Five leading industry CEOs call for “stronger” culture of safer gambling in Europe
Bet365, Kindred, Betsson, Entain and William Hill commit to setting a high bar for RG as new data reveals 75% of players used safer gambling tools in 2020
The CEOs of bet365, Entain, William Hill International, Kindred Group and Betsson have united to call on European operators to foster a “stronger” culture of safer gambling online.
In a new letter published by the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) within its first ever sustainability report, John Coates, Jesper Svensson, Jette Nygaard-Andersen, Henrik Tjärnström and Patrick Jonker cited a responsibility to “take the lead” in promoting such initiatives.
“Our collective ambition is to foster a strong culture of sustainable gambling across our industry, one that strives to innovate and exceed expectations, and which supports a sustainable and long-term regulatory framework for the sector,” the CEOs wrote. “2020 has certainly provided an important test in this regard.
“The global Covid-19 pandemic has been a challenging situation for everyone and, as online gambling operators, we took several actions to strengthen the protection of our players and the responsibility of our advertising during this time,” the CEOs added.
The executives drew attention to a “monumental shift” in the identification of at-risk gamblers, primarily down to the introduction of new technologies, which they suggested allowed for more accurate and timely support, as well as an opportunity for greater industry collaboration and understanding of the issue.
“In an increasingly inter-connected digital world, we believe that a well-functioning and well-regulated licensed market is the best solution for society stakeholders and a guarantee against black-market operators,” the CEOs added.
Addressing the pledge, EGBA secretary general Maarten Haijer said: “The personal commitment of the CEOs to achieve these objectives is vital and welcomed.
“It is very encouraging to see that our members are already putting their commitment into action through the greater deployment of safer gambling tools and by communicating more than ever before to their customers about safer gambling, and in an increasingly personalised and targeted way,” he added.
Within the report itself, EGBA members reported that 75% of their customers used safer gambling tools during 2020, an increase from 63% in 2019.
A total of 2.8 million personalised communications were sent to customers about their individual gambling during 2020, a 133% year-on-year increase.
In addition, 14.2 million generic communications promoting safer gambling were sent to customers last year, with just under 50% (8.1 million) received by customers during the period.
More than three quarters (77%) of employees at EGBA member operators (32,479) received training on safer gambling at some point during 2020.
Meanwhile, contributions made to research, education and training-based causes increased by 150%, up from €4.2m in 2019 to €10.5m in 2020.