SBC News

Kindred Group Plc cites that improved customer interventions have led to a ‘slight decrease’ in revenue share generated from harmful gambling, recorded during the close of 2023.

The Stockholm-listed gambling group continues to report on responsible gambling metrics and customer interventions on a quarterly basis as part of its ‘Journey towards Zero’- a social responsibility initiative launched in February 2021.

Updating stakeholders, during Q4 Kindred saw its share of gross winnings accumulated from high-risk accounts stand at 3.1% – a decline on 3.3% reported during Q3.

The figure sees Kindred detail stable tracking of safer gambling metrics, which stood at 3.1% during year trading.

Of significance to Kindred’s safer gambling objectives, the percentage of detected customers who exhibited improved behaviour after interventions increased to 87.4% – the highest index recorded in 2023 (Q1: 83%, Q2: 86% Q3: 86%).

Kindred noted that the sustained positive trajectory in the improvemen..

A review by GambleAware has shed more light on the success of the residential rehabilitation programme for gambling harm victims.

The initiative was first launched back in 2021 when GambleAware commissioned Adferiad Recovery and Gordon Moody – charities that facilitate addiction rehabilitation – to lead a service that is tailored for people with severe gambling issues and those suffering from substance misuse.

The programme sought to address a gap in the services available in Great Britain that conventional treatment providers offer, which could prove insufficient for clients with complex conditions.

This has been done by giving individuals the chance to be in residential settings where they can receive detox, intensive treatment for gambling issues, as well as specialised mental health support, which has led to ‘positive short-term outcomes’ in large due to the residential settings providing an ‘intensive, but also safe and and supportive environment’.

Encompassing the period b..

GambleAware has revealed that some members of the LGBTQ+ community may be at a higher risk of gambling harm.

The newly published scoping study – ‘LGBTQ+ People and Gambling Harms: A Scoping Review’ – was commissioned to build an understanding of the lived experience of gambling harm amongst the LGBTQ+ community in Great Britain.

Researchers from the University of Brighton completed the study by analysing articles published between 2000 and 2023 on gambling harms in the LGBTQ+ community and its impact on people’s mental health, finances, relationships and employment.

Evidence on experiences of LGBTQ+ people accessing support services for gambling harms was also examined, as well as any barriers faced in doing so.

The study noted that “gay and bisexual men and young lesbian and bisexual women may be at increased risk and may experience greater harms associated with gambling”.

In addition, gay and bisexual men could be 3.4 times more likely than heterosexual men to suffer from gamb..

Jake Pollard
The Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), France’s gambling authority has updated its framework related to how operators should protect minors and players at risk of excessive or pathological gambling.

The French gambling regulator said the framework was set up to implement a sustainable and recreational business model among land-based and online operators in the country and while new studies set to be carried out this year should provide updated figures.

The authority cited that between 2014 and 2019, the number of “moderate risk gamblers” had stabilised, but was still at a high level of 1 million people.

However, it added that the number of excessive and problem gamblers had risen significantly over the same period, affecting almost 370,000 people in 2019, compared with 200,000 in 2014. There has also been evidence that minors have been gambling.

ANJ noted, therefore “the prevention of excessive or pathological gambling, and, beyond that, the protection of gamblers, app..

Jake Pollard
France’s gambling regulator Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) has placed reducing excessive gambling and the protection of minors at the heart of its 2024-26 strategic plan and has called on all economic and institutional stakeholders to work alongside it to reach those targets.

ANJ’s plan marks the end of its first cycle of regulation since it succeeded ARJEL as industry regulator in 2020 and arrives at a key juncture for the French gambling sector.

Industry revenues have increased by over 50% to more than €13bn since 2010 when the market opened to regulation and in 2024 “gambling has become a mainstream consumer product for people of all ages and from all walks of life”, said ANJ.

French gambling in the spotlight….

On the commercial side, France’s largest gambling group Française des Jeux (FDJ) this week tabled a €2.6bn offer for the European online operator Kindred Group, which the Swedish group has accepted. In terms of regulatory developments, in the past year t..

A public statement by the Dutch Gaming Authority Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has revealed that the regulator has renewed its collaborative project with the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM).

Both organisations exhibit shared values and responsibilities towards consumer protection, and it is understood that the renewed cooperation agreement will increase their mutual efficiency to strengthen the Dutch market in the years ahead.

Recently, the KSA took additional steps to control the sports betting scene in the Netherlands after several reports suggested that there is currently an increased risk of match-fixing in amateur sports competitions due to a fragmented approach towards the analysis of matches.

These developments reflect the evolving gambling landscape, which is why the renewed cooperation between the KSA and ACM will aim to create a tighter regulatory belt around the challenges that could potentially endanger Dutch consumers.

The new protocol is being enf..

Kindred has donated its branding space on Middlesbrough FC’s first team shirts to the MFC Foundation logo for this weekend’s match against Rotherham.

As the Championship club’s principal sponsor, Kindred supports the move as part of the club’s ‘Foundation Weekend’ in removing its Unibet branding for the cause.

The initiative aims to highlight the Foundation’s ‘life-changing work’ for participants of all ages in the local community, as well as how people in the area can access its projects and services.

Sam Mead, General Manager of Kindred Group, said: “It’s important for all of us at Kindred to use our position as principal partner to help the Foundation achieve the visibility and recognition that its work deserves.

“We’re proud not just of our relationship and partnership with Boro, but also our sponsorship model that has helped so many people in the local community.”

In detail, the MFC Foundation works to ‘raise aspirations’ and ‘improve the life chances’ of young people and ad..

More than half of compliance professionals from the international betting and gaming industry believe the implementation of financial risk checks in the UK will have a negative impact, the SBC Media Challenges in Compliance Survey, commissioned by IDnow, has found.

The study surveyed 100 senior compliance representatives from operators in Europe, North America and Latin America about existing issues and concerns over upcoming changes to market conditions. The full report will be published in late February 2024.

One topic that garnered strong and polarising views was the UK’s proposed financial risk checks – the affordability checks that the UK Gambling Commission is currently running a consultation on – and their impact on the domestic and international market.

When asked about the impact the checks would have, 67% of respondents said they would lead to a reduction in customer sign-ups at licensed operators, compared with 26% who predicted the move would have no effect.

Interesting..

Spillemyndigheden, Denmark’s Gambling Authority, published its ‘Game Consumption Report’ stating that land-based gaming venues experienced a decline in bets volume towards the end of 2023.

Data highlighted by the paper reports that land-based betting activity for November dropped to 15.5% from the 27.27% in October.

Overall, the market’s entire gross gaming revenue (GGR) from sports betting in October fell from September’s strong estimates of DKK 184m (£21.1m) to around DKK 52m (£5.9m) – a 76% decline on corresponding results.

Though yet to be specified, it is suggested that the notable drop of engagement in the fourth quarter of 2023 might be related to what is now known as the ‘Safe Play’ cards – a form of ID verification first introduced by Denmark’s national lottery Danske Spil.

Back in 2019, the Danish operator brought the idea to light as a method to limit underage gambling and money laundering in the country by rolling out physical and electronic ID cards to its network o..