The Senet Group is an independent regulatory body geared towards promoting responsible gambling as well as socially conscience gambling marketing. Established in late 2014, the Senet Group was actually created by four of the largest gambling brands in the world - William Hill, Ladbrokes, Coral and Paddy Power - in response to the growing concern among British citizens regarding gambling and its advertising.
The company derives its name from the ancient Egyptian game of chance called Senet, thought to be one of the world's original games of chance. The allure of chance is what the Senet Group is hoping to curb as gambling addiction and abuse have long been an issue among the industry. The Senet Group and its members strive to eliminate problem gambling through policing the advertising and distribution of gambling access, truly putting player protection first.
The Senet Group wholeheartedly believes in the power of high impact campaigns as they have mostly structured their company around campaigns involving the core issues the group advocates. Due to its relative youth, the Senet Group have only launched two significant campaigns to date: the 'Bad Betty' campaign and the #gamblesmart campaign.
'Bad Betty' Campaign | Ran throughout 2015, the 'Bad Betty' campaign was designed to prevent problem gambling using all available medias including TV, radio, print and even digital media. The campaign's adopted slogan - "WHEN THE FUN STOPS, STOP" - can be seen featured on some of the members' pages as well as all throughout the campaign advertising.
The slogan was designed to highlight the warning signs of problem gambling and the benefits of staying in control. According to the Senet Group website, the campaign featured these tips:
#gamblesmart Campaign | This was a massive social media campaign dedicated to promoting responsible gambling behaviour. The hashtag #gamblesmart was used to promote videos and other digital content highlighting the value of responsible gambling. The campaign ran from November 2015 to Decemeber 2015 running across all major social media outlets including Twitter and Facebook - you can see them all here.
Senet Group members were required to frequently promote and share the videos as well particpate in a three day poster promotion. The members were required to devote their shop windows to the distinctive yellow and black campaign posters for three days starting 16 November.
In order to reach their goals of monitoring and enforcing compliance within the online gambling industry, the Senet Group seeks commitments from their members regarding their campaigns, which mostly include advertising restrictions and any other measures needed to protect the players. These commitments must be made by all new members and result in fines and "name and shame" tactics from the group when not fulfilled.
The Senet Group's foundation is the members as the entire body relies on these members' commitment to the campaigns as well as participation in the dedicated campaigns. Without the members participation, the regulatory body simply becomes a fining machine. Fortunately, the founding group members understood it was up to them and fellow global gambling brands to curb problem gambling with the help of these regulatory bodies like the Senet Group.
The Senet Group's website explains the three general commitments by each member:
Also, each member of the Senet Group has met the requirements laid out by the UK Gambling Commission to earn an iGaming license. But the aim of the regulatory body is to go well above these standards in order to make the United Kingdom the leading iGaming hub in the world.
Since its 2014 launch, the Senet Group has rapidly expanded in terms of members as well as overall reputation. The group is currently made up of some of the most elite gambling brands on the planet including its founders - William Hill, Ladbrokes, Coral , and Paddy Power - as well as newcomers Betfair, Scotbet.com and Sky Betting & Gambling.
In early 2016, the Senet Group broke out into the budding online bingo industry signing the heralded Gala Bingo as a member. It came as little surprise as the industry needed more regulation and Gala Bingo is not only one of the most popular online bingo offerings, its parent company, Gala Coral, owns and operates two of the original founders - Coral and Ladbrokes.
Most familiar with online gambling regulation recognize eCOGRA and their familiar logo frequently placed along the bottom of their members' offerings but the Senet Group is hoping their logo and repuatation can reach the same recognition as they continue to sign the most elite brands on the web.