Uncovering the hidden side of gambling · have missed work to gamble. It also has a serious impact...

Uncovering the hidden side of gambling

Gambling has a hidden sideHundreds of thousands of people experience harm from gambling today in the UK.

A new direction

Philip Bowcock02

Nobody harmed by gambling

IT’S OUR AMBITION THAT NOBODY IS HARMED BY GAMBLING.

This short publication explains how we’re taking steps towards that ambition. We’ll be taking action through the products we offer, the protections we have in place for customers and the part we play in making sure people who do experience harm from gambling receive the right help.

Central to getting this right is each and every one of us who works for William Hill. Every day, our 16,000 colleagues across William Hill come to work so that people can enjoy gambling, and many spend time with customers up and down the country. I’m determined that our colleagues understand that their instinct to care for our customers is the right one. When we make decisions for the long-term benefit of our customers, our business will be successful in the long run.

Philip BowcockChief Executive Officer, William Hill

Around 430,000 people today are classified as problem gamblers. That’s too many, but it’s also just the tip of the iceberg. Research from GambleAware estimates that two million people are at risk today. Anyone can become at risk of problem gambling, and some people are especially vulnerable because problems with gambling are deeply connected to a whole host of other social factors like substance abuse and mental health conditions. When gambling does go wrong, it doesn’t just damage one person. It also impacts their families, friends and communities.

In the past, we have fallen short on this issue. Public trust in gambling activities has declined over the last five years. Over that same time, we’ve been on a journey to improve the protections we have in place but what’s also true is that we haven’t faced bravely enough into the issues.

We want gambling to be a fun part of people’s spare time, which adds to the excitement of the sports they love. Gambling is meant to be a leisure activity, not a source of human misery. That’s why we must recognise the hidden side of gambling and get much better at helping our customers stay safe, in shops and online, in the UK and around the world. Society expects it, our customers need it and a sustainable future for William Hill depends on it.

We have not taken seriously enough the challenge of problem gambling. For too long, we’ve talked about individual responsibility and small proportions of adults who experience problems.

Every type of gambling product has the potential to cause harm to our customers. That is something we have to recognise and that harm is something we need to face into.

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The challenge

Too many people experience problems with gambling.

And that’s the tip of the iceberg – many more are at risk.

problem gamblers

people at risk of problem gambling

2m430k

We have often said that problems with gambling affect less than 1% of the adult population. But behind that headline number lies the true extent of the harm that gambling can cause.

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…and it’s not just people with

gambling problems who suffer.

6people are affected for every person with problem gambling issues

When people experience problems with gambling it can damage their lives…

61%missed work to gamble

30%of GamCare helpline callers reported financial difficulties

3in5suffered depression as a result of gambling

4xlikelier to have suicidal thoughts

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Our response

Lyndsay Wright06


not be gambling, full stop. And we need to be there to help them. But I’d also like to see us get to a place where any customer is safer with us than they are elsewhere.

These are the insights that inform our new strategy. There are also two convictions that inform it.

First, our colleagues are a crucial part of delivering on this ambition. I’ve seen how much the people in our business really care about our customers and want to play their part in keeping them safe. It’s crucial that each of us is empowered act on that and to do what it takes to make a difference.

Second, there is no single solution. So our commitment is to listen to the many people devoting energy to this issue, to try new things and to share what we learn. That is the only way we’ll make the impact we want to.

Lyndsay WrightDirector of Strategy and Sustainability, William Hill

We’ve been analysing our own data and working with experts to better understand the nature of that challenge. What’s striking is that harm from gambling is related to many other forms of harm. Of those people who have experienced problems with gambling, three in five have suffered depression as a result and 61% have missed work to gamble. It also has a serious impact on friends and family – in one study, 20% of online divorce petitions cited gambling as a cause.

When you look at the data, you also see that people move in and out of problem gambling behaviours over time. It is, in effect, a spectrum of behaviour – and at any given time you may be at a different point on that spectrum. That’s why our response goes beyond those people who are specifically classed as problem gamblers to include a wider at-risk population.

And it doesn’t stop there. Today, no-one has defined what really good, in control, gambling behaviour looks like. As a company that provides both the products and the environment in which people gamble, we have a real opportunity to help any person who wants to gamble to do so in a positive way. So we’re going to work hard on how we design our products, how we advertise them and how we interact with customers in ways that help all our customers stay in control. There are, without a doubt, customers who should

We’re one of the largest bookmakers in the UK – and there’s a responsibility that goes with that. We can, and we must, tackle harm from gambling.

