just as a sector within it.”

A Positive Response

Wanda Goldwag is the current independent standards commissioner and chairs the Senet Group. She is responsible for monitoring and forcing compliance with the commitments made by member companies on advertising. She makes sure that operators stick to the good features of a site brand. She said, “Today marks an important milestone as more sectors from across the gambling industry recognise the importance of promoting responsible gambling standards.”

“We are delighted to welcome the first bingo brand to the Senet Group, and look forward to working with Gala Bingo as more businesses from across the industry make the commitment to submit to the independent oversight we provide.”

The chief executive of the UK Gambling Commission, Sarah Harrison, also expressed a positive note about the move. She said, “We welcome the further broadening of the Senet Group’s base and look to the group, and all industry leaders and representative bodies, to come together to meet the ambition of the new Responsible Gambling Strategy Board strategy and to build on the industry’s commitment to responsible gambling in Britain.”

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