BETTER CHANGE


queen, good job there wasn’t any actual money in play. Playing casino games at an event hosted by a safer gambling organisation might seem a little strange, but Better Change is about more than safer gambling. At the end of the day, if we do not understand our products fully, how can we help our customers get the most out of them and keep them safe? We will be hosting at least three Positive Play events in 2026, so if you want to get involved as hosts, sponsors or attendees, then please do get in touch. We would love to hear from you.


After a welcome address from Merkur COO Mark Schertle, the opening keynote was delivered by law firm Knights and was titled “A year in reflection and looking ahead to 2026”. Regulatory action cases from commissioners, as well as high-profile customer disputes, are highly challenging situations for any of us to find ourselves in, but the output from these cases can be very valuable in terms of learnings to support our organisations from a compliance perspective. This valuable keynote took a few examples of cases in the past year and broke them down in terms of the perceived failings, as well as what action can be taken in terms of preventing those failings, as well as protecting your business against customer disputes. This is particularly challenging in cases where alleged gambling harm takes place, as the data sometimes can be subjective; therefore, operators must have controls and processes in place that enable them to demonstrate their due diligence. Speaking at the next event, sponsor Yaspa explained how their “smart payments” technology can support matters of customer due diligence and financial risk checks by analysing customer spend patterns and reporting in real time, with a rapidly growing customer base. Yaspa are an organisation to watch in 2026 as they continue to develop their tech solutions for the gambling industry. Finally, it was the turn of Better Change and our Director of Strategic Partnerships, David Richardson, to take to the stage and show how Better Change has been supporting the industry in 2025 and how it will continue to do so in 2026. Getting good people into the industry, training them


20 JANUARY 2026


and retaining them has always been safer gambling 101 for us; without good people, even the best of strategies will fail. David spoke about our partnerships with key organisations in the sector and our training and education programmes, including our new apprenticeship in regulatory compliance, which are raising the bar in areas of product, safer gambling and compliance. Turning to the future, David reminded attendees of our manifesto released at the start of 2025 and how Better Change as an organisation is committed to challenging misinformation about the gambling industry as well as sharing the positive impact and good news that the industry provides. Providing training courses alone is not enough, and David’s call to action was to work with Better Change to share good news in 2026 and speak up for the industry to attract people who would not normally consider gambling as a viable career option. In his own words, “we need to get better at showcasing the good that we do because nobody is going to do it for us.” Of course, it would not be a Positive Play event without some actual Positive Play, so as well as a tour of the casino, attendees were treated to some learn to play sessions on Roulette and Blackjack. As well as the rules of the game attendees learnt about the various strategies deployed by players as well as some of the etiquette involved when playing in person which our own Partnerships and Delivery Manager Emma found out when sat in the last Blackjack chair hit on 14 drawing an 8 and costing everyone else when the dealer drew a


Speaking of events, there is a good chance that those of you reading this will just be about to or will have just attended ICE Barcelona. If it is the former, then make sure you come and see us at the BMM test labs stand, where, along with our partners at RG24seven, we will be exhibiting. Be sure to share your own thoughts on the challenges the industry faces in 2026, share some good news stories or simply show off your artistic skills on our huge chalkboard! If you are reading this on the plane home or if you didn’t attend this year, we are sorry we missed you, but do get in touch or visit our website www.better-change.org to see how our training and education, strategic consulting, data-driven analysis or product innovation support you and your business in making 2026 a year to remember!


Play Positively Rob


Rob Mabbett


Rob joined Better Change from the charity Gordon Moody where he spent 5 years running their international gambling helpline “Gambling Therapy” as well as helping to raise their profile and ensure sufficient treatment spaces were 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 Change through


Positive Play.


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