It is always great to see the results of collaboration and working in partnerships with other organisations, which we value as an organisation focused on raising awareness and ensuring supports are available to anyone affected by harmful gambling no matter where they are in Ireland.
Our work with AIB is testament to this as they report after just four weeks of introducing the initiative to enable customers to block the use of their cards from gambling operators, over 100 people have accessed this support. That equates to 25 people per week requesting to have their cards blocked from use for gambling. This is a hugely important measure for anyone trying to manage a difficult and stressful situation but also for people who recognise that they are developing a problem with gambling as it allows them to take control early on and to prevent the problem from getting worse.
We worked closely with all our service providers when gathering information for AIB in terms of what tangible supports and measures could be put in place for vulnerable customers. People in treatment told us that being able to block their cards would be a huge step in taking control of their situation and supporting them to make changes. It is in itself a way to self-exclude without having to go through each operator’s terms and conditions.
Oisin talks about how important measures like this are, how every support makes moving towards treatment and recovery that bit easier for individuals and their families. Our aim is to ensure people get the help they need when they need it, without barriers to access, long waiting lists or hurdles to jump.
We also, however, want to reduce the amount of people who get to this point, to inform people about the harms associated with gambling and how to identify if their gambling is becoming an issue and what steps to take. Initiatives like this one from AIB is something we would like to see emulated across all banking institutions.
