Jo Abergel: “The category’s key word for me is ‘impactful’ - I want to see the impact”

In this interview with Jo Abergel, one of Casino Guru Awards’ esteemed judges in The Most Impactful Social Responsibility Initiative. Abergel talks about the evolution of the Casino Guru Awards format and what social responsibility in the gambling industry means, where it started, and where it is headed. She highlighted that donating time and expertise can be more valuable than money, citing a Hackathon that transformed a small charity’s operations overnight, for example. Abergel believes that every gambling company has a duty to give back and that any applicant in the Casino Guru Awards ought to demonstrate a tangible impact in their initiatives rather than simply good intentions.

Q: Jo, owing to your extensive work with Rock Learning and the Ethical Gambling Forum, you are uniquely positioned to define what makes a social responsibility initiative truly impactful in the gambling industry. Could you share your perspective on this?

Over the years I have seen various CSR initiatives being implemented through the gambling industry. My perspective is that impact is crucial and generally measurable, yet often not necessarily something that is considered by those creating the initiative. There is such a broad spectrum of initiatives which make it difficult to come up with a definition so I will give an example of something truly impactful.

A few years ago, a Hackathon was held in Gibraltar by a group representing the Gambling Industry and local charities were invited to submit projects for a technological solution to be found. For several years I had been involved with a local Helpline for at-risk youth (including problem gamblers and affected others). It was a small charity with limited resources but which had made a big impact in the local community.

However, we didn’t have the technical expertise, time or the money to create a system to consolidate all of our Helpline information. Over the course of the weekend Hackathon, where members of the gambling industry gave up their time for free to help solve the charities’ issues, we were given three different options for a platform to address our needs. One was chosen and the creators gave up more time to fine tune it and have it installed on our network. This whole project made an immense difference to our little charity, which would have been impossible for us otherwise.

Overnight, our listeners were able to access a caller’s history at the touch of a button, create referrals to other agencies and store information electronically - helping us get the right support to our vulnerable callers much more rapidly.

One of the lessons learnt from this is that donating time and expertise can often be far more valuable than money when it comes to CSR projects.

Q: As the industry wakes up to the need for more social responsibility initiatives, what ethical dilemmas do you think industry stakeholders face?

The dilemma with which I am most often faced is that of initiatives aimed at young people. There are restrictions on operators engaging directly with minors whilst there is a need for both more educational initiatives about the risks associated with gambling, and a need to engage with young people early in their career journey to help develop the talent pool for the industry. To overcome this, third parties are often used to deliver the projects but then the industry rarely gets credit for funding such initiatives. On the one hand restrictions are understandable but on the other early engagement between operators and potential customers could help people better understand risks involved and the importance of playing within their means, whilst improving the industry’s reputation.

Q:When evaluating social responsibility initiatives, what key qualities or approaches make a project stand out as innovative or particularly impactful?

As mentioned above, an understanding of how the project managers plan to measure success is important. It’s helpful to see the thought process behind the initiative, why it’s necessary, how it will make a difference, how it will be managed and how it will be reviewed. Thinking back over the past two years as a Casino Guru judge, the projects that have stuck in my mind have been the ones where the passion of the nominees has shone through.

Q: Jo, we believe that creating a meaningful social responsibility initiative is something that involves the joint efforts of industry stakeholders – operators, regulators, and non-for-profit organizations. Do you believe that the Casino Guru Awards format can encourage such collaborations?

Yes, I think the format is open and previous projects involving collaborations have been well received by the judges. Indeed, the success of many CSR initiatives would be greatly enhanced by a collaborative approach.

Q: Do you believe every company in the gambling industry has an obligation to pursue social responsibility initiatives? Why do you think some companies remain hesitant to embrace this challenge?

I do believe it is especially important for industry companies to participate in CSR initiatives. We all have a moral responsibility to give back to our communities, even more so to an industry where some people and colleagues can experience harm.

Q:What words of advice do you have for companies seeking to win the category in the upcoming Casino Guru Awards edition?

I’d like to understand better how projects are making a difference. The category’s key word for me is "impactful" so I want to see the impact. For example: How many more people are you reaching as a result of your initiative? What new groups of people are you reaching? How can you demonstrate to the judges that your project is on the way to achieving its aims?

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