With its creative and eye-catching “PLAY SAFELY” player protection campaign, MERKUR SPIELBANKEN is drawing broad social attention to the key issues of addiction prevention and responsible gambling – thereby underlining the company's serious approach to protecting players.
The humorous themes set the standard for a modern and respectful consumer-focussed approach in the field of health prevention:
We take this approach because the majority of casino patrons enjoy a worry-free gambling experience, but some are unable to control their gambling behaviour or integrate gambling into their everyday lives without stress.
MERKUR SPIELBANKEN’s “PLAY SAFELY” player protection campaign follows in the tradition of numerous nationwide preventive measures by the German Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA), which have been successful in bringing awkward and taboo subjects to the public’s attention through mass media communications – always with a generous application of humour. The BZgA campaigns, “Give AIDS No Chance,” (“Love Life” since 2016), “No Joke” on the subject of organ donation and more recently, “Germany is Searching For the Vaccination Card,” deserve mention here. “PLAY SAFELY” also employs such “overcoming obstacles” humour to directly reach out to people’s hearts and minds.
The campaign’s core messages discreetly highlight various behaviours that can lead to gambling disorder in the long run; thereby encouraging self-reflection. By varying the messages conveyed (including excessive gambling, disproportionately high stakes, overestimating oneself), light is shed on responsible gambling from a number of different perspectives.
Citizens will encounter the messages on posters as well as on social media channels; they will also be omnipresent at the casinos. All messages always refer to the online platform www.spiel-sicher.de as the core of the campaign. This website provides comprehensive information on the subjects of addiction, player protection and responsible gambling as well as on the player protection measures implemented by MERKUR SPIELBANKEN.
Message 01
According to the German Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA), some 200,000 people in Germany are pathological gamblers across all forms of gaming. Those affected lose their realistic perspective on the risks of excessive gambling – or continue to gamble anyway, fully aware of the negative consequences. Reflecting on one’s own gambling behaviour during a break from gambling can be a first step towards identifying problems, confronting them and tackling them alone or with the help of experts.
Message 02
In games of chance, the name says it all: Its outcome is based solely on pure chance. Games of chance are not predictable. Players should therefore always make a realistic assessment of their chances. Games of chance offer an exciting pastime, but are not a reliable source of income and are by no means an alternative to regular gainful employment for fulfilling life's dreams.
Message 03
Three out of four Germans have already participated in gambling. The vast majority play unproblematically and reflect on the opportunities and risks. Even though they are comparatively few in number, the fact that some do become overconfident and lose their grip should not be overlooked: As in all situations we encounter in life, it is advisable to always keep a self-critical eye on one’s own pleasure and maintain a sense of moderation. Our staff at MERKUR SPIELBANKEN are trained to recognise problem gambling behaviour and changes in the behaviour of casino patrons, to address those affected and to make them aware of the available help.
Message 04
Staking money on a gamble increases the thrill. But the following applies to every casino visit: Stakes can also be lost. Therefore, your first consideration should always be the consequences of potentially losing your stake. Every player hopes to win, but potential losses, which can happen at any time, must always remain within limits that the player is willing – and able – to afford. Casino patrons should therefore be aware of his or her individual financial budget and always bear it in mind while at the casino.
Message 05
Excessive gambling can result from a loss of self-control and can affect the entire life of the person concerned. Health problems, personality changes, increasing conflicts within the family and social environment or loss of one’s job or profession may result if patrons spend too much time in the casino and neglect their professional and private lives. Casinos are special establishments that offer a pleasurable and exciting leisure experience, but they should never become the focal point of an individual’s life.
Message 06
The same applies to gambling as is true in many other areas of life and leisure: Have fun, keep things in moderation and don’t overdo it. Taking the first bite of burger on an empty stomach or snatching a cold drink after a long bike ride are truly uplifting experiences. In contrast, if you can’t eat or drink in moderation, enjoyment quickly turns into frustration. The focus in a casino should therefore fall on moderate and responsible enjoyment, especially with regard to one’s own wallet: Every player should keep an eye on his or her individual financial capacity, set a limit in advance and not exceed it – even in the event of a loss.
Message 07
Players who believe they can, after losing a game, “win back” lost money by increasing the stakes or their playing frequency are subjecting themselves to a fatal error. They overlook the fact that the odds of losing again are practically the same as those of winning – regardless of how often they play. This is the nature of chance, and it cannot be outwitted. Those who still attempt to do so nevertheless run the risk of accumulating further losses because they fixate on their certainty of winning. To prevent this, casino patrons should accept that losses are likely (“Once it’s gone, it’s gone!”) and set themselves a personal limit for their gambling expenditure in advance. Once this limit is reached, they must stop playing and leave the casino.
Message 08
Has your gambling behaviour changed recently? Are you taking greater risks and gambling with increasing frequency? And are you finding it increasingly difficult to stop gambling? Do you sometimes fall into a real gambling frenzy? These may be signs of an incipient gambling problem. Don’t get too proud – inform yourself about addiction, gambler protection and serious help opportunities at www.spiel-sicher.de.
Humour is an all-rounder! It makes subjects that are complicated, unpleasant and arouse feelings of guilt or shame bearable and communicable. It overcomes taboos, is unexpected and surprising. It is particularly effective in reaching out to younger target groups. It goes straight to our hearts and opens our minds – even to painful things. It is the easiest way to access the things we find most difficult. Empirical research therefore advises prevention campaigns not to trigger negative emotions such as fear or shame, as those affected intuitively reject and block them (the so-called boomerang effect). In terms of avoiding or identifying risky behaviour, positive emotions that incorporate humorous appeals are more effective: They shift the recipient into a positive mood and increase acceptance of both the sender and the message conveyed. For precisely these reasons, the German Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA) has also been metaphorically splitting our sides with its educational campaigns for decades.
Each of us is confronted with some 3,000 campaign and advertising messages every day. In order to cope with this information overload, our brain reacts with an ever decreasing level of attention. In 95% of cases, for example, a campaign’s target audience is in a state of so-called “low-involvement”, i.e. they aren’t really capable of consciously perceiving the campaign’s messaging. In order to attract attention and actually reach out to the audience, public communication therefore needs to be emotionally stimulating. “PLAY SAFELY” relies on wit and a dash of provocation to score with moments of surprise, making the campaign ideally suited to attracting attention among the flood of other media communications – and deliver its message right on target.
Behind the discreet initial approach, the www.spielsicher.de homepage offers comprehensive and scientifically-based information on all issues regarding player protection at casinos – the heart of the player protection campaign! Here interested parties can find information, contacts, offers of help – but explicitly no advertising references to the casino locations!
Instead of demonising gambling from a biased perspective, thereby belittling those gamblers who almost without exception pursue their gambling passion without incident, the campaign takes a proportionate approach: It does not warn against gambling in general, but specifically against the risks of excessive gambling. Approaching a subject with humour does not mean losing respect: Those who attempt to regulate people’s leisure behaviour and impose alien lifestyles on them will reap resistance instead of acceptance. The opportunity to reach out to people with problems would be lost. Stigmatisation means that people are less likely to seek help. Instead of deterrence, the key to prevention lies in encouraging self-reflection and promoting individual risk competence.
To ensure that preventive messages are effective, it is crucial to identify the target audience and the approach to take. The faces of the MERKUR SPIELBANKEN player protection campaign are as diverse as our players: Everyone will identify with one of the figures here. “PLAY SAFELY” chooses authentic, true-to-life language that is real – not school masterly or aloof.
