Gambling Commission: Industry needs to collaborate, not compete, on responsible gambling
In her final interview as CEO, Sarah Harrison tells EGR that operators need to move “further and faster” on the issue
UK-facing operators must collaborate rather than compete on the technology needed to reduce problem gambling, the Gambling Commission’s outgoing CEO, Sarah Harrison, has urged.
Speaking to EGR in her final interview as head of the regulator, Harrison said firms spent too much time “ripping chunks” out of each other, when they should be working together.
“One aspect of our current strategy is not only a commitment to using the stick, but helping operators share best practice across their businesses,” Harrison said.
Harrison added: “I think operators are all investing in the same things by looking at algorithms, data and technology for safer gambling, and while there is power in that, they need to come together and not look at this as a matter of intellectual property and something they should compete with each other on.
“It should more be something they share and collaborate on because that would put them in a better place to move further and faster, which is what we want.”
Sarah Harrison, Gambling Commission CEO
The industry has taken some steps in this direction over the last year, with Sky Betting & Gaming partnering with William Hill and local academics to develop machine learning and predictive modelling to help identify problem gamblers.
However this type of collaboration has proven to be the exception rather than the rule in most cases, and Harrison called for the industry to move faster to tackle these issues.
She added: “We would always want these things to be done at a much faster pace; there’s no great surprise about that.
Harrison is set to leave her position at the end of February for a new governmental role, but promised her legacy of “ruffling feathers” would continue with her acting successor, Neil McArther, also committed to protecting consumers.