A gaming industry commitment to suicide prevention is urged by Samaritans

Industry News

A gaming industry commitment to suicide prevention is urged by Samaritans

The Gambling Industry Samaritans have produced its first best practice guideline document, which they are pushing industry incumbents to study and put into effect as quickly as possible. The document can be seen here.

The Samaritans have begun a program of research to better understand the role that gambling plays as a risk factor for suicide, as well as the preventative measures that may be taken, in an effort to break the link that has been established between gambling and the act of taking one's own life.

Following consultation with a diverse range of relevant stakeholders, such as people who have personal experience with gambling-related harms, individuals involved in the gambling industry, other charitable organizations, health and support services, and others, the guidelines have been developed with the intention of complementing the existing industry resources that are geared toward lowering the risk of gambling-related harms.

The following are some of the recommendations that were made: how to have a robust suicide prevention policy to safeguard customers and staff; how to use harm prevention to guide marketing communications; how to use data to help prevent suicide; and how to communicate sensitively with customers who are in distress.

According to Mubeen Bhutta, head of policy at Samaritans, "suicide is avoidable, and we know that various businesses need to address distinct difficulties in order to have effective suicide prevention measures in place."

Because there is a definitive link between gambling and suicide, one of the most important aspects of our job is to determine what adjustments need to be made to the existing gaming culture in order to reduce the risk of suicide. We are pleased to announce the publication of these industry recommendations and eagerly anticipate the participation of all gaming firms in an attempt to be more proactive in reducing the risk of suicide caused by gambling-related behaviors.

Everyone has a role to play in reducing the risk of suicide. There is still a great deal more work to be done across the entirety of the gaming industry in order to cut down on the potential for damage caused by gambling and to make certain that everyone has access to the assistance they require.

"Operators following our guidelines is one positive step towards improving suicide prevention in the gambling industry, and we will continue to push for action to help reduce gambling-related harms in the future." "We will continue to push for action to help reduce gambling-related harms in the future."

The Samaritans adds that they have begun the process of establishing industry standards that gambling businesses can use to hold themselves accountable, and they are urging all gambling businesses to at the very least adopt their guidelines in order to demonstrate their commitment to preventing suicide.