Turning consumer protection into a competitive advantage

A change of approach but also of perspective, to guide the gaming industry towards full (and true) sustainability

It was a few years ago that Ice hosted, as a keynote speaker at the Regulators’ Lunch, a British politician, Philip Davies, who was calling for consumer protection to stop being perceived by the industry just as a cost centre, but instead to be turned into competitive advantage, and therefore a reason why a player would choose one brand over another. Problem gambler is a lost customer – we have heard operators say over and over again and no one would argue with that statement. Therefore, operators should have a vested commercial interest in eliminating problem gambling as a retention tool – always cheaper than going after new customers. Yet, problem gambling persists (even though the reported levels of problem gamblers stay the same despite the growing availability of gambling, or in some jurisdictions have been reported to decrease) and operators keep being fined for their failings in customer protection. While many operators have invested a lot more over the last few years in consumer protection, it seems that investment is driven more by regulatory restrictions and threat of fines rather than by commercial prerogative, which indicates that consumer protection is still seen as a cost, rather than as a marketing tool for either retention or acquisition. Could we fathom a marketing message centred around safer gambling rather than a sign-up bonus? We’re probably not there yet. But I am more optimistic today than five years ago when that keynote was delivered that we might get there one day. With companies like Kindred making public commitments not to drive any revenue from problem gambling and the advancements in research on effective tools to reverse the consumer’s trajectory towards unhealthy play, the commercial driver for safer gambling is becoming more tangible. Even though a lot of the industry activity is still motivated by threat (of more stringent regulations or fines) rather than an opportunity (for more compelling proposition). The evolution and growth of the Consumer Protection Zone at Ice London is one example of the growing investment in safer gambling and one that gives me foundation to feel confident of the increasingly commercial drivers behind RG. At the time of writing this article, we’re still three weeks out of the show and the Zone has sold out to host a mix of charities and providers of technology and solutions to enhance consumer protections. It has always been our intention to ensure that the Consumer Protection Zone has a variety of profit and not-forprofit exhibitors to demonstrate indeed that safer gambling can be a profitable business, to display a variety of products, from player analytics, to detection systems, affordability and player tools, and to showcase the breadth of research underlying the constant improvements in the RG approaches. Hosting the educational programme of talks, discussions and demonstrations, the Ice London Consumer Protection Zone has always been a buzzing area on the showfloor, with a busy vibe of which many other exhibitors can feel envious. Between the Cpz theatre and the Ice Vox Rg masterclass, there will be education on safer gambling available almost non-stop throughout the three days of the show – put together to satisfy the learning needs of the Ice visitor base. What a stark difference from a few years ago when a responsible gambling topic was barely featured and would attract a small group of evangelists. It has also been interesting to track the evolution in nomenclature, from problem gambling, through responsible gambling, to safer gambling and now also to responsible marketing, which reflects the shifting dynamics towards prevention. And that last iteration is yet another demonstration of how consumer protection gains an even broader commercial dimension. As player analytics tools designed to identify ‘at risk’ gamblers evolve and expand beyond responsible gambling to broaden up operators’ understanding of players’ capabilities and preferences while keeping the health of their gameplay as the core prerogative, the mindset and priorities of marketing teams change too to encompass the concepts of responsibility and player health, possibly soon as retention tool indeed. And thus we observe the broadening scope of responsible gambling, not so long ago just a small compliance function, into other areas of business and disrupting the historical mindset of what drives its commercial success. As concepts of responsibility expand to influence industry perception and reputation towards a more sustainable, long-term view of the industry future, the theme of Esg, i.e. Environmental, Social and Governance impact come into forefront as the next frontier for discussion and inclusion. The pressure this time is coming not just from regulators interested in governance, but from investors too who are increasingly taking a long-term view of their investment, inclusive of the predicted demands of the new generations of consumers, more and more interested in engaging with businesses that do good. And the Ice London Cpz will reflect that Esg aspect in its discussions too.