EGBA: European Safer Gambling Week 2024 sets record participation levels
European Gaming and Betting Association says 195 participants took part across 26 countries, reaching 3.1 million people on social media
The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has announced that the fourth annual European Safer Gambling Week achieved record-breaking participation levels last month.
The week-long initiative, held between 18 and 24 November, delivered improved KPIs against last year’s campaign, which in itself saw 67 million safety messages sent to EGBA members’ European customers.
This year’s event reached 26 countries, including four new markets in Croatia, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine. Other countries involved were Austria, Denmark, Finland, Spain, Norway and Poland.
The pan-European trade body said the 26 countries marked a 30% increase on 2023, with local language social media assets helping drive engagement across the continent.
The EGBA’s social media campaign featured on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X, formerly known as Twitter. There were 1,169 posts, up 67% from 2023, and reached 3.1 million users.
Only social media content using the hashtag #ESGW24 was recorded as part of the campaign,
The EGBA also noted there was record engagement with 195 partners taking part, up 20% from the previous year.
This included eight national gambling regulators, more than double the number from 2023, that featured in either social media campaigns or speaking at an event.
The events programme saw 20 specialised events, up 11% from the year prior, which explored trends in AI, innovations in safer gambling tools and messaging and problem gambling reporting.
Events achieved record participation with 4,500 registrations and 3,000 attendees, as well as 105 speakers which included senior figures from regulators in Belgium, Denmark, France and the UK.
Maarten Haijer, EGBA secretary general, said: “The success of this year’s edition reflects the sector’s deepening commitment to player protection.
“The significant increase in participation, especially from health organisations and regulatory authorities, demonstrates the common purpose and growing unity in our approach to safer gambling.
“Through this collaboration, we’ve reached a record number of Europeans with crucial safety messages during the campaign. Together, we’re making gambling safer and we already look forward to building on this success in next year’s edition.”
In the UK, the Betting and Gaming Council revealed Safer Gambling Week generated more than 60 million impressions across major social media platforms.