SBC News

Issue 27 of SBC Leaders Magazine takes a tour of global gambling to get the lowdown on the ever-closer relationship between the betting and media industries, operator efforts to improve player protection, scaling a gaming supplier business, and even the use of rappers in marketing.

The publication underwent a full redesign ahead of this SBC Summit Barcelona issue and, in addition to a stylish new look, it also now features opinion columns from some of SBC Media’s most experienced writers.

One thing that has not changed though is that the magazine includes interviews with a selection of industry big hitters, including cover star Vladimir Malakchi, Chief Commercial Officer of games developer Evoplay, who detailed his approach to leadership and scaling a business.

Elsewhere, LiveScore Group’s CEO Sam Sadi discussed the increasing convergence of the sports betting and sports media industries, and took aim at one of the great clichés of the online age.

“People say content is king,” sa..

EPIC Risk Management has announced the addition of former Premier League and international footballer Simon Haworth who will help deliver its education sessions on gambling-related harm.

The ex-Wales, Coventry City, Cardiff City and Wigan Athletic forward has recently joined the gambling harm minimisation consultancy’s long-standing partner WHYSUP as a programme facilitator.

As an extension of that arrangement, Haworth will join WHYSUP Founder Mark Murray in supporting EPIC’s session delivery across a range of high-risk sectors as an associate.

Haworth said: “It’s brilliant how EPIC raises awareness and educates. It means a lot to me to be able to share my lived experience within the sports industry. I’m looking forward to being part of the EFL programme we deliver, and the prospect of the MLS Players Association sessions too.”

Having seen his professional football career curtailed due to injury during his time at his final club Tranmere Rovers, the player said that he turned to ‘i..

Flutter Entertainment has joined the charter of WiHTL, a business collaboration community devoted to increasing diversity and inclusion in the hospitality, travel, and leisure industry (HTL).

The initiative sees Flutter become a sponsor of WiHTL’s Women Non-Executive Director (NED) Programme. CFO Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson will also become a founding member of WiHTL’s CFO Committee.

Founded in 2016, WiHTL is a collaborative organisation formed to help HTL businesses establish diverse, inclusive, and understanding environments for a sector impacting five million people globally by 2025.

Tea Colaianni, Founder and Chair of WiHTL, said: “I am thrilled to welcome Flutter Entertainment to our Collaboration Community and delighted that they are sponsoring our Women NED Programme, which is key to increasing diversity in boardrooms across the industry. With its global reach and high-profile brands, Flutter will make a significant contribution to our community.”

Flutter underscored the import..

BetCity.nl has initiated an upgrade of its responsible gambling practices and solutions by partnering with Mindway AI.

The Dutch-facing Entain-owned sportsbook brand will utilise Mindway’s technology and knowledge of artificial intelligence (AI), neuroscientific insights and analysis to deliver a safer gambling experience to its customers.

Mindway’s GameScanner tool will play a particularly important role in the partnership, due to be used by BetCity to analyse player behaviour and detect early signs of problem gambling.

“We are thrilled to partner with BetCity.nl,” remarked Rasmus Kjaergaard, CEO of Mindway AI. “By combining our expertise in early detection of at-risk and problem gambling with BetCity.nl’s innovative online gaming platform, we can provide a comprehensive and effective solution that prioritises player protection and minimises the risks associated with gambling-related harm.”

BetCity aims to better conduct interventions with problem gamblers by leveraging Mindway A..

GamCare has launched its new ‘Online Community’ to provide users with seamless access to its online support services.

Branded as a ‘space to connect’, GamCare’s new Online Community has integrated the problem-gambling’s treatment support charity’s forum, chatrooms and MyGamCare into a single destination for users.

“Now through one login and in one integrated space, users can view our growing selection of online tools to help connect with others, as well as manage gambling behaviours,” GamCare explained.

Changes will see users log in through an Online Communities area, using their same GamCare account and password. Once in the Online Communities area, users can navigate back to the main GamCare site through the main menu.

In addition, GamCare has bolstered its Online Community with new features including a new chatroom calendar to see all upcoming sessions, as well as a new forum design and layout.

