BETTER CHANGE
allow staff visibility of player sessions which can encourage interactions are sound proposals. Some of the regulations around cashless payments in particular refunds and the charges associated with them will have to evolve if we are going to provide a solution which is workable, secure and cost effective and this is the challenge with the new government. In a world where consumer trends consistently change we need to have the ability to move at pace to meet the needs for our customers.
The incoming Labour government talk about the need for growth in the UK economy country faces so therefore it would be unwise for them to ignore an industry that provides 110,000 jobs, raises £4.2billion in taxes and contributes £7.1billion to the economy. Only by demonstrating the progress that is being made will we be able to demand action from government bodies that are juggling a number of priorities. It has been encouraging recently to see operators such as Kindred publishing the progress of their “mission to zero” incentive showing that income from high-risk players has fallen to 3% and Entain project has had in increasing the number of interactions with players.
I very much hope to see more of this in the coming months as well as supporting operators in demonstrating the impact of their safer gambling initiatives and attracting the attention of government bodies for the right reasons.
Rob Mabbett
treatment services by simply writing blank cheques. There needs to be an evidence base and there needs to be evaluation of services, without this scrutiny nobody wins and could result in millions of pounds disappearing into an NHS black hole. I would implore that any operators, suppliers and trade bodies challenge how levy funding is spent when it eventually gets put in place. All aspects of compliance are important including player protection but so is the commercial aspect of our industry, one does not trump the other and we need to give them equal credence to provide the best (and safest) experience for our customers. If a business isn’t viable then it ceases to exist or in this case ceases to trade under a UK licence and therefore would not contribute to the levy, 1% or 0.4% of nothing is still nothing! We need to ensure that our regulated market is competitive, not just against the illegal market but also against the rapidly evolving entertainment and hospitality sectors.
One of the elements of the gambling act review that is particularly pertinent here is the
20 AUGUST 2024
proposed “levelling up” of the land-based sector and the modernisation of casinos which will allow increased amounts of machines in venues as well as the provision of sports betting through self-service betting terminals. centres, pubs, service stations and holiday parks also have the opportunity to introduce cashless play to their gaming machines. In a world that has moved increasingly towards a cashless society since the coronavirus pandemic it is important that payment providers, banks and the gambling industry work together to provide a workable solution to this. I attended an event recently hosted by the Gambling Business Group which brought these key stakeholders together and was a good start in identifying the challenges which we will have to overcome. Safer gambling featured heavily and despite the negative press commentary around the subject, I feel that the proposed measures such as biometric payment (apple and google pay), deposit limits, added friction through an enforced pause between deposits to give the player
Rob joined Better Change from the charity Gordon Moody where he spent 5 years running their international gambling helpline “Gambling available in their residential treatment centres to meet demand. With over 12 years industry experience, including being a previous winner of the Racing Post and SiS Betting Shop Manager of the Year award, Rob brings a unique insight into the
prevention and treatment of gambling harm and is keen to focus his efforts further upstream as we aim to prevent against gambling harm at Better
s m
Change through Positive Play.
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