This isn’t going to be a smooth ride. There will be bumps along the road. We will be criticised and some of that criticism will be fair. But we believe that it’s only by setting out with a bold ambition that we’ll start to see that change we want – and to have a positive impact on people’s lives.

colleagues across William Hill who can

make a difference.

responsible gambling interactions by William Hill with

our customers in the last year.

16,000

130,000

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“We need to face into the problem and own it. We’re up for the challenge. We believe we can help – and we believe we can find solutions.”Ruth PriorChief Financial Officer, William Hill

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Our ambition is:

We are committed to testing new approaches in our business and will be bold in scaling up those that have the potential to drive change towards our ambition.10


3. Gamblers experiencing

harm

2. People at risk

4. Our colleagues

1. All gamblers

Our strategy

Our efforts will focus on four crucial areas through which we can tackle problem gambling and protect those who are at risk of harm from gambling.

The following pages introduce the key elements of what we’ve learnt so far through our work in each focus area and our next commitments as a business.

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William Hill

Our strategy

Uncover what we’ve learnt so far at williamhillplc.com/nobodyharmed

Anyone can become at risk of problems with their gambling. So we want to ensure all our customers stay informed and in control so they can have a positive experience of gambling. The biggest impact we can make is through the products we offer, how we advertise them and the customer experience we provide.

1. All gamblersSupport all customers to stay in control through how we design and market our products.

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Our strategy


To prevent harm from gambling, we need to look beyond problem gambling to customers who are at risk – and support them before gambling becomes a problem. By getting closer to our customers and using data differently, we will be able to better spot markers of risk and intervene quickly and effectively.

2. People at riskCreate new ways to identify people at risk and intervene effectively – through new technology and the expertise of our frontline colleagues.

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Problem gambling is a complex issue that often relates to other challenges in people’s lives, from work and relationships to health and addiction. That’s why it requires a system-wide response. We will work with expert partners to play our part in strengthening the connections that are needed to support people experiencing harm from gambling.

3. Gamblers experiencing harmStrengthen the system of support for those who do experience harm.

Our strategy


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Our colleagues come to work so that people can enjoy gambling and many spend time with customers up and down the country. We’re determined to harness our physical and virtual footprint and frontline interactions with customers by ensuring that each of us is empowered to do what it takes to make an impact.

4. Our colleaguesEmpower our colleagues with the understanding and skills to make a difference.

Our strategy


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“People don’t always see the work we do to help customers at risk of harm. But we recognise that it’s just not enough. That’s why we’re making this commitment.”Nicola Frampton Managing Director, UK Retail, William Hill

Barbara Golding William Hill

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“Our colleagues are key – they’re the ones who are going to deliver this to the customer.”Lyndsay Wright Director of Strategy and Sustainability, William Hill

Shirley Collins William Hill

William Hill

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This is a long-term ambition

There aren’t short-term answers. But there are things we can put in place quickly to take action. These are our next commitments as we put in place the new strategy.

Nine next commitments

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This is a long-term ambition IMMEDIATE

BUSINESS ACTIONS

1. We will pilot mandatory use of account tools for some of our most at-risk customer groups. Research suggests that 18-21 year olds are the age group that have the greatest difficulty in staying control – so we’ll start by exploring how to increase the use of limit setting and time-out tools by this age group, including looking at making limit-setting mandatory for new customers of that age, wherever it’s possible to do so.

2. We want all customers to stay in control and play positively, whether they’re at risk from harm today or not. We know from other industries that putting data in customers’ hands can be a powerful way to help them make more conscious choices. We’re exploring ways to show customers exactly how much they’re staking, winning and losing across all of the gambling they do with us. We want to show them their key trends, with top tips on staying in control – and, crucially, help them spot any issues as they develop.

3. Thirdly, we will step up our training efforts in partnership with responsible gambling experts so that all William Hill people can step in effectively and sensitively with all kinds of customers when they spot possible gambling-related harm. The results of our pilot work with Betknowmore UK were impressive, so we’re going to partner with community organisations so we can make training more effective. And we’ll roll enhanced training out to all parts of our business, not just our customer-facing colleagues, so we all understand the role we can play.

LONG-TERM PROGRAMMES

4. As we’ve looked at the challenge, we’ve learnt a lot. But we also need to ‘get out there’ to see the challenge for ourselves. That’s why we’re launching an initiative to get colleagues from right across the business out to meet and work with problem gamblers and the organisations that support them. We want to make a positive impact through our efforts, and at the same time get deeper insight into the challenges and the best ways to help. We will bring that understanding back into William Hill to change how we do things.

