Roundtable: SGW and the importance of balancing the needs of different parties

In this roundtable dedicated to Safer Gambling Week, we speak with Future Anthem Expert Advisor Svend Aage Kirk and ClearStake Chief Product Owner Robert Lindsay who touch on the significance of Safer Gambling Week, the changing regulatory climate, and what the industry may do to drive sustainable and impactful change.

As the representatives of companies who have worked long and hard to make the gambling industry safer, Svend and Robert offer unique insight into where we are today with regard to responsible gambling, how regulatory changes are impacting businesses and consumers, and what can be done to make gambling safer. As Jo Abergel noted in our conversation this week, retaining a clear focus for Safer Gambling Week is how you make the most impact. Do our speakers agree? Let’s find out.

Q: Let's start with a hard one - from where you stand, has Safer Gambling Week been an efficient way of raising awareness about problems and responsible gambling? What is left to be desired and what do you think the initiative gets right even now?

RL: Any public information message is to be welcomed and it’s good that the industry acknowledges the importance of reminding people about how to stay safe when gambling. Having said that, I think we should be honest about the limitations of public health warnings and information programmes. What works is consistent messaging throughout the year. Safer Gambling Week is welcome, but we need to see operators stepping up to the plate when it comes to practical player protection. That is what really helps in terms of protecting customers, and indeed protecting operators from the regulator. We all want a sustainable industry.

SAK: At Future Anthem, our vision is not just to increase awareness of responsible gambling, but to raise the bar, to be a leader in setting new standards through the application of data and AI and by personalizing the player experience. Safer Gambling Week helps ensure the topic is given the prominence it deserves - it is then up to the industry, and companies like ours, to ensure this focus remains for the rest of the year.

Initiatives like Safer Gambling Week can be commended for helping players stay in control of their activity and, in those cases where it’s needed, make a difference in encouraging and empowering friends, family, and work colleagues to influence those struggling with a gambling problem.

Q: There has been a lot of chatter about making gambling safer through the introduction of specific measures - mandatory KYC and AML verifications, deposit limits, time limits, and more. Do you think these measures cut closer to counter-productive draconian measures or rather - long overdue safeguards? And furthermore, is there a certain lack of clarity today that has even prompted Andrew Rhodes to criticizes the misinformation spread about the debate?

RL: Firstly, with a focus on affordability specifically, we have seen more clarity post-White Paper, but there is still a degree of uncertainty. It is wonderful that the White Paper and the consultation has given the industry some numbers to work with, so that operators know when they have to conduct financial risk checks. However, the same process has added some further ambiguity by not making it clear how it expects those checks to be carried out. We will wait to see what the details that come out of this process will be.

I firmly believe that measures such as deposit limits and affordability checks are not counter-productive. What is counter-productive is another headline about an individual suffering financial harm or person tragedy due to gambling. I’m sure the vast majority of people who bet with a high street gambling operator in the UK are betting less than £500 a month, so they’re never going to get caught by spend limits anyway. It’s right that operators exercise care

SAK: From both a regulatory and individual operator perspective, it is important to continually review responsible gambling measures to ensure the highest and safest standards are met. Suppliers play an important role through innovation and aspiring to make improvements. Predictive AI and data technologies present a huge opportunity to sustainably increase responsible gambling, helping to make personalized, real-time interventions that will build on the mandatory verifications such as KYC and affordability checks, which rightly should be a major part of any operator’s policy if they want to enjoy long-term stability.

Q: One thing that will definitely mark this Safer Gambling Week is the possible introduction of a mandatory levy on gambling companies' revenues - the estimated value is GBP100 million that could be going to the National Health Service to administer treatment, prevention, and further spearhead research. What are your thoughts on this?

RL: Investing in the prevention of gambling harm and conducting further research into the area is always a positive and something we see as an important move. But there is a point where we must question if gambling being seen as a public health issue a good model for the future of the industry. I suspect it isn’t. It is always much better for operators to cut the problem off at source by being responsible in terms of the product they put in front of people and how they interact with customers. Ultimately, this will make the industry more sustainable.

SAK: In my opinion, taxes are already quite high, as are the costs of operation. Adding more costs on top of this might just give the black market even better conditions for expansion if we’re not smart about things, which is obviously something we don’t want to see at all as player risk will be less important to unlicensed operators.

For regulation to be successful, it needs to balance the needs and requirements of many different parties. It must create a level playing field from an operating perspective that allows for sustainable commercial growth while offering a safe and fun environment for players.

At Future Anthem we support the industry helping to fund treatment, but the emphasis should always be on prevention rather than cure. We plan to continue our efforts in using data and AI to research in this area, with exciting initiatives planned for 2024, and welcome working with operators and studios that are similarly aligned to the importance of sustainable play. Timely and personalized interventions – made possible by AI-powered systems that harness vast quantities of data – are shown to significantly reduce risky play.

Q: Most of you have focused on creating solutions that allow businesses to remain sustainable while focusing heavily on responsible gambling. Do you think the involvement of the government and further funds channelled into bolstering player protection is going to also help you?

RL: We don’t depend on it, but obviously the involvement of government has helped us. We think responsible gaming is something the industry should be committed to achieving anyway, but we’re never going to make the government or regulation go away. Cooperating with them can only benefit the sustainability of the industry.

SAK: Being an advisor to Future Anthem, I’ve experienced first-hand just how powerful personalized real-time intervention is to the industry. I’m sure that Anthem’s expertise in managing and utilizing gambling data, combined with extensive research can form the basis for the next step in sustainable gambling. We are looking towards positive play – encouraging players to use gamification to promote positive gambling behaviors.

Q: At the end of this conversation, what do you think the industry can achieve to truly bring around a positive change? We have already seen strong initiatives on the part of companies such as Kindred Group and their commitment to reducing revenue from harmful gambling. We have also seen how incredibly hard this can be. What is your opinion on this?

RL: There is a huge amount the industry can achieve in this area and if they are really serious about it, they can put in place the systems that prevent anyone’s gambling spiralling out of control, or at least prevent people spending money they can’t afford to spend.

A gambling operator has a lot of information about their customers at their disposal and it should be possible for them to evolve their business to be about providing entertainment that enables people to spend what they can afford, while avoiding gambling getting out of control by understanding their playing habits and identifying when they change.

Ultimately, there’s a prize up for grabs for the operator that can look the public and government in the eye and say ‘we don’t take any money from problem gamblers’ – and there is nothing stopping anyone doing it right now.

SAK: It requires collective action and we have seen over a number of years that significant advancements are being made to initiate positive change.

Machine learning and AI are bringing significant and fast changes to all industries. The application of these technologies for responsible and sustainable play is here and now, with market leaders recognizing the opportunity to grow and develop their businesses positively. Future Anthem plans to be a leader in this regard, facilitating and accelerating the industry’s journey to a place where it puts player experiences at the top of its priorities.

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