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Promoting Safer Gambling Is ‘Mission Critcial’ For The Industry
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OPERATORS are doing more to promote safer gambling than at any time in the last two decades, John Hagan, chairman of the Industry Group For Responsible Gambling, on Thursday told the inaugural EGR UK Summit.
Speaking on the opening day of Responsible Gambling Week, Mr Hagan hailed the commitment of gambling companies to create a safer environment for their customers, but said the campaign had reached a ‘critical stage’ and the challenge was to reach occasional gamblers who did not think responsible gambling messages applied to them. He highlighted YouGov research, commissioned by the IGRG, which showed many adults who played the lottery, bought scratch cards or enjoyed betting on sport did not think they were gambling.
The EGR UK Summit, held at Twickenham Stadium in association with Responsible Gambling Week, brought together operators, affiliates, suppliers and regulators to discuss safer gambling strategies across the industry.
Introducing an industry panel to review responsible gambling initiatives over the last 12 months, Mr Hagan said: “Responsible gambling is a shared responsibility and it’s incumbent on operators to provide a safer environment for its customers without fear of cutting across its commercial goals. A fairer and safety gambling environment is critical to the future of the industry”.
But having worked in the industry for the last two decades as a lawyer, he said he had witnessed a transformation in operators’ approach to responsible gambling in recent years. Despite the cynicism of the industry’s critics, a raft of player protection initiatives announced in the last 12 months showed operators were serious about enhancing player protection.
Lyndsay Wright, director of sustainability at William Hill, said there was increasing pressure from investors to justify their actions and they were asking: “How do we know you are doing the right thing?” but she rejected the idea of voluntary online stake limits as a catch-all solution. She said William Hill had launched a new advertising and social media campaign focused on portraying gambling “in the way we know it should be” as a community-based, recreational activity and Responsible Gambling Week had given the company a focus for its safer gambling campaign.
Ben Wright, head of safer gambling at Sky Betting and Gambling, told the conference that winning customers’ trust was paramount and safer gambling must become integral to every company’s culture. He said Sky Betting’s profit and loss tool was one of the most successful it had launched to customers, part of the process of “normalizing” safer gambling.
Wes Himes, interim chief executive of The Betting and Gaming Council, pointed to the success of the pre-watershed whistle-to-whistle advertising ban as a sign that the industry was taking safer gambling seriously. Preliminary figures showed there was less than an hour of gambling-related advertising around live TV sport in September 2019, compared to 6.6 hours in September 2018. Meanwhile, amongst 4-17-year-olds there had been a 97% drop in the amount of exposure to gambling advertising.
Tim Miller, executive director of The Gambling Commission, said in his conference keynote address:
“Every year, Responsible Gambling Week develops further and gets better. It has moved from being an initiative led by one sector to something that is much more collaborative, much more cross-industry. That is not easy to do. John Hagan and his colleagues have done an amazing job to bring so many operators and sectors together”.
He said the campaign had to consider where to go next and operators should ask themselves two questions: Are the right people in our business engaged in Responsible Gambling Week, not just those with a social responsibility remit? How can we ensure the campaign reaches a wider audience?
But he echoed Mr Hagan’s view that there had been a “sea-change in operators’ approach to responsible gambling, hailing the commitment by large operators to support education, research and treatment as “an important step forward”. He said the Gambling Commission’s primary areas of focus in the coming months would be on developing common standards around game and app design; developing a code of conduct around inducements to gamble; and embracing technology to promote social responsibility.
Responsible Gambling Week (November 7th-13th) is the biggest ever campaign in the UK and Ireland to promote safer gambling. The objective is to get people talking about how to gamble responsibly, without putting themselves and others at risk, and to provide year-round advice and help at www.responsiblegamblinguk.org. More than 120,000 staff at thousands of gambling venues and online sites are taking part in the campaign, which is supported by leading football clubs, racecourses, pubs and charities and voluntary organizations.
Source: Latest News on European Gaming Media Network
This is a Syndicated News piece. Photo credits or photo sources can be found on the source article: Promoting Safer Gambling Is ‘Mission Critcial’ For The Industry

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Sofascore Player of the Season Award Show Premieres on CBS
This summer in Zadar, sporting legends and top broadcasters came together for the first-ever Sofascore Player of the Season Award Show, filmed during the Sunset Sports Festival. Now, the show has reached millions as it premiered on CBS, bringing together football stories and data-supported awards.
The show celebrated Europe’s top performers from the Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, and many more leagues across the world, all chosen just through Sofascore’s objective performance ratings. No votes, no popularity contests. Mohamed Salah topped the Premier League with a 7.78 rating, Raphinha led LaLiga with 7.80, Mattia Zaccagni claimed Serie A’s best with 7.34, Joshua Kimmich was Bundesliga’s highest rated player with 7.91, and Achraf Hakimi shined in Ligue 1 with 7.76. Beyond this, the awards also celebrated the highest-rated player in the UEFA Champions League, the top leagues in women’s football, and many more standout performers from around the globe.