5. We know that our people can bring great energy and imagination to this, and we want them to try new things. So we’re creating a Responsible Gambling Innovation Fund to pilot the best new ideas coming from our colleagues or external partners. It will be supported by a team drawn from across the business to drive our efforts and a fund of £150,000, and we’ll share what we learn.

6. And we’ll make it part of our culture and our KPIs. Our performance on sustainability is already part of the executive team’s long-term incentive plans. But as we gain more understanding of the difference we can make, we are committing to include more targeted KPIs for our business.

WIDER COLLABORATION

7. We know that we won’t solve it on our own. We’re committed to working with external partners and researchers who have a stake in tackling the harm that can come from gambling. We’ll be holding a first event this autumn to crowdsource new ideas and share what works, with the goal of kick-starting a different type of collaboration towards the ambition that nobody is harmed by gambling.

8. And finally, we see two crucial issues where we can raise our voice and press for change. The first is account-based play. Knowing who people are as they bet can help ensure that nobody is harmed – because we can identify risky behaviours sooner and intervene more effectively. Yet we know many customers don’t want to create accounts. So we will participate in pilot activity to establish what works. We believe that this is the way the industry is heading and we want to help get there quicker.

9. We know that advertising of gambling products can mean that young people come into contact with our industry before they’re ready. There’s more to do to understand the role of advertising in driving out-of-control behaviour. We want to be a collaborative partner in reshaping advertising around live sports. And we’ll start with challenging ourselves to look at all aspects of our own advertising at these times.

OUR NINE COMMITMENTS

IMMEDIATE ACTIONS LONG-TERM PROGRAMMES WIDER COLLABORATION

Pilot mandatory tools such as limits for at-risk customers

1 New programme for colleagues to work with problem gambling support organisations

Convene experts to crowdsource new ideas and share what works

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Give better data to customers to help them make conscious choices

2 Create a Responsible Gambling Innovation Fund to pilot new ideas

5Push for industry-wide adoption of mandatory account-based play

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Step up training in partnership with responsible gambling experts

3 Develop targeted KPIs on responsible gambling

Drive change on TV advertising around live sports events6

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What’s clear is that harm from gambling is a system-wide challenge, linked to a range of social and cultural factors. It is an issue so complex that there is no one single solution and no one organisation can achieve the ambition that nobody is harmed by gambling.

It will take concerted effort over the long term from a wide range of companies, governments and civil society organisations – all facing in the same direction – to make a lasting impact.

Today, many people are devoting effort and imagination to tackling the issue of

problem gambling. With our scale and reach, at William Hill we have the ability to make a real contribution. And we’re committed to listening and learning from experts and partners so that we can join up with others who have a piece of the jigsaw, and move faster, together.

Working together

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LISTEN

SH

AR

ET

ES

T A

ND

LE

AR

N

SCALE

Working together

ListenThe first step is a special event this autumn, which will bring together gambling companies, policymakers, and responsible gambling advocates. We will publish a short report after the event about what we learn and what it leads us to do differently.

ScaleOnce we know what works, we’ll then scale it up across the business.

Test and learnWe’re creating a Responsible Gambling Innovation Fund to pilot the best new ideas. It will be supported by a team drawn from across the business to drive our efforts and a fund of £150,000.

ShareAs we push ahead with our own actions, we’ll be transparent about our successes and our failures – learning out loud and sharing what works so that others can benefit.

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William Hill

Why this matters

We’re putting our efforts towards this ambition because it matters to our customers, our business and people who are at risk of harm from gambling.

For those at risk of harmAs one of the largest and most trusted bookmakers in the UK, William Hill can make a real difference. We are committed to finding solutions that have a measurable and sustainable impact on the problem.

For our all customersWe want to make sure that gambling can be an enjoyable activity for all our customers. And that’s why through this effort we’re working to keep our customers from harm.

For our businessWilliam Hill’s long-term success relies on a sustainable business model: we want our customers to enjoy gambling with us and to stay gambling with us. That’s why we’re working to find ways to make sure that our customers are gambling in a positive way and gamble only what they can afford.

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Uncovering the hidden side of gambling · have missed work to gamble. It also has a serious impact...

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Transcript of Uncovering the hidden side of gambling · have missed work to gamble. It also has a serious impact...