GVC Aims to Establish as “Safest and Most Trusted” Corporation in the iGaming Industry by Highly Prioritizing Consumers' Protection

Following the successful acquisition of Ladbrokes Coral, GVC Holdings went live with a report announcing strong determination to become “the safest and the most trusted operator” in the industry. As far as the first post-acquisition Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Annual Report reveals…

…the operator established a board-level CSR committee and also developed a new CSR strategy, Fair Play, which aims to prioritize areas and issues to tackle in the year ahead. In addition to this, it appointed Grainne Hurst as its new director of responsible gambling and Jay Dossetter as head of CSR.

Making Commitments

Among various contributions regarding raising awareness and enhancing consumers’ protection, the group doubled the amount of voluntary donation to problem gambling research, education and treatment bodies to 0.2% of UK gross gaming revenue. The percent is projected to gradually go up to 1% by 2022. It said the donated sum would have been £20m…

…based on the most recent financial figures. The pledge was made alongside several rivals, William Hill, Flutter Entertainment (formerly Paddy Power Betfair), The Stars Group-owned Sky Betting & Gaming and bet365. The first announcement came in April, following its commitment to cancel sports sponsorship and a call an end to sportsbook broadcast advertising in the UK.

Reducing Potential Issues

The company plans to start the provision of safer gambling, as well as raising awareness and education programs for school children through its alignment with EPIC Risk Management. United with this independent gambling harm minimization consultancy, the company will pioneer new approaches to transparent reporting on responsible gaming and betting…

…as well as developing robust metrics. Moreover, the company plans to grow its partnership with Harvard Medical School, as to better understand and reduce the potential for problem gambling behavior. Virginia McDowell, Chair of the GVC board’s CSR Committee commented as follows:

“The past year has been transformational. GVC is now the world’s largest online-led sports-betting and gaming operator; a truly global operator with over 25,000 employees. Our growth has brought with it a commensurate expansion in the expectations around how we manage our responsibilities towards society, particularly as they relate to safer gambling. And let me be clear from the outset: Our ambition is to be the safest and most trusted operator in the world.”

Enhancing the Well-Being of Employees

The CSR Report also saw the group making a series of pledges as a responsible employer. The strategy includes the establishment of a “one GVC” culture across the corporation, harmonization of policies as well as the development of the employer proposition around a shared set of values and opportunities. Besides, the launch of Well-me is also announced. This targeted three-year plan aims to enhance the physical and emotional well-being of all employees.

As part of its Future Objectives, the company declared it would start distributing funds from the newly established GVC Community Fund through grants of up to £5,000. This way it will provide support for grassroots, women’s and disability sport as well as mental health and men’s health issues. Extending the range of responsible business operations, the corporation said it would take steps towards decreasing its greenhouse gas emissions by 15% by 2021 on a per capita basis.

Source:

“GVC aims to be industry’s “safest and most trusted” operator”, igamingbusiness.com, June 24, 2019.