Major iGaming Operators in the UK are Proactively Protecting Players
Published August 13, 2019 by Lee R
A committee funded by private operators and populated by government officials is providing enhanced solutions to player protection.
A new initiative to proactively protect against problem gambling is underway in the UK.
New Committee
An independent committee formed by the “Big Five” leading UK betting and gaming companies will determine how to allocate funding for responsible gambling and problem gambling treatment.
The Organizations
With Conservative Party member Chadlington serving as its chair, the committee has been commissioned by UK gambling powerhouses bet365, Flutter Entertainment (owner of Paddy Power and Betfair), GVC (owner of Ladbrokes Coral), Sky Betting and Gaming, and William Hill to appoint more members in September before deciding on recommendations by year's end for the most appropriate mechanisms for receiving and administering funds, and monitoring their deployment.
The committee spots will be unpaid, with sponsoring operators covering administrative costs.
Committee Chair Speaks
Chadlington spoke more about his strategy as head of the new committee:
“The committee will consult widely to formulate its recommendations taking account in particular of the views of government, regulators, the third sector, gambling operators and those with lived experience.”
Broader Context of Initiatives
This is the latest in a series of measures the Big Five group is making to optimise protections in the British market: in June, the firms made a commitment to raise the voluntary contribution level towards problem gambling from 0.1% to 1% of gross gambling yield by 2023.
Contributions Chart
That contribution is estimated to total £60m (€67.1m/$75.7m) per year by 2023, with each brand providing regular updates on customer safety improvements; adding more responsible gaming messaging to advertising and sharing problem gambling data.
Whistle to Whistle Ban
Another measure the Big Five took just came into place August 1st. The “whistle-to-whistle” ban on advertising around live sport was accompanied by GVC's call for a full blackout on broadcast advertising by gambling operators while ending all football shirt sponsorship deals. Paddy Power joined the shirt sponsorship movement through a campaign entitled "Save Our Shirt.”
Outlook
The commitment the Big Five are taking towards responsible gaming should be seen as a promising development in gaming's largest market. Hopefully, private operators in other jurisdictions follow suite.
