FEATURE - Leading the Conversation: Industry Perspectives on Safer Gambling Week

As Safer Gambling Week gets underway, the industry once again comes together to highlight the importance of responsible play and the measures that help protect customers. The campaign serves as an annual reminder that safer gambling is not a standalone initiative but an essential part of how reputable operators and suppliers conduct business year-round.

For brands across the iGaming sector, Safer Gambling Week provides an opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to customer wellbeing, showcase the tools and safeguards they have in place, and demonstrate leadership at a time when expectations around player protection continue to rise. It is a moment to reflect on progress, address ongoing challenges, and reinforce that safe, sustainable play is the foundation of a healthy and trusted industry.

Below, we share comments from industry leaders on what responsible gambling means to them and how they are supporting safer play during this important week.

Carolina Luna, Manager of Compliance, Esportes da Sorte

At Esportes da Sorte, responsible gaming is more than a regulatory requirement — it is a core strategic principle. As Brazil’s market matures, we understand compliance not as an obligation, but as a long-term competitive advantage. Integrity strengthens trust with players, increases transparency for regulators, and builds the foundations of a sustainable industry.

Protecting players is deeply embedded in our internal culture. We follow strict protocols to detect and prevent risky behaviour, and we invest continuously in staff training. Every year, we hold our Internal Responsible Gaming Week, where all 420 employees participate in capacity-building sessions. This reinforces shared accountability and ensures every department understands its role. Our commitment also includes a dedicated support unit for vulnerable customers and Brazil’s first Internal Responsible Gaming Committee, responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of our policies and recommending improvements.

Technology is central to our player-protection strategy. In addition to external tools such as Sportradar’s Bettor Sense, we developed a proprietary AI-driven monitoring system that analyses behaviour and transaction patterns in real time. This enables us to identify anomalies, initiate automatic interventions, and act before harm occurs — shifting the focus from reaction to prevention.

Our commitment extends throughout the entire year. We promote responsible play through continuous internal education, proactive communication with customers, and collaborations with partners who share our values. For us, responsible play is part of our identity as an operator and a fundamental pillar of sustainable growth.

As Safer Gambling Week raises awareness across the industry, our message is clear: protecting players protects the future of iGaming. We encourage all stakeholders — operators, suppliers, and regulators — to align behind a common purpose: building an ethical, resilient, and trustworthy ecosystem for Brazil and beyond.

^{Emilia Kurzynska, Deputy Team Lead of the Anti-Fraud Team at SOFTSWISS}

In 2026, responsible gambling shifts from a compliance checkbox to a strategic pillar of sustainable business growth. Governments across regulated markets are strengthening frameworks through spending caps, biometric ID verification, and mandatory self-exclusion programs. Regulators implement new approaches to link responsible gambling with financial accountability and public health strategies.

The 2026 iGaming Trends Report also highlights the growing influence of AI-based monitoring systems, used to detect risky play patterns and trigger proactive interventions. Tools like Mindway AI’s GameScanner and Gamalyze are redefining the industry standard, providing real-time analytics that help operators act before harm occurs.

Emilia Kurzynska, Deputy Team Lead of the Anti-Fraud Team at SOFTSWISS, comments: “AI will be central to the future of Responsible Gambling. It makes player protection more precise by detecting harmful patterns early, while also helping operators meet regulatory standards. At SOFTSWISS, our early tests for the MGA market already show that this approach can strengthen compliance and improve the player experience.”

Regulatory expectations are also evolving: a study cited in the report shows that 45% of players who watched safer gambling videos at online casinos perceived them as confirmation that iGaming is simply “harmless entertainment”, while one in four said such messaging encouraged them to play. This is a disturbing signal that communication strategies must mature from awareness to genuine impact.

Ian Perrygrove, Kwiff

The real Safer Gambling world is not about an operator's social media posts from 18 months ago; it comes from steady change, combining operational intelligence with systems to process the huge datasets. 

Here at kwiff our strategic imperative is not an evolution but iterative enhancements, designed to meet and exceed the requirements for proactive interaction and crucially a very consistent evaluation process.