GamCare maintains that its Forum and Chatrooms will remain strictly confidential ..

Australia has welcomed the launch of BetStop, the new ‘single point’ gambling self-exclusion scheme available across all six federal states.

BetStop is operated by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), which in 2022 was instructed to develop a federal self-exclusion scheme to protect vulnerable consumers from gambling risks better.

As agreed by the gambling authorities/boards of the Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, the Northern Territory, and Tasmania, all licensed operators must register their player databases with BetStop, regardless of the state in which they are licensed.

The ACMA has been entrusted to operate a “comprehensive self-exclusion system, encompassing all licensed wagering providers in the country, covering both online and telephone-based platforms.”

Changes will require operators to prevent self-excluded players from creating accounts, accepting their bets, and sending them marketing content. Furthermore, all licen..

GamCare has confirmed the appointment of D’Arcy Myers as the new Interim CEO of the problem-gambling treatment support charity and operator of the 24/7 National Gambling Helpline.

Myers’ appointment follows the leadership departure of Anna Hemmings, who ended her five-year tenure as CEO of GamCare in June.

An expert in leading high-profile charity organisations, Myers has led and mentored multiple charities through periods of change, including Allergy UK, The Percy Hedley Foundation, the TV and Film Charity, and The Solicitors Charity.

Further experience in the third sector has seen Myers serve as a founding member of the Small Charities Coalition and as Chair of The Association of Charitable Organisations and The Smallwood Trust.

Welcoming the appointment, Margot Daly, Chair of GamCare Trustees, commented: “I am delighted to welcome D’Arcy to GamCare. His wide-ranging experience will be invaluable for the organisation at a time of great change for this sector.”

Myers takes leader..

Ygam’s ‘Mindful Resilience’ workshops have been validated by a Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) evaluation, one of its partners in the programme, showing a positive response from participants.

The RGC reported that 91% of participants in the workshops rated the programme as ‘good’ or ‘very good’.

Around two-thirds of participants – which included GPs and nurses, among other healthcare professionals – also stated that they had begun implementing lessons from the workshops into day-to-day practices.

Mindful Resilience was launched in September 2020 as a joint-initiative of Ygam, the RGC, Betknowmore UK and the University of Bournemouth, with the objective of training healthcare professionals on gambling addiction treatment, and ran until 2022.

Linda Scollins Smith, Director of Programmes at Ygam, said: “The findings of this evaluation are encouraging and a positive step in addressing the need for better understanding of gaming and gambling harms within the health care sector.

“Th..

Using data from GambleAware, the relationship between mental health and gambling harms has shown new and revealing links between mental health and betting.

Studies by Alma Economics – which used the gambling harm education group’s, Annual GB Treatment and Support Survey.1 – found that there is a ‘significant link’ between higher rates of gambling harms and worse mental health.

It showed that a one unit increase in Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) 2 score increased the probability of someone having a diagnosed mental health condition by 3%.

For example, the group detailed, an individual with a PGSI score of zero has a 22% probability of having a mental health diagnosis, while an individual with a PGSI score of eight has a 41% probability of having a mental health condition.

GambleAware Chief Executive, Zoë Osmond, said: “The relationship between gambling and mental health is significant for medical practitioners and gambling support organisations, as it can influence the ty..

GambleAware has initiated an application process to protect the funding of gambling harm prevention, support and treatment projects and programmes across the UK.

The initiative is required as the funding of gambling harm prevention projects/programmes enters a transition period from a voluntary to a statutory levy – established as a guaranteed outcome of the Gambling Review.

Stakeholders were notified that “the Gambling Commission and GambleAware have agreed to ringfence a proportion of the funding to help stabilise the system of gambling harm prevention, support and treatment”.

A stop-gap fund is required to support organisations in England, Scotland, and Wales affected by potential changes in funding following the Government’s intention to introduce a statutory levy on problem gambling research, education and treatment (RET).

Funding will be allocated according to GambleAware’s ‘strategic framework’, requiring organisations to show they meet one or more of its five outcomes rela..