The CEOs of bet365, Entain, William Hill International, Kindred Group and Betsson have teamed up to urge European operators to develop a "stronger" culture of safer online gambling.
In a new letter published by the European Gambling and Betting Association (EGBA) as part of their first sustainability report, Jon Coates, Jesper Svensson, Jette Nygaard-Andersen, Henrik Tjernström and Patrick Jonker indicated the responsibility to “lead” the promotion of such initiatives.
“Our collective commitment is to foster a sustainable gaming culture in our industry that is committed to innovation and exceeds expectations and maintains a sustainable and long-term regulatory framework for the sector,” the CEOs wrote. “2020 has certainly been an important test in this regard.
“The global Covid-19 pandemic has been a challenging situation for everyone and, as online gambling operators, we have taken a number of steps to strengthen the protection of our players and increase the accountability of our advertising during this time,” the CEOs added.
Executives noted a "monumental shift" in identifying at-risk players, most notably prior to the introduction of new technologies, which they believe have enabled more accurate and timely support, as well as the opportunity for greater collaboration and understanding across the industry. question.
“In an increasingly interconnected digital world, we believe that a well-functioning and well-regulated licensed market is the best solution for society's stakeholders and a guarantee from black market operators,” the CEOs added.
Addressing the pledge, EGBA General Secretary Maarten Hayer said: “The personal commitment of CEOs to these goals is vital and welcome.
“It is very encouraging to see that our members are already making good on their commitment by expanding the use of safer gambling tools and educating their customers more than ever before about safer gambling in an increasingly personalized and targeted manner.” - he said. added.
In the report itself, EGBA members reported that 75% of their customers used safer gaming tools during 2020, compared to 63% in 2019.
During 2020, 2.8 million personal messages were sent to customers about their individual gambling, an increase of 133% compared to the same period last year.
In addition, 14.2 million generic messages promoting safer gambling were sent to customers last year, of which just under 50% (8.1 million) were received by customers during this period.
More than three quarters (77%) of EGBA member operator employees (32,479) have received safer gambling training at some point during 2020.
Meanwhile, contributions to research, education and training increased by 150%, from 4.2 million euros in 2019 to 10.5 million euros in 2020.
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