PlayOJO, the fair online casino powered by SkillOnNet, announces its latest campaign in partnership with Gemma Collins to encourage responsible gambling.

The TOWIE star and online Casino have partnered on a spoof fragrance launch to highlight that problem gambling is the ‘addiction with no smell’ and to help people recognise some of the early signs that someone they love, may be developing an issue.

The fragrance itself was named Compulsion, to hint at the behaviours that are often displayed by those who are struggling, such as lying about their finances and exhibiting extreme mood swings.

To raise awareness of the hard-to-spot, tell-tale early signs of potential gambling issues, PlayOJO and Gambling organisation, Breakeven have developed a new acronym to help concerned players, or those close to someone whom they suspect might be hiding an issue.

The SMELL acronym is designed to encapsulate the five signs of gambling issues that might be easiest to spot and are:

S – Sleep – is your loved one struggling to sleep at night?
M – Money – is your loved one inexplicably losing money or struggling financially?
E – Extreme – is your loved one exhibiting extreme mood swings?
L – Losing – is your loved one losing interest in the pursuits they have historically enjoyed?
L – Lying – have you caught out your loved one for not telling the truth recently?

Peter Bennett, Head of Marketing at PlayOJO, comments, ‘Our business is built upon the principle of fairness and transparency. We are committed to doing what we can to provide people with the information they need to help identify potential problem behaviours, and offer access to those in need of help to ensure Play Ojo is a safe place for people t have fun and gamble responsibly.

As part of the campaign we have launched a dedicated hub offering expert guidance and insight from our partners at Breakeven which is an extension of our ongoing strategy and commitment to providing advice and support aound the clock.

Our hope is that by working with Gemma and Breakeven, we will raise awareness of this issue and help encourage people to access support services if they spot the signs highlighted by the Compulsion campaign in themselves or a loved one.”

As part of the campaign, Gemma carried out an interview with Ian Semel, CEO of Breakeven, a charity that offers free counselling to individuals who are struggling with gambling behaviours issues, to better understand the early signs and minimise gambling related harm, as well as educating on strategies that can be deployed to overcome it.