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SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
EDUCATE WHILE PLAYING
ADDRESS THE ISSUES
LOOKING AT SAFER GAMBLING FROM A BETTER PERSPECTIVE
The industry ’ s biggest responsibility is ensuring that players are protected from gambling harm , Victoria Reed , founder of Better Change , tells Marese O ’ Hagan . However , finding a way to do this that also considers the demands of operating a business can be tricky
S afer gambling is at the forefront of the industry ’ s collective conscious . It ’ s a talking point on every panel , the subject of thousands of op-eds . It ’ s one thing we can all agree on .
But there ’ s a point of contention surrounding the way safer gambling is offered – or rather , how far it should go . At Better Change , balance is the most important aspect .
“ To sum us up , we ’ re about promoting positive play ,” says Reed . “ That is us in a nutshell . What we mean by that is , we want to empower all the operators and all the customers to reach their potential .
“ Everybody that comes into a gaming company should be able to have the enjoyment , the entertainment experience that they deserve . But there is a moral obligation on the operator to make sure that person remains safe and that play doesn ’ t turn harmful .”
For Reed , the foundational ethos of Better Change is to interact with customers in a specific way . That is , knowing how and when to do it .
“ We ’ re about finding ways to interact with the customers at the most appropriate time and the most appropriate way , to make sure they get the education they need without disrupting that enjoyment ,” she explains .
WHAT ’ S THE MOTIVATION ? Reed has spent 10 years in the industry , honing her craft across various operator groups . However , the seeds for Better Change were planted long before this , across the technology-laden landscape of Silicon Valley .
There , Reed ran a consultancy that worked to “ pivot , future-proof , differentiate ” companies . This futureproofing played a key role in her career going forward . In particular , when she received a phone call from a recruiter for a head of bingo role .
“ I was working for a Silicon Valley technology company , which had a half-billion-dollar valuation in the US and was like ‘ we don ’ t know what to do next ’,” she says . “ While I was doing that , I literally got a phone call from a recruiter in Gibraltar who said we ’ ve got a head of bingo role and would I be interested ?
ICE LONDON 2024 • ISSUE 135 • 117