Kenny Alexander exclusive op-ed: What GVC is doing to help problem gamblers

What are we doing to help problem gamblers? It’s a question I am increasingly asked, not only by politicians and journalists, but investors, shareholders and colleagues too. And rightly so. As a leader of a business that was not involved in the fixed odds betting terminal debate (GVC acquired Ladbrokes and Coral in March 2018), it was clear to me – and I think most people in the industry would now accept – that we have not been proactive enough in looking after potentially vulnerable customers.

At GVC, safer gambling is a non-negotiable part of the way we do business. That is why we launched our Changing for the Bettor safer gambling strategy earlier this year. Outlining seven pillars of activity, with detailed proposals attached to each, this strategy provides a solid foundation to build from which will help us minimise gambling-related harm.

I was the first CEO to call for (and helped to achieve) the whistle-to-whistle TV advertising ban on live sports. We were the first operator to announce we would voluntarily reduce the maximum stake on B2 gaming machines in Northern Ireland from 1 April 2019. Although there was no legislative duty in this area, we believe it was the right thing to do. Also, we are the only operator to have doubled our voluntary research, education and treatment (RET) contributions from 0.1% to 0.2% earlier this year.

However, although this is a good start, I personally feel that we need to do more. That is why I am announcing additional measures, which we hope the rest of the industry will support.

Leading the way

I am calling for an end to all UK TV sports betting advertising at any time of the day on both live and repeated sporting events (except horseracing). While I do think there is a place for raising awareness through safer gambling adverts, these should be strictly limited to one advertisement per commercial break. We need and want to revolutionise the existing gambling advertising system but we cannot do this alone, so I call on our peers to come around the table, to support this move and make it happen.

That is not to say there are areas where we as GVC cannot lead the way. I am also announcing that we are ending all shirt sponsorship deals and removing betting adverts on match-side hoardings, a move that we hope will be welcomed across the country. Our aim is that the rest of the industry follows suit.

Beyond ensuring that we are a responsible operator, we also need to support those already in a vulnerable situation. That is why we are also committing to increasing our RET contributions from 0.1% to 1% voluntarily by 2022 – more than 10 times the current requirement. In addition, we will set up an independent trust from which we can direct funding towards the frontline cost of treatment centres, including one in Prestwick. And for those struggling to stop gambling, we will also offer all our customers access to the gamban blocking software, free of charge. Finally, we will continue to build on our existing behavioural analytics technology to ensure we offer the best customer protections in the world.  

This is a great industry to work in and I truly believe we provide fantastic entertainment products that we can be proud of, but all of us in the industry need to learn from the mistakes of the past, and take a more practical and hands-on approach to protecting the vulnerable.

We at GVC are not shying away from our responsibility in this area and hope our actions can raise standards across the entire gambling industry.

Kenny Alexander joined GVC as its CEO in March 2007. On the re-domiciliation of Gaming VC Holdings S.A. to the Isle of Man and its renaming as GVC Holdings plc, he became a director of GVC Holdings plc in January 2010. He was formerly finance director, then managing director, of the European operations of Sportingbet plc.