Will “Take Time To Think” Campaign Work?

Take Time To Think? In the last quarter of 2021, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) launched its second campaign, Take Time To Think which is the national campaign. The announcement comes six years after the launch of his first campaign – “When the Fun Stops, Stop”.

The goal of this national campaign is to encourage the routine use of responsible gambling tools as an important and vital part of the safe gambling experience. You will find the unique logo of this campaign in all online casinos, sports betting sites, bingo halls, and bookmakers as well.

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Why Was the “Take Time to Think” Campaign Launched?

Many players believe that the main reason behind the launch of the “Take Time to Think” campaign is due to the failure of the previous “When the Fun Stops, Stop” campaign in terms of logo and title. So, what does it mean if the fun stops, you have to stop playing? This is a tacit admission that gambling is an addictive activity, and you alone bear the consequences!

Therefore, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has stated that the new campaign will be “more effective” and is part of their commitment to “raise the standards”. Since the previous campaign was not taken seriously by players or casinos, many have a negative expectations about the new campaign.

What is the “Take Time to Think” campaign?

A short BGC press release, states that this campaign will start with a series of television and online adverts depicting gamblers using tools of self exclusion before gambling takes a dangerous turn and destroys their future, families and psychological peace.

In other words, these campaigns will focus on the happy ending of addictive gambling. On the other hand, all online casinos and land based gambling facilities will send “Take Time to Think” messages to their customers through various channels.

Both review and gambling sites must also include the “Take Time to Think” logo in the bottom margin of their pages. It is very difficult to tell the difference between this campaign and the previous one!

The previous campaign included all of these things, and even TV adverts followed the same scenario. Furthermore, casinos must display the campaign logo on their platforms.

This means that the new campaign doesn’t have any message. Also, it is mostly just a name and logo change and nothing else. We will try not to make further judgments and disclose to you full details about this campaign.

Why Is This Campaign Likely to Have the Same Problems?

From a scientific point of view, this campaign cannot be as effective as GamStop, because it contains many flaws:

• Does not include a simplistic idea of ​​problem gambling.
• Focuses on player responsibility and ignores casinos’ responsibility due to “conflict of interest”.
• Adverts deliver mixed messages
• This campaign did not address the shortcomings of the previous one. Furthermore, it repeated them.
• The new campaign does not contain any psychological support, bacta self exclusion or forcing casinos to protect players.

The previous campaign presented gambling as “fun” or “not fun”, yet it is much more complex. Gambling can be destructive while the addict enjoys it! Furthermore, the two campaigns blamed the person addicted to gambling for changing his behaviour before presenting the correct definition of the problem of gambling, its symptoms, causes, and aids. In other words, the two campaigns tell addicted gamblers you should know that gambling addiction is a very serious issue, and this problem belongs only to you!

The message of both campaigns is highly distorted, which is not surprising given that both campaigns are funded by the gambling industry. This is evident in TV ads more than anything else. These ads portray gambling as “great fun” while creating a sense of problem for this gambler at the end.

Name & Logo – Is There Anything New at All?

Many industry experts may have good expectations about this campaign. However, no one can disagree that the new slogan “Take time to think” seems to be a wrong diagnosis which leads to a wrong prescription!

The problem gambler cannot think about his addiction. The main problem is his thinking. The problem gambler believes that gambling is a pursuit of wealth and a substitute for work. Therefore, just thinking for a moment would revive his will and force him to forget any previous losses!

Second, is the solution of problem gambling is stopping and thinking about incurring a certain level of debt? Or think about the kind of bets he places? Or the game’s risk level?

Why Can’t Problem Gambling Campaigns Work?

The simple answer is: look for the funder! Problem gambling campaigns are funded by the gambling companies themselves. Therefore, these campaigns cannot be too “sharp” or “critical”.

It’s important to keep gambling as a recreational activity after a long day at work. On top of that, addicted gamblers get 50% of the winnings in British casinos! This means that they are a group that should not be lost easily. Instead, they can be persuaded to gamble wisely only! On the other hand, the proportion of problem gamblers in the UK doubled from 2016 to 2019. Now, 2% to 3% of British gamblers are addicts!

It Focuses on Personal Responsibility Rather Than Social Responsibility!

The “Take Time to Think” campaign focuses primarily on personal responsibility and not primarily on social responsibility. In other words, the player has to take time to think. Process his problem. Then, avoid gambling (despite his triggers) on his own. That’s it! Of course, asking an addict to change his behaviour is like asking someone with their hands tied to free themselves!

One journalist likened the slogan “Take time to think” to “When you get cancer, take time to think.” 

Conclusion

Although the BGC said in its statement that the “Take Time to Think” campaign was launched after extensive research, it is not clear what this research is, especially as it contradicts the results of all previous studies! So far, the “Take Time to Think” campaign seems to be a funny alternative to the previous one, which was also ineffective.