William Hill to block underage Twitter followers
Bookmaker rolls-out new tool to prevent underage gamblers from interacting with the company across all its international brands
UK bookmaker William Hill has ramped-up its player protection initiative after launching an age screening tool on Twitter to prevent underage gamblers from interacting with the brand.
The Gibraltar-licensed firm claims to be the first bookmaker in Europe to introduce age verification on the social network and it will be used across the entire group, including in Italy, Spain, the US and its Australian businesses.
“Age verification, disclosure, and consumer protection is paramount across our entire business, and over the last few years has become even more important within our owned digital IP channels such as our apps and website,” Andrea Macqueen, group head of regulatory at William Hill, said.
“Our age verification processes are robust, and now Twitter’s age screening tool will help to ensure we are engaging with age appropriate audiences across social media too,” she added.
Twitter and other social network sites have become an essential marketing tool for egaming operators with a recent report by online gaming strategists Think Gaming concluding social media had become the number one acquisition channel.
Last month William Hill reported a 12% year-on-year increase in H2 2014 online revenues following a strong performance from its mobile gaming business and what it described as a “record-breaking” World Cup.
Online revenues for the six months ended 30 June increased to £261.1m, up from £233.9m during the same period last year, while the Gibraltar-licensed firm’s online operating profit slightly increased by 1% to £81.1m.