Protecting the ecosystem
ULRIK BENGTSSON: BLACK MARKET CONCERNS AND THE REGULATORY 'BLIND SPOT' THE WILLIAM HILL CEO TAKES HIS SIDE in the debate
around affiliate licensing, before explaining why player safety forms a central part of the operator’s DNA and reflecting on the worrying prevalence of black market activity in Sweden and beyond
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illiam Hill Group CEO Ulrik Bengtsson believes that a company’s every fibre should be focusing on enabling its customers to play in a safe environment. Speaking to SBC Leaders during the UK consultation into the 2005 Gambling Act, Bengtsson said that everyone’s focus should be on protecting the vulnerable when it comes to both operational and regulatory discussion. William Hill itself is committed to providing customers with a safe, engaging experience, and Bengtsson said this philosophy is coded into the core of how the business operates. The William Hill CEO noted that the operator’s key ambition is to make sure that no player who uses their product is unduly affected - but explained that this was ‘always going to be aspirational’. He explained: “The DNA of William Hill and the way we approach these things is with the ambition that everyone using our products or services should do so in a safe environment. There will obviously be a few cases that slip through the net, but we need to be able to look ourselves in the eye and say we did everything we could, at every given junction, to protect our customers. “Sometimes things go wrong. Sometimes customers want it to go
6 SBC LEADERS • APRIL 2021
wrong because they actually try to circumvent the system; they use various email addresses and different names. And sometimes, we make mistakes. This means I don’t believe that it is possible to get to zero, but we want to get as close as possible. “The DNA of William Hill needs to be that we want our customers to have a positive experience. We want them to have fun, we want them to engage with each other, we want them to enjoy betting on sports and enjoy the event, that’s what we’re all about.” Bengtsson believes that it is much better for all concerned that those who develop problems are handled within a regulated environment as the prevalence of the black market is arguably one of the biggest threats to player protection, with many unlicensed operators failing to implement safer gambling measures. Earlier this year, a report published by the European Gaming and Betting Association highlighted a worrying trend in black market activity across Sweden. And for Bengtsson, the rates of channelisation across Sweden are a real cause for concern. Because while 38% of players have self-excluded in the central database - banning any licensed operator from taking their business - there is a large chunk of these players continuing to gamble offshore.
WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO LOOK OURSELVES IN THE EYE AND SAY WE DID EVERYTHING WE COULD
