Crown Resorts unveils new CSR initiative
Crown PlaySafe will be part of “expanded reforms” within the company’s Future Crown transformation programme. It will aim to broaden Crown’s focus from identifying and supporting those experiencing gambling harm to proactive prevention.
Crown will progressively move away from “Responsible Gambling” to Crown PlaySafe in the year ahead. Additionally, the operator will roll out a new website, logo, colours, language and purpose statement. It will also rename position titles across the company and its responsible gaming centres.
Pillars
The CSR initiative will feature four priority areas in relation to player safety. These pillars include “building a safer gambling future, with a focus on prevention and safer play”. In practice, this means developing products in a way that applies lessons from previous successful prevention and harm reduction strategies.
Crown is also pledging to “build a safer gambling culture, with care for the community”. The operator will aim to achieve this by working in partnership with government, regulators, education providers, businesses and community-based organisations.
Technology and data will underpin “building a safer gambling environment, with expanded support for vulnerable or at-risk players”. Finally, “building a safer gambling system, to improve our understanding of player behaviour” will require investing in research and data.
Research team
In relation to this latter pillar, a dedicated gambling research and policy team will play a vital role. Public health research expert Dr Jamie Wiebe was appointed to lead the team back in March 2022.
The team will also develop a new knowledge-exchange hub for industry stakeholders. This hub will include awareness and prevention education tools, testing of safer gambling concepts and research, and events and seminars.
“While our knowledge and understanding of gambling harm has deepened over the years, the introduction of new reforms and expanded support for vulnerable or at-risk players will make it easier for guests to manage and play within their personal limits,” Wiebe said.
Investments
Crown said that it has invested over AU$13m (£6.7m/€7.9m/US$8.7m) in gambling harm prevention and support under the operator’s new management team. The size of the company’s team dedicated to responsible gambling is double what it was a year ago.
Crown said that initiatives currently being introduced include mandatory carded-play and pre-commitment systems at Crown Melbourne. Furthermore, there is cashless gaming on electronic table games at Crown Sydney and $10 maximum bet limits on electronic gaming machines at Crown Perth. Additionally, there is a new resorts-wide online self-exclusion portal.
“We know that we can do more to maximise player safety,” Crown Resorts CEO Ciarán Carruthers said.
“That is why Crown is scaling up all efforts to introduce these world-leading initiatives. The plan addresses new and emerging challenges associated with gambling harm…. [These include] how we improve our understanding of gambling participation and develop new harm reduction concepts and ideas.”
The operator said that Crown PlaySafe was developed in consultation with gambling harm experts and industry. Its approach is built on research into prevention, early intervention and management of gambling behaviour.
The launch comes after Australia’s federal court completed proceedings against Crown for breaching anti-money laundering laws. Earlier this month, the court ordered the operator to pay a penalty of AU$450m.