Conor Grant: Gambling Review the perfect opportunity to make positive change

Conor Grant is chief executive of Flutter UK and Ireland

The pandemic has accelerated a period of fundamental change – with technological transformation and structural shifts in our economy now happening over a matter of months, rather than decades. Change is uncomfortable, but it is also an opportunity.

The prime minister has challenged the country to grasp that opportunity and "build back better". For the gambling sector the UK government's review into the Gambling Act is the perfect opportunity to make positive, lasting change.

As society unlocks, grassroots sports return and we can dare to dream again of returning to racecourses, it is also an important week as everyone with a view about the future of gambling submits their evidence to the government for its consideration.

The reality is that the betting landscape has seen comprehensive change since the Gambling Act passed 16 years ago, not only across racing but all other sports and events as well.

And while the industry has taken many positive steps we know we have not got everything right and now is a good time to make changes where necessary to provide certainty for the future to businesses and consumers.

When I began my first job on a graduate scheme at Paddy Power over 22 years ago, I saw first-hand in the betting shops the entertainment that gambling brings to so many, as well as the risks when the right support isn't offered.

Conor Grant is chief executive of Flutter UK and Ireland, which includes Paddy PowerCredit: Edward Whitaker

The industry has made significant strides in protecting the most vulnerable over recent years, but there is still much more to do. I want everyone in my business to be able to feel that same pride in getting it right for our customers.

Our approach to the review has been twofold – firstly, we have worked hard to find all the information and data we can usefully share with government to support its evidence led approach. This has included both drawing out and articulating our own data and insights.

Secondly, we have also been in listening mode and seeking to bring evidence from others into our response, including engaging with industry critics, advocates, politicians of all parties, people who enjoy gambling and those whose lives have been damaged by gambling.

There is a very long way to go in the review, and this call for evidence is just one step along the journey. It will be some time yet before we can engage in the important debates that come out of the review, let alone see a new regime in place. But even at this early stage there were a few areas of our response which stood out to me.

One is around the central issue of affordability. Readers of the Racing Post are likely to have followed the fierce debate around the Gambling Commission consultation and we believe that getting this issue right will be a critical part of the overall review.

That's why we've presented in both reviews our proposed Affordability Triple-Step, which sets out three layers of protection to ensure we can step in and protect the most vulnerable.

This risk-based approach to customers includes applying appropriate spend limits for customers with financial red flags at the point of registration, real-time monitoring of all customers through our Safer Gambling Controls, and a spending backstop in the rare instance the first two layers of protection miss someone at risk of harm.

It is also clear that more work needs to be done to protect younger customers. Several different factors including the speed of brain development, risk appetite and levels of disposable income all suggest further interventions may reduce the risk of harm.

Entain launches affordability checks it claims will 'greatly benefit' racing

We are trialling a requirement for all new Sky Bet customers aged 18 to 21 to set deposit limits and looking to extend this further alongside more in-depth research across the whole issue.

One complex area which we have looked at in detail as we have worked on our response to government is around the role that maximum stakes on specific products may or may not play in reducing harm.

While overall we believe that account-level interventions looking at the individual risk of each customer are more effective than blanket restrictions around products, there was some indication that, for a small group of Sky Bet customers, there was an escalation of risk for those staking above £10 on slots.

Therefore, we have commenced a trial of a £10 maximum stake on slots across our UK-facing brands, which we are rolling out over the course of the year. We will analyse customer behaviours in response to this intervention and share findings with government.

I very much hope and believe that the government will receive a huge influx of insight, evidence and data from everyone with a view on the gambling sector, and as the debate progresses, I look forward to hearing ideas from others that will contribute to framing this sector into the next phase of existence.

Having proudly worked in this industry for 22 years, from shop floor to CEO, I believe that we should welcome change. The prize for getting this right is significant. We can ensure that the betting industry commands not just the support of its customers, but the respect of wider society, too. That is the type of change we can all look forward to.

Read more on this topic:

Punters' body calls for minimum bet liability in submission to gambling review

Accounts closed and punters frustrated as affordability checks arrive by stealth

Affordability checks could drive punters away from racing says bettors' forum

Spend limits considered as gambling review is launched by government

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