ATG to publish responsible gambling data in push to increase trust

The data will be released every six months starting in 2023 and will address four areas.

These are: the percentage of their players they contact as a result of risky gambling; the effect of contacting these players; how much these players reduced their problem gambling habits; and what percentage of these contacted players stop gambling.

Chief executive Hasse Lord Skarplöth said the aim behind this new initiative is to instill trust in the gaming industry.

Skarplöth noted that the Swedish Quality Index measured trust in the gaming industry at the end of last year and found that trust in the gambling sector was exceptionally low.

He stated: “We see this initiative as a first, and big, step in the work to improve the reputation of the gaming industry.

“The amount of people gambling has increased alongside the potential of companies taking responsibility for those who are at risk of developing harmful gambling practices. Operators offer the opportunity to play and therefore have the heavy responsibility of identifying and stopping players that may be at risk of problem gambling. By sharing this internal information, investors, politicians, our customers and the public are given the opportunity to evaluate us and how we push strive for more responsible gambling.”

ATG will join lottery operator Svenska Spel and Unibet operator Kindred in reporting key responsible gambling stats in Sweden.

This announcement follows Skarplöth’s blistering critique of bonuses, saying that they are “embarrassing” and “drive gambling addiction”. Sweden only allows operators to offer one bonus per player sign-up for a maximum SEK100. A large part of the industry is opposed to the bonus ban. However, Skarplöth believes that bonuses can contribute to problem gambling and ATG decided to self-impose a bonus ban.