Hosted by Kate Scott and Peter Schmeichel, and directed by Emmy Award-winner Pete Radovich, the event featured exclusive insights from football greats and top analysts including Jamie Carragher, Micah Richards, and Alessandro Del Piero. Raphinha shared his pride as both LaLiga and Champions League’s top-rated player, while Luka Modrić made history by receiving Sofascore’s first-ever Founders’ Legend Award. In the audience, big names like Dimitar Berbatov, Stipe Miočić, and Šime Vrsaljko added extra prestige to the celebration.
The Player of the Season celebration extended beyond the TV broadcast, with massive billboards in London, Liverpool, Barcelona, Munich, Rome, Frankfurt, Lyon, Metz, and other European cities, showcasing Sofascore’s award winners. From Raphinha and Alexia Putellas in Barcelona to Mohamed Salah in Liverpool and Joshua Kimmich in Munich, fans across Europe could see the season’s best right in their own cities.
The Sofascore Player of the Season Award is built on objective data, not public votes. Every goal, pass, tackle or miss contributes to a rating that reflects what truly happened on the pitch. That’s why, for players and all football fans around the globe, Sofascore’s Player of the Season trophy is the only award that counts.
The post Sofascore Player of the Season Award Show Premieres on CBS appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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Evoplay starts a big fiesta in spicy new title Don Juan Peppers
Evoplay, the award-winning game development studio, has released Don Juan Peppers, a fiery new slot that blends bold bonus features with festive flair.
Set in a sun-soaked Mexican town bursting with colour, rhythm and celebration, the game invites players to join the charismatic Don Juan himself for a lively fiesta across 20 fixed paylines.
The action centres around two types of bonus symbols. Landing three Chili Bonus icons on reels two, three and four triggers seven Free Spins. During Free Spins, each appearance of a Chili Bonus symbol awards an Instant Chili Prize corresponding to the value shown above its reel.
Meanwhile, landing six or more Bonus symbols activates the bonus game. In this mode, all Bonus and Chili icons lock in place and reset the spin counter to three. Chilis in this round boost the value of up to four Bonus symbols before transforming and continuing the chase for bigger wins.
The bonus game also gives players a shot at four fixed jackpots: MINI, MEGA, SUPER, and the GRAND prize of 3,000x the bet. For players who want to skip straight to the fiesta, a Bonus Buy feature offers direct access to either the Bonus Game or Free Spins.
Don Juan Peppers is the latest release in Evoplay’s growing portfolio of standout slots, blending engaging gameplay with vibrant storytelling and proven features.
Ivan Kravchuk, CEO at Evoplay, said: “Don Juan Peppers is a celebration of bold design and dynamic mechanics. By blending familiar bonus features with a distinctive aesthetic and rhythmic theme, we’ve created a slot that feels both familiar and fresh.
“It’s a fantastic showcase of our approach to delivering high-performing content with real personality.”
The post Evoplay starts a big fiesta in spicy new title Don Juan Peppers appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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ZITRO DIGITAL TO SHOWCASE NEW DIGITAL GAMING LINE-UP AT SBC SUMMIT LISBOA 2025
Zitro Digital, the online division of global gaming leader Zitro, announces its participation in SBC Summit Lisboa 2025, taking place from 16–18 September at the Feira Internacional de Lisboa, Portugal.
As a key player in the digital gaming space, Zitro Digital will present its latest online slot and video bingo titles portfolio, reflecting its continued investment in innovation, omnichannel strategy, and game performance at scale. Visitors to booth B530 will have the opportunity to explore the company’s newest content, including the debut of ‘Dreams’, the first title in the Fairyland Quest series — a digital adaptation of one of Zitro’s most successful land-based games.
Also featured will be ‘Elysium’ from the Legendary Sword series, ‘Autumn’, the latest addition to the popular Fu Pots collection, and ‘Monk’, the newest release in the Bashiba Link series. The company will also offer an exclusive first look at ‘Tomahawk’ — an upcoming standout title from the all-new Cash Totems series — which will be on display at SBC Lisboa ahead of its global release.
Alongside its expanding games portfolio, Zitro Digital will spotlight GameGate, the company’s new player engagement tool designed to guide users through its growing universe of content. GameGate enhances retention and gameplay by creating personalized journeys across multiple titles, completely transforming how players experience Zitro Digital’s slot offerings.
“Our goal at Zitro Digital is simple: to create engaging games that not only engage players but also drive measurable results for our partners,” said José Javier Martí, COO at Zitro Digital. “We combine the proven appeal of our land-based hits with new digital innovation to offer products that perform consistently across regulated markets. Events like SBC Summit Lisboa are essential for us to connect directly with operators, understand their evolving needs, and demonstrate how our portfolio can support their growth and stand out in competitive markets”.
The post ZITRO DIGITAL TO SHOWCASE NEW DIGITAL GAMING LINE-UP AT SBC SUMMIT LISBOA 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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