ATG to follow Kindred’s lead on sharing Responsible Gambling data
Swedish horse racing giants ATG have announced that they will, starting 2023, be publishing transparent reports on all their internal activities that involve battling harmful gambling. ATG said that they will publish this data twice a year, and will partner with Kindred Group and Svenska Spel – with whom they make up more than 50% of the gambling market share in Sweden.
Swedish operators have taken a big leap towards addressing harmful gambling lately, with the LeoVegas Group also commissioning a four-year research at Karolinksa Institutet in October. ©Adrian Trinkause/Unsplash
In a sense, this is a hat-tip to Kindred Group’s own, very public efforts to reduce any revenue they make from harmful gambling down to zero by the end of 2023. As part of this initiative, Kindred put out reports throughout the financial year, with the latest one revealing that there had been a spike in harmful gambling revenue during Q3.
While ATG’s efforts aren’t an exact match to what Kindred Group has set out to do recently, it is a move in that general direction. With Svenska Spel also being involved, this is a positive signal in the Swedish gaming market.
This joint motive intends to boost public awareness whilst contributing necessary information that is required to reduce gambling harm. Starting in 2023, the following broad metrics will be addressed on a bi-annual basis. These are:
- The percentage of customers contacted post-detection of behaviors that indicate harmful gambling behaviors.
- The effect of contacting afflicted customers.
- Monitoring data of affected customers to see the reduction rate of harmful gambling.
- The percentage of afflicted customers who quit gambling.
Swedish operators double down on problem gambling
Problem gambling has been a substantial talking point in the Swedish gambling industry lately. Not long before ATG’s announcement in October, online gambling operators LeoVegas Group had announced that they would be partnering on a four-year, deep-dive research project with Karolinska Institutet to identify early signs of problem gambling.
The Swedish market is one of the most active gambling markets in the world, governed by a strict gambling authority. However, research from Kindred Group suggested that the citizens’ trust in the gambling industry is relatively low, despite the fact that gambling is a popular source of entertainment in the country. The report stated that 56% of the total population had gambled for money over the last year, according to the Swedish Public Health Agency’s population survey.
Gambling operators have the advantage of studying psychological and technical aspects that lead to harmful gambling, and identifying patterns helps operators detect traits early on. These detection and prevention methods, at the moment, are at a point where they can be used to clearly demarcate what is and isn’t harmful gambling. ATG’s chief executive Hasse Lord Skarplöth said that their initiative would be a big step in furthering this aspect of the industry.
“Humans have always gambled for money and more than every other Swede gambles regularly today. Nothing new under the sun, in other words. On the other hand, the speed of play has increased as well as the possibility of taking responsibility for those who risk getting hurt while playing. The betting companies provide the speed control and therefore have the heavy responsibility of also pointing to the brake pedal. With the above key figures, investors, politicians, our customers and the public are given opportunities to evaluate us in how we handle that mission. We see it as a first, and big, step in the work to move the needle for the reputation of the gaming industry.”
Svenska Spel Boosted Fund For Gambling Problem Research
Svenska Spel said that it has generated and reserved over $5.5 million to fund its research on gambling and harmful gambling since 2010. In August earlier this year, the Swedish operator confirmed that another $3.8 million would be added to the research fund over the next five years.
The operator intends to create a protective shield for its customers with methods that are proven to work. The independent research council of Svenska Spel has made financing several projects possible. Svenska said that their fund had been responsible for funding a fair number of projects in the problem gambling prevention sector, which had found breaking through to traditional research funders difficult. This particular announcement means that the company will continue to finance such projects until at least 2027, it said.
“The Research Council has been a driving force and a central part in establishing the research field around gambling problems in Sweden. There are still many unanswered questions about how best to prevent and treat gambling addiction. With that in mind, our continued support feels right both from a business and a humanitarian perspective.”