Even before the regulatory obligations, we moved beyond simple financial triggers and we were very grateful to be recognised for our models' quality by GamCare and regulatory audits.

Just focusing on nuanced data points to feed our risk-scoring models helped capture a wider range of players, but we needed to focus equally on the evaluation stage. We’ve seen regulatory penalties increase due to inconsistent evaluation.

In this approach, technological advancement directly empowers the human element of player protection. A key focus is making our amazing agents' role more effective by providing them with better, more contextual data. Instead of receiving a generic "at-risk" alert, support teams are armed with a fast dashboard showing why a player was flagged. This is to allow for more targeted, empathetic, and efficient customer interactions, removing the guesswork and ensuring interventions are appropriate.

Steady system improvements rather than singular, disruptive changes demonstrate a mature approach to compliance. By enhancing data capture and providing better tools for its agents, the operator is embedding a more sustainable and effective safer gambling framework directly into its core operations.

Richard Picton-Turbervill, Daw Global

At Daw Global, we recognise that safer gambling is closely linked to financial security and trust. Our multi-currency bank accounts are designed specifically for the iGaming sector, providing operators and players with a secure, compliant platform for managing funds globally. By combining robust regulatory adherence with advanced online safety measures, we ensure that every transaction is transparent and protected. Safer Gambling Week is an important reminder that financial integrity and player wellbeing go hand in hand — and we are proud to lead the way in delivering both.

Steven Paton, Commercial Director WiseGaming

At WiseGaming, we believe an operator’s long-term success comes from protecting the players who make this industry possible. Without the player, our sector simply wouldn’t exist — and it’s our duty to protect both them and the future of iGaming. For us, safer gambling isn’t a compliance requirement; it’s a fundamental part of building a sustainable, trusted, and high-performing industry.

Our platform is built around helping operators create safe, transparent, and enjoyable environments for players in every market we serve. We provide configurable player limits, behavioural alerts, cooling-off tools, automated affordability checks, and multi-jurisdictional risk controls — all designed to reduce harm while preserving an enjoyable, trusted experience. And importantly, we work directly with every partner, taking a hands-on, collaborative approach to embedding these tools effectively into their product and customer journeys.

But sustainability isn’t only about technology; it’s about collective responsibility. We work closely with partners to shape frameworks that scale with each market — whether that’s Europe, LatAm, or Asia — ensuring their safer gambling strategies evolve as their brands grow. Through ongoing monitoring, data-driven patterns, and active support, we help operators stay aligned with market expectations while building brands that players feel confident engaging with.

Safer Gambling Week is an important reminder that our industry succeeds when players feel protected, respected, and in control. For operators, this week is a chance to reinforce their commitment to responsibility — not as a marketing line, but as a long-term operational value. And for us at WiseGaming, it strengthens our commitment to building platforms and partnerships that put sustainability and player wellbeing at the core.

Thomas Fearns, Head of Safer Gambling, Midnite

“Safer Gambling Week is an important time for our industry to unite with the aim of promoting the importance of customers utilising the support available to them to stay in control. But to paraphrase the famous Dogs Trust campaign: Safer Gambling is for life, not just for Christmas. 

“At Midnite, Safer Gambling is at the foundation of everything that we do all day, every day, year-round. We want our customers to have first-class experiences and bring them closer to the games they love, but we want them to do so in a responsible, safe and enjoyable manner. 

“We're proud of the way that we help players to stay in control with the tools, advice and support we offer, and Safer Gambling week is a great time to shout about it. We empower our players to make smart moves to set limits, to gamble safely and in moderation, and we're working hard to innovate ways to help our players stay in control.”

Andrew Lee, COO, QiH Group

“Safer Gambling Week is an important week for both the iGaming industry and the general public, and it’s important to help champion it where possible. 

“As a marketing affiliate and comparison site, Quantum is often the first port of call for iGaming customers – which means we have a keen responsibility to make sure that we only market to the right audience. We put our data-driven technology to work to deliver high-quality, responsible gambling traffic to our partners. 

“We believe in supporting a balanced approach where gambling remains what it should be: safe, enjoyable entertainment.”

