Innovation and collaboration are key to safer gambling progress

There couldn’t be a timelier occasion on which to launch this new publication as the betting and gaming industry starts to wake up to the need for a new approach to safer gambling.

Sky Betting & Gaming took the decision some time ago to prioritise the creation of a safer gambling environment. We haven’t always got things right, but we believe that it is essential in creating a sustainable industry. We have increased our resource and intensity to focus on innovation in this space, with some firsts not only in marketing campaigns and in use of data, but in our culture too.

It’s been a challenge to make headway in an industry that is regularly criticised for being on the back foot. I would urge the many voices with a stake in this issue to open a regular dialogue with each other, for mutual support and encouragement when the industry and operators make progress and to maintain the pace of transformation that will lead to a stronger and more trusted sector. It takes courage from charities, regulators and government in the context of media sentiment to work together for the benefit of the whole.

Complex issues around responsible gambling and how we pro-actively and collaboratively maintain a progressive, trusted and sustainable industry are starting to be addressed, and Sky Betting & Gaming is making significant investment in new ways of tackling gambling related harm.

We have focused on better use of data to promote safer gambling amongst our customers, including suppressing marketing, setting deposit limits, self-exclusion, customer care and bespoke web pages that are personalised to make gambling support messages more prominent. We are now advancing our data science work to identify those at potential risk of harm through various academic collaborations, including a recent project with the Leeds Institute for Data Analytics at Leeds University.

In November of last year, we announced that our newly signed five-year partnership with the EFL would place additional focus on responsible gambling, to show how well-run operators have a part to play in industry reform.  The partnership announcement was combined with the first full paid- media campaign, shown during Sky Sports’ Premier League and EFL Championship coverage, dedicated solely to responsible gambling. No tricks, no offers, no call to action, just Jeff Stelling, to camera, reminding us all – the public and the industry – that betting should enhance, not impede, our enjoyment of sport. In short, becoming the first betting UK brand to dedicate media spend solely to ask our customers to gamble less.

This multi-channel campaign, alongside product changes to better surface RG tools, saw cool off period customer usage increase by 105%, deposit limit customer usage increase by 20% and most surprisingly, self-exclusion usage nearly halved – decreasing by 41%. Promising.

Then in February this year, Richard Flint, Sky Betting & Gaming chief executive, began campaigning for the online gambling sector to create a sustainable industry that is trusted by regulators, politicians, and customers. Speaking at ICE 2018, Richard said: “…I have also met a number of people whose lives have been greatly harmed by gambling, and as an industry participant it is clear that we can and should do more to help the most vulnerable customers. A key part of how we will do this is in our use of customer data. I would like to suggest that the industry adopt a four-point plan to harness technology and customer data to help reduce harm:

Use of customer data to understand behaviour and monitor for signs of harm 


Promote safer gambling by improving the accessibility, awareness and understanding of self-help tools 


We must interact with customers who show signs of harm, discuss their gambling behaviour with them 


Increase our interventions with customers to stop them harming themselves in the most extreme cases 


 Following this we hosted an industry collaboration day for a variety of stakeholders to kick off the conversations and build relationships.

 Last month we launched two major initiatives connected with our high-profile sponsorship of the EFL. Responsible gambling messages will now be displayed on every club shirt in every game. This started in the Sky Bet play offs and will apply to every game from the new season. In parallel, we announced an important investment of £1m in a responsible gambling education and awareness programme for players and staff of all 72 clubs of the English Football League with EPIC Risk Management, beginning at Birmingham City, Norwich City, Charlton Athletic, Brentford, Accrington Stanley, Carlisle United, Lincoln City, Newport County, Oldham Athletic, & Portsmouth during the off-season.

The aim of the training will be to ensure players understand the potential risks associated with gambling, the rules around betting integrity, and know how to look out for signs of potential harm in their teammates.

There’s a lot that’s been done. There’s even more still to do and we look forward to playing our part alongside other progressive minds inside and outside of the industry with a clear vision for shaping the next generation betting and gaming industry. Please get involved.

Rob Painter is brand and people director at Sky Betting & Gaming, which he originally joined as marketing director back in 2013. He has 15 years’ marketing and insight experience having previously held senior roles at News UK, including marketing director for The Sun and The Times.