In an exclusive interview with SBC News, Lyndsay Wright, William Hill’s Director of Strategy, Brand & IR, outlined the significant operating and structural changes William Hill will undertake, with the firm vowing to tackle problem gambling head-on.

“I believe that a crucial first step is facing into the challenge as a company and as an industry. We recognise that we have not taken seriously enough the challenge of problem gambling,” she explained.

“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 acknowledge and that harm is something we need to face into.

“So this means widening the aperture of where we should act. Anyone can become at risk of problems with their gambling. But today, no-one has defined what really good, in control, gambling behaviour looks like.

“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. To take a simple example, too many people aren’t aware of the tools that exist to try to help. Just a third are aware of self-exclusion tools and only half are aware of limit-setting.”

Wright also went on to explain the ‘learn out loud’ approach that Hills would be taking with the initiative, as they pledged to share knowledge and findings with industry competitors.

“As we developed the approach we’re taking, we had a mantra internally to ‘learn out loud.’ That means being transparent about our successes and failures – and sharing what works so that others can benefit.

“This isn’t going to be a smooth ride. There will be bumps along the road. For example, when we launched the ambition, there was a lot of support and engagement but also, as expected, some scepticism. It’s so important to us to share what we are doing and what we find. We know that it’s only by doing that that people will see we really mean it.

“So we will continue to meet and discuss with our regulators, other companies and experts on the issue, and we will continue to convene forums to share insight. And as we get further along our journey we’ll publish what we learn.

“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. Society expects it, our customers need it and a sustainable future for William Hill depends on it…”

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A Kindred executive since 2010, Ljungerud has served the Stockholm enterprise in a number of leadership roles including Chief Product Officer of Unibet, Managing Director of Maria Gaming and most recently as Kindred Chief Commercial Officer (2016-2018).

Kindred has confirmed that it is actively searching for an executive to replace Ljungerud as group commercial leader.

At present, Kindred Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) Rhodri Darch has taken over Ljungerud’s commercial responsibilities, fulfilling the role on an interim basis.

One of the longest-serving Kindred Group executives, Ljungerud has been a key stakeholder in developing the firm’s multi-market brands and commercial propositions.

Some of her key initiatives for Kindred include restructuring Maria Gaming and securing the firm’s long-term partnership with the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) Premier League.

The news comes after Kindred disclosed an ‘all-time high’ trading quarter, driven by World Cup sales, with the firm achieving its biggest active player base of +1.5 million customers.

CEO Henrik Tjärnström revealed that the Scandinavians will continue to develop its broad online gambling proposition, driven through proven organic and acquired brands, so it can compete in multiple European jurisdictions.

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The news comes in the aftermath of Stars Group’s $4.7 billion acquisition of Sky Betting and Gaming.

The Court dismissed the application by the applicants for a declaration that the mandatory conversion would contravene The Stars Group’s articles of continuance.

In a statement, the group told investors: “As a result of the ruling, The Stars Group will proceed with closing its previously announced conversion of all its outstanding convertible preferred shares pursuant to their terms on July 18, 2018.

“All the preferred shares outstanding as of July 18, 2018 will be converted at a rate of approximately 52.7085 common shares per preferred share, resulting in the cancellation of all the preferred shares and termination of all rights associated therewith.

“With an anticipated 986,551 preferred shares outstanding as of July 18, 2018, the mandatory conversion is expected to result in the issuance of approximately 52.0 million common shares.”

Stars CEO Rafi Ashkenazi said of the previous Sky acquisition: “This acquisition represents a pivotal moment in The Stars Group’s evolution.”

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Neither party has confirmed the deal publicly, but the correspondence notes that Hard Rock Atlantic City and bet365 both signed a letter of intent on 19 June. The correspondence was signed by DGE Director David Rebuck on 25 June.

The letter serves as a temporary approval for bet365, and it will remain valid until 31 July as the British bookmaker obtains a licence to operate in the East Coast state.

The all-encompassing $375 million renovation of the former Trump Taj Mahal building, subsequently rising to $500 million, opened its doors last Thursday, with two nights of entertainment – for which a first-year budget of $30 million has been set aside.

Hard Rock Chairman Jim Allen previously noted: “The brand itself is about entertainment.

“Within these amenities we certainly offer hotel, dining, and other experiences. But there is one universal language and that’s music. We are the only brand that works to bring people together through music.”

Allen later added: “We could have re-carpeted and put some memorabilia up and that would have been fine.

“But we made a commitment to making sure Atlantic City grows, so it was important to make sure guests got to come see something completely new and re-done.”

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The firm has signed an agreement with GVC Holdings, a UK-based and listed company, via its European subsidiary, EML Payments Europe.

GVC is currently one of the world’s largest sports betting and gaming groups, operating in both the online and retail sectors.

The company and its subsidiaries own a comprehensive portfolio of established brands that serve betting clients in over 20 countries including Ladbrokes, bwin, Coral, Sportingbet, partypoker, PartyCasino and Gala.

A schedule to roll out EMLs reloadable winnings card to GVCs European brands is expected to be confirmed over the next 90 days. Given uncertainties in the pace of brand rollouts and of rate of adoption in new markets, EML is unable to accurately estimate future Gross Debit Volume (‘GDV’) that will be derived from this program.