Richard Bradley, Lead Solicitor, Poppleston Allen

“As a firm whose main focus is licensing across the UK, compliance is a daily topic of discussion at Poppleston Allen’s offices. We help clients stay within the Licensing Conditions and Codes of Practice and the licensing objectives, as well as staying abreast of hot topics, upcoming government consultations and the Gambling Commission’s latest statements.

“But in addition to the work for our clients, we are also personally passionate about safer gambling – it’s vital that we raise awareness of safer gambling and signpost the professional help and support services that are available to those who need it – ensuring the millions of people who enjoy gambling responsibly continue to do so in a safe environment.”

Harpo Lilja, CEO, Tugi Tark

“iGaming brings fun and entertainment to millions worldwide, but for some players, it can become more than occasional enjoyment. Protecting vulnerable players is a responsibility the industry shares.

“While in-person interaction is surely a fast way to pinpoint problematic patterns, most gambling takes place online, which means that our job is to create digital solutions to digital problems. As supporting players is what drives our company, Tugi Tark has built algorithms to catch problematic behaviour and language early. 

“These aren't the rigid systems of the past, where true issues pass undetected and safe, happy players get mistakenly caught up in a wide net. Tugi Tark's AI Agents are intuitive and flexible. They work seamlessly alongside operators' existing safeguards and support teams to identify player risk before it escalates. 

“Building safer gambling digitally benefits all of us, and we’re pleased to participate in Safer Gambling Week 2025.”

Mike Peplow, Chief Operating Officer at Paysecure

“Safety and security are fundamental to any payments journey, but it is a particular focus when that transaction is between igaming operators and their players.

"Payment orchestration enables operators to create safer playing environments without adding friction to the user experience. Through intelligent customer segmentation, for example, operators can identify trends and detect when players may be overreaching or playing beyond their usual limits. This depth of data-driven insight helps keep players protected while maintaining a seamless journey, mitigating additional checks or barriers to entry.

"Furthermore, operators using Paysecure’s orchestration platform benefit from our proprietary Trust Score system designed to flag potential fraud and identify unusual behavioural patterns in real time. This intelligence empowers operators to safeguard both their players and their own operations.”

David Lovell, Co-Founder of DragonBet

Offering a stellar betting service means more than competitive odds. It’s about creating a seamless, reliable and enjoyable experience that is safe and compliant. That’s why we prioritise secure payouts, responsive customer support and a platform that works exactly as players expect every time. These are all core principles odf safer Gambling Week.

But it’s also about integrity. We go above and beyond what’s required in compliance and responsible gambling. Our safer gambling tools are there not just to meet regulatory requirements but to genuinely protect customers. When players know you’ve got their back, they’re far more likely to stick around.

Chief Sales Officer, Christoffer Feldt-Sørensen, Symplify

What responsible/safer gambling means for Symplify

Simply put, it is one of the cornerstones of our product when delivering services to iGaming operators. Our customers rely on bespoke technology from Symplify that allows them to do two things, identify and react.

• Key tools, initiatives or processes Symplify offers to support safer gambling

Symplify’s integration methods mean that operators are able to “stream” data in a complete real time setting, enabling them to access and react in a way that just wasn't really possible before. This supports real time responses and action from operators, using Symplify to manage the user communication and move the user into ring fenced segmentation or block lists. We also manage a number of integrations with regional licensing authorities, allowing iGaming operators and labels to accurately sync their data together with various self-block functions.

• How Symplify promotes responsible play throughout the year

We’re a SaaS provider for the gaming industry, so in terms of what we do to “promote” is that we assist the operators in managing their offboarding and block lists. Very much behind the scenes, but a critical part of the infrastructure.

• A message Symplify would like to share with customers during Safer Gambling Week

Speaking directly to our customers who are gaming operators and labels, we remain laser focused on regulation and jurisdiction across the industry. We welcome legislation as it enables users to enjoy our customers' products in a safe and controlled environment. It is a privilege for us to be one of the building blocks of that environment.

Symplify welcomes gaming legislation as it provides a safe and controlled environment for players to enjoy our customers' products.