SUSTAINABILITY
Holding businesses accountable for their sustainability
BetterWorldCasinos aims to hold game providers and operators accountable for their eco-friendly efforts with sustainability rankings. The BetterWorldCasinos Founder, Floris Assies. explains the process.
profit in the industry, it can be unsustainable in the long run, if companies just invest a little bit for the better it could make a significant impact. A little bit can still be a lot.” After attending the CasinoBeats Summit
2024 in Malta at the end of May, Floris reflects on the event: “Sustainability was among many topics discussed within the industry and there is more noise about ESG at these events, more than last year. There has always been talk about diversity, equality and safer gambling. However, now there is more talk on the environment.
“The new CRSD legislation for the European Union has also influenced companies to engage with ESG. The Malta Gaming Authority also released an ESG code at the end of 2023, supplying operators with a framework to report on.”
Expanding on sustainable efforts, Floris believes there needs to be less talking and more action. He explains: “If companies want to be sustainable, they need to compromise from their bottom lines and not take shortcuts. They must acknowledge the costs of being sustainable and be willing to sacrifice profits.” Another piece of advice from Floris is for companies to stay ahead of industry compliances, which would also contribute to becoming more sustainable.
E
ntering the gaming industry in 2016 through the SEO content marketing scene, Floris Assies launched BetterWorldCasinos during Covid-19. His goal is to bring together the online gaming community so that it can be a catalyst for change. Floris explains how he first gained interest in the topic: “I’ve always been interested in sustainability while travelling around the world, I’d like to see it become a better place.” However, Floris admits that “there is a tremendous focus on all things that must happen to help the planet. In these conversations, there are long lists of don’ts. People sometimes need a break, which leads us to online gaming.” Combining the relaxation of gaming and contributing to sustainability, Floris realised there were gaps in the market. Whilst looking for a niche in a “Saturated market,” Floris questioned whether there were such things as a sustainable casino brand which concerns morals, ethics and investment in society. He states: “With all the money and
16 JULY 2024 GIO
BetterWorldCasinos will rank online casinos as well as operators to target multi-brand companies. Focussed on the UK market, the company comes across hundreds of online casinos, with new ones emerging monthly. In the ranking process, there are four key questions; How transparent is the company? What are its ESG strategies and carbon footprint goals? What are the compliances of the company? And finally, what third-party information has been released? From these questions, BetterWorldCasinos can make an overall ranking. With poor rankings, Floris believes that “It’s best to shine light onto positive things. We will mention the company if they have a valid reason.”
The future of BetterWorldCasinos sees regular updates for rankings, instead of an annual discussion. The company consists of a team of four, Floris, a Co-Founder, a Head of Research and a Head of Development. Floris states that the company is still in its startup phase, and analysing key data points is a lengthy process that takes in a lot of considerations when researching these companies.
“Transparency and integrity are the core values that I’m building,” said Floris, who believes that companies should be held accountable for their social and environmental footprint. Floris and BetterWorldCasinos aims to “create more transparency in this traditionally opaque industry.
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