Opinion: The problem with problem gambling

The UK media has been gunning for the gambling industry in the past few weeks and the timing of a Gambling Commission report into failings at Paddy Power couldn’t have come at a worse moment. But this is not a time to shy away from some tough questions the industry needs to ask itself.

Paddy Power was found to have failings in its social responsibility and anti-money-laundering controls and agreed to contribute ?280,000 to social responsibility causes and “share lessons” with the industry following a Gambling Commission inquiry. Or as The Times put it: “Betting giant ‘encouraged addict until he lost his home and children’.”

It followed up with a call for more legislation to control the spread of the fixed-odds betting terminals in the UK and it is far from the only publication to do so, as the anti-FOBT lobbying effort once again gains momentum. A comment piece in The Guardian described FOBTs as the “scourge of the high street”.

This type of language, with FOBTs still called the crack cocaine of gambling, is increasingly defining the tenor and tone of the media debate over land-based betting shops in the UK. And it would be foolish to think this would not extend to online if the industry doesn’t recognise both its current and potential future problems.

It’s interesting to note that the AML issue Paddy Power admitted to occurred online and it would be naive to think many of the perceived social issues with FOBTs could not be extended to online slots. But while retail customer management relies on the skill and judgement of in-store staff to a large extent, online operators have a much wider view of the player. There is so much more they can do.

Placing controls on players is obviously not the answer. A nanny-state approach is not what’s required, and customers should be free to play whatever games they wish for whatever amounts they wish. The loss of ?10,000 to one customer can be the same as the loss of ?10 to another, after all. But the industry needs to remove its head from the sand when it comes to recognising its own issues.

Real problems, real solutions

Some players do become problem gamblers, and gambling addiction is real. There needs to be a united front on calling out bad practices and treating problem gambling with the seriousness is deserves. The Senet Group is a step in the right direction, but it cannot and should not just become a token effort to appease government interests. It should be the start not the end of the process.

There is arguably a need for a cultural shift similar to one that occurred with regulated markets, where operators were made to choose which side of the fence they stood on. Those who continued to aggressively target black markets were shunned and a much lighter touch approach to grey markets became the norm. It should be the same with responsible gambling initiatives.

It’s tough to invest in procedures and systems that have no obvious positive impact on bottom line, but long-term it is the only sensible strategy. As the industry is seeing with the horseracing levy battle, it can quickly fall foul of governments if it fails to present itself in the best possible light. And the cost of regulation can quickly exceed the cost of investing in sound self-regulatory practices.

Operators should allow customers not just more freedom in how they set their own limits, but more information and guidance on how to bet responsibly. Simply telling customers to bet responsibly without any guidance as to how to do so is not a hugely progressive attitude.

The major firms need to position themselves at the front of the debate and show they both acknowledge and reject the less salubrious practices that can bring the worst out of gambling. This is not an industry built on addiction and the misery of others, as it’s so frequently displayed in the media, but one providing entertainment to millions.

However, it only takes a couple of rogue operators to bring the attention of both the media and governments onto the industry and undo all the good work of a sector trying to present gambling as part of the modern entertainment business. As an industry there is a need to disavow bad practices and to publicly demonstrate all operators act in their consumers best interests at all times. Because the reality is most of the firms in this sector already do.