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SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
“ She said they [ Gala Bingo ] were looking to sort of differentiate against Mecca and future-proof and they ’ d be really interested in my experience .”
KEEPING IT REGULATED Progressing further in the industry , Reed saw positive ideas from both operators and leadership boards on how the industry can change its interactions with customers . However , the reactions from regulators told a different story .
“ It really frustrated me because I could see that the regulators and the environment that we ’ ve got in the UK was demotivating the operators to really try and go above and beyond and do anything different ,” she continues .
“ This is because it was easier and safer for them to just do the same thing over and over again and invest on the commercial side of things .
“ I also felt really strongly that it was really unfair that , as operators , we were constantly being told we were the devil and we weren ’ t doing enough . That if you placed your first bet , you ’ re going to end up with a gambling addiction . It was just a really unhealthy toxic environment .”
FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE Better Change wasn ’ t founded to demonise the industry . Instead , it focuses on integrating safer gambling so seamlessly that customers are fully aware of it , but it doesn ’ t interrupt nonunhealthy play .
“ We ’ re not a type of compliance company that says , we want a message to pop up when someone presses deposit that says ‘ Oh , you want to think twice about this . Are you sure you want to make a deposit ?’,” Reed continues .
“ No , it ’ s about seamlessly dovetailing the communications in with the commercial ones to get to a point where the safer gambling pages are , to make sure the right tools are available [ and ] to make sure the customer service teams have been adequately trained in how to interact with customers in a respectful way .”
The wider industry has come up against its share of criticism – much of it warranted . The GB Gambling Commission regularly orders operators to pay regulatory settlements for violating licence
“ I want the regulators to understand that there is more than one voice ” conditions , with social responsibility breaches constituting many of these .
UNFAIRLY TARNISHED Earlier this year , the Commission ordered William Hill to pay the largest regulatory settlement on record – £ 19.2m – for breaching a number of social responsibility and anti-money laundering measures .
While it is necessary to pay close attention to , and appropriately punish , serious infractions of player protection Reed sees the bigger picture – an industry that acts as a safe , fun pastime for a grand majority of players .
“ Personally , I love the industry and I ’ m really proud of the industry ,” she says . “ Why would I feel ashamed of the fact that I ’ m in an industry that ’ s one of the oldest that ’ s ever existed , that contributes huge amounts of tax every year ? What exactly am I meant to feel ashamed about ?”
Of those that are suffering harm , Reed says they are what inspired her to found Better Change in the first place .
“ And do I understand that by working in an industry that could offer harm , I have a moral obligation to try and make sure that it remains as harm-free as possible ?” she continues . “ Yes , and that ’ s why I founded Better Change
118 • ISSUE 135 • ICE LONDON 2024