Entain reports increase in responsible gambling customer interactions

An Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) report published operating giant Entain has shown that customer interactions for responsible gambling reasons increased 29.9% to 1.39m in 2020.

The operator also noted an 84.0% increase in the number of customers setting time and spend limits using safer betting and gaming tools.

The numbers mentioned in the report coincide with the company’s Advanced Responsibility and Care (ARC) initiative, launched as an affordability checking model for British customers in March.

The company also nearly tripled its financial contributions to responsible gaming charities, with its £9.7m worth of donations a 169.4% increase from 2019.

The number of self-exclusions made by customers reduced 52.4% to 70,170, whilst the number of customer complaints also fell to 15,822.

The report also showed that the company currently employs 11,336 women (down from 12,189 in 2019), making up 47% of its overall workforce (compared to 50% the prior year), with 36% of board positions occupied by female employees.

Entain was also able to reduce its total energy consumption by 23.3% thanks in part to Covid-induced office closures.

ESG committee chair Virginia McDowell said: “Since our last report, Covid-19 has caused unprecedented uncertainty, loss, and challenges to our communities and broader society. We responded with swift and coordinated action to protect our colleagues, customers and communities.

“We also were inspired by the hard work, resilience, and professionalism shown by our colleagues in the face of a challenging operating environment.

“For customers, our industry-leading safer betting and gaming measures were adapted to respond to the change in player behaviours and risks in light of the pandemic. We also continued to support our new and existing grassroots charity partners throughout this tough period.”

Original Article