William Hill launches the Nobody Harmed problem gambling campaign

William Hill announced the launch of a new responsible gambling initiative after admitting to “falling below” the standards expected by the UK Gambling Commission, parliament and the general public. The Nobody Harmed initiative tackles the issues related to problem gambling and offers help to those who experience this harm.

William Hill confirmed that the campaign will be implemented across both retail and online businesses to enhance public trust in the sector.

Director of corporate communications at William Hill Ciaran O’Brien said that the bookmaker must “move much faster” to deal with the problem gambling issue and the new Nobody Harmed campaign will form a large part of this effort.

DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS AT WILLIAM HILL CIARAN O’BRIEN: “Quite simply, while we have always taken problem gambling seriously, we have fallen below what’s expected of us by the regulator, parliament and ultimately the public,”

“We need to move much faster and get much better at addressing the harm caused by problem gambling.”

The bookmaker has set out for key targets of the new campaign. William Hill will look to support all customers to stay in control through the design and marketing of its products; seek to identify players at risk and intervene efficiently; strengthen its support system for those who do experience harm and empower all staff to fulfil its shared ambition.

DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS AT WILLIAM HILL CIARAN O’BRIEN: “The ultimate goal of the campaign is that nobody is harmed by gambling, but like any ambition, it will be hard to achieve and we certainly cannot achieve it alone,”

“The important thing about stating the ambition however is it gives a clear lead to our people that we should seek to do the right thing.”

The announcement of the new initiative comes as the Advertising Standards Authority told it was examining whether William Hill and Bet365 breached TV betting advert guidelines during this year’s World Cup football tournament. Both companies are barred from making urgent calls to action in commercials.

O’Brien admitted that while such a big bookmaker as William Hill “will get things wrong”, the company is “committed” to working with the Advertising Standards Authority on implementing new rules of advertising.

DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS AT WILLIAM HILL CIARAN O’BRIEN: “The new Advertising Standards Authority code only came in in April and are subject to some interpretation so it may be that until we have some case history we won’t know what is covered by the code but if we have contravened it we will hold our hands up.”

“In any big organisation we will get things wrong – the important thing is our intention, our key actions and how we deliver on them and learn out loud on the way through.”

“We have also committed to take serious look at advertising and what could be done better – including much stronger restrictions if needs be – as part of this process.”