EGBA members sent 45.5m safer gambling messages in 2022

EGBA added that 48% of these messages were personalised. This means that they were sent directly to customers that had displayed concerning gambling behaviour. This was up by 42% from EGBA’s last report.

Safer gambling was also the second most common topic in the 9.7 million unique customer service dossiers, making up 13% of the total. The most common topic was offers and bonuses.

Maarten Haijer, the EGBA secretary-general, said that the report shows positive signs of how EBGA is addressing safer gambling.

“We’re delighted that our members continue to make positive progress in their efforts to promote safer gambling,” he said. “This is all part of their commitment to put a sustainable approach to gambling at the heart of what they do.”

EGBA’s members include Flutter, Entain, Kindred and Betsson.

Safer gambling communications

The safer gambling messaging saw 51% of customers contacted decrease their losses within three months. EGBA said that those that did not received continued communication.

The rise in safer gambling messaging was accompanied by an overall rise in active customer accounts. These hit 31.2 million in 2022, up by 4.7% year-on-year.

Of the total active customer accounts, 60.0% used at least one safer gambling tool in a voluntary or mandatory way. In addition 30.0% used a tool voluntarily.

In terms of the types of voluntary tools, the most popular were deposit limits, which were put in place by 67.0% of customers. The second highest were time limits, also known as reality checks, at 14.0%.

Remaining customers using voluntary tools made use of product blocks, self exclusion under six months and self exclusion over six months.

Deposit limits were the choice of 23.0% of all active customer accounts. This is an increase from 16.0% in 2021.

Focus on sustainability

The report also included a joint-CEO letter, authored by top executives of companies involved in EGBA.

The letter was authored by John Coates, joint group chief executive of Bet365, Jesper Svensson, CEO of Betsson and Jette Nygaard-Andersen, CEO of Entain.

It was also authored by Peter Jackson, CEO of Flutter, Nils Andén, CEO of Kindred and Nir Hakarmeli, managing director at 888 William Hill.

The letter detailed how the companies view their responsibilities when it comes to protecting customers from harmful gambling.

“At the heart of our commitment is our belief that our services should be enjoyed as entertainment,” it read. “Every day we bring fun and excitement to millions of European customers, but we recognise that every customer is unique and that some require additional support to ensure their experience is positive and doesn’t compromise their well-being.

“The well-being of our customers is a shared responsibility and other regulated operators should, like we do, have early warning systems in place to help prevent harm,” it continued. “An investment in those systems is a necessary investment in a sustainable future for the sector.”