A leading responsible gambling app used by UK customers has been boosted by the addition of a new feature that will enable greater precision blocking of gambling related sites.
The feature focuses on a new calendar-based capability for the BetBlocker tool that will enable users to specify precisely which days they will be able to access gambling sites. To date, the problem gambling app, which was designed and funded by the betting website ThePogg.com, had only provided users with the capacity to block all access to gambling sites for a fixed length of time.
But the new feature will now make it possible for users to create their own calendars that will be able to specify which days they would like to prevented from accessing any gambling site, and which days they will allow access to these sites. On the dates chosen by the users for blocking, the app will block access to all betting sites for the duration of each of those days.
According to BetBlocker, this will give players the power to prevent themselves from gambling on particular days. They may, for example, choose to use it at the weekend or during the first few days of the month following their usual payday, at a time when they have been vulnerable to problem gambling, while still allowing themselves to gamble on other days.
Speaking about the new feature, Duncan Garvie, who is a trustee at BetBlocker, said that responsible gambling was about more than a simple do or don’t, and was also about helping to ensure that people who enjoy gambling are accessing this activity in a manner that is both safe and controlled:
“BetBlocker’s new calendaring feature is a leap forward for blocking software, extending the service from a simple on/off to a point where users can now tailor restrictions that suit their specific needs.”
BetBlocker earned the official regulatory seal of approval earlier this year when it earned official recognition from the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) which listed it as one of its six listed safer gambling and problem gambling prevention charities.
The UKGC has repeatedly stated that it is focused on making the UK a safer place to bet and to turn the UK sector into a safer gambling world leader. The latest example of the UK gambling sector’s drive to raise standards of customer protection is currently underway. Safer Gambling Week in the UK and Ireland is aimed at promoting responsible gambling, and the industry will hope that it will still have an impact among online gamblers at a time when many gaming venues are closed.