Through the lens of his personal experiences of gambling addiction, Lee Willows, Founder & Executive Chair of ESG Gaming – a non-profit social responsibility, sustainability and harm minimisation group – discussed consumer protection, player integrity and safeguarding.
At a session in the Esports Betting Conference during ICE London 2024, Willows expressed how he used this knowledge of gambling harms to do greater good, establishing one of the major charities in the space.
Openly discussing sensitive topics such as suicide and being at ‘rock bottom’, the Founder emphasised that, particularly with the esports community, operators and publishers must be more mindful as the fanbase tends to be younger.
“There is a lot of excitement around the potential of gambling operators getting involved with esports which is great, but also, like alcohol, gambling can be an incredibly addictive substance,” he said.
Taking us back 11 years, Willows described going to the casino for the very first t..