Kindred Group has become the first gambling operator to report its share of revenue derived from high-risk players showing signs of harmful gambling – as well as a measurement of its model in place to eradicate it – as it continues its commitment to reaching zero per cent of revenue from harmful gambling by 2023.
The new data shows that 96 per cent of Kindred’s gambling revenue is derived from players betting safely and sustainably with a further four per cent of revenue derived from ‘high-risk’ players who are showing signs of harmful gambling and action is subsequently taken. This includes accounts closed for addiction, players who have self-excluded for 6 months or more and players flagged as ‘High Risk’ by Kindred’s Player Safety Early Detection System (PS-EDS). 76 per cent of Kindred’s players displayed healthier gambling behaviour as a result of interactions made by Kindred with its customers to promote safer gambling tools and behaviour.
With previous attempts by researchers and other groups to analyse the level of revenue derived from harmful gambling often proving inaccurate and attempting to claim that betting operator revenue is built on an exploitative model, the new data from Kindred is an important step forward in the debate as the Government continues its evidence-led Gambling Act Review.
To help inform the ongoing debate and ensure that it is based on facts and evidence, from today Kindred Group will report the risk profile of its revenue on an ongoing basis. Kindred’s identification system and action programme has been developed with industry researchers. Together, they provide a clear picture of how much of Kindred’s revenue comes from potentially harmful gambling and how it can be eradicated by 2023. The results will be reported with the proportion of customers who return to healthier gambling as a result of measures taken by Kindred.
Neil Banbury, UK General Manager at Kindred Group said “This is a key moment in the debate here in the UK. We are committed to contributing positively to that debate and believe that by opening our books and working together with Government and other stakeholders, we can reach a solution to ensure players who need assistance with their betting behaviour receive it. We have come a long way at Kindred and believe in ensuring that gambling is only ever a form of entertainment, but we want to continue going further to drive down that four percent figure to zero per cent by 2023.”
Kindred has built a system that actively works long-term to inform, identify, and prevent players from developing problem gambling. On Kindred’s platforms, in communication with customers, and through sponsorship and marketing channels, Kindred regularly informs customers about various control tools and the importance of playing responsibly. If a player suddenly deviates from his or her normal playing behaviour, it is flagged in Kindred’s identification system, and the player receives information via the platform about tools that can be activated to limit his or her gambling. If that does not help, the player is contacted via email, text message, or phone.
Henrik Tjärnström, the CEO of Kindred Group said: “In order to evaluate our own sustainability work and counteract problem gambling, we continuously measure how our efforts contribute to healthier gambling together with how much of our revenue comes from harmful gambling. We are confident that sharing these figures will increase the understanding of our long-term sustainability work.