The EML portfolio offers innovative payment technology solutions for payouts, gifts, incentives and rewards, and supplier payments. The firm manages more than 1100 programs across 19 countries in North America, Europe and Australia.

Signing the GVC program will have no earnings impact on EMLs financial year ending 30 June. The news helped EML shares move up 6.3%, to $1.50 per share, in early morning trading.

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The changes include improvements based on new legislation, emerging trends, and the need to achieve the objectives of player protection, fair gaming and responsible conduct by all relevant parties involved.

eCOGRA Chief Executive Officer Andrew Beveridge commented that “the latest amendments are aimed at refining and advancing eGAP to ensure that the framework remains relevant in protecting players and promoting operator and software supplier responsibility towards players”.

The enhanced requirements affect the responsible gambling and promotional practices of eCOGRA’s seal holders, and include important aspects of information security and data privacy pertaining to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Shaun McCallaghan, Chief Operating Officer at eCOGRA, said that “the evolution of eGAP continues to be based on risks faced by players and the provision of ongoing value to industry stakeholders. The expert framework supplements and supports other regulatory objectives and requirements, and demand for the eCOGRA Safe and Fair Seal steadily continues in spite of higher levels of regulation in certain jurisdictions”.

eGAP remains a very important part of the compliance activities of leading operators, software suppliers and relevant service providers. The requirements have a particular emphasis on fair and responsible gambling, and are validated through annual onsite reviews and continuous monitoring.

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Previously known as Unibet Group, the new office co-locates Kindred’s 400 employees on Malta from the previous offices in St Julians and Gzira, offering employees an enhanced working experience and an environment that reflects Kindred’s strong culture.

The new office covers 5200 sqm spread across three floors overlooking the Mediterranean. The space, with capacity for over 500 desks, has 47 meeting rooms with the latest AV technology to ensure seamless collaboration across Kindred’s eleven offices. Employees will have access to free meals, yoga classes, games and other recreational activities.  

”I am delighted that we have finally been able to gather all our Malta based employees in this impressive new office at Tigne Point. We are a company on the forefront of our industry with high growth in a market where competition for talent is tough,” said Henrik Tjärnström, CEO of Kindred Group.

“Through our new base in Malta, we will work hard to attract the best talent, so we can continue our exciting journey towards being the number one operator across our markets.”

Kindred has grown significantly over the past few years and today employs around 1400 people, of which approximately 400 are based on Malta.

The firm moved into the new office on May 28 and held an official opening event on June 12 in the presence of two-time Formula One World Champion Mika Häkkinen and five-time Stanley Cup Champion Esa Tikkanen, both Kindred brand ambassadors.

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Under the agreement, FlowPlay can develop games, including patented game features from the IGT portfolio, and will pay ongoing licensing fees to IGT. Financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

“We are excited to become a member of the game features patent pool managed by IGT. Licensing these game features patents will help FlowPlay build on our legacy of success offering massively multiplayer online (MMO) games and free-to-play social casino titles such as Vegas World,” said Derrick Morton, FlowPlay CEO.

“Partnering with industry leader IGT provides us with a phenomenal selection of patents that we can leverage to expand our scope of development and suite of online social games to ultimately reach new audiences.”
“We are excited to expand our game feature patent licensing efforts to online social casino game development with FlowPlay,” added Renato Ascoli, IGT CEO North America.

“FlowPlay offers more than 45 different casino-style games already, and this agreement helps to ensure that even more of the authenticity and excitement of land-based casino gaming extends to players in the online social space.”

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“RSI is thrilled to be the first US-based operator to enter the regulated Colombian online gaming market where there are over 48 million people, a significant existing land-based casino market, and a player base that likes to gamble,” said Richard Schwartz, President and Co-Founder of Rush Street Interactive.

“Betting and sports are cultural passions in Colombia so we’re excited to combine those with our mission to provide players with compelling and trusted online gambling experiences.”

he first country in South America to legalise and regulate internet gambling nationwide, Colombia is an appealing online gaming market due to its reasonable tax rate and strong regulatory framework.

RSI, one of the fastest-growing online gaming operators in the States, will bring its innovative and proprietary online gaming platform to the Colombian market under the “Rush” brand.  Similar to its PlaySugarHouse.com online casino site in New Jersey, where RSI has extensive game content, convenient payment methods and offers unique player experiences, RSI plans to apply that same formula of success in Colombia.

“We’re going to bring a lot of the functionality, excitement, and innovation, that has worked really well for us in New Jersey, to the Colombian market for the first time,” Schwartz added.

Rush Street Interactive’s entry into the Colombian market represents a significant milestone in the company’s growth strategy to operate online gaming sites in newly regulated igaming markets across North and South America.

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GambleAware has awarded GamCare a 20% increase in annual funding in the form of a grant totalling £14 million over three years. This money will fund the delivery of the National Gambling Helpline, provide a national network of talking therapies, and provide remote access help for those who prefer online support. This funding agreement will enable GamCare to continue to develop its delivery capabilities, efficiency and effectiveness of treatment across a broad range of interventions.

Kate Lampard, Chair of GambleAware, said: “GambleAware is pleased to make this renewed three-year commitment to GamCare. The fact that less than 2% of ‘problem gamblers’ were receiving treatment represents a significant gap in the provision of specialist services.

“Our goal is to close the gap between the number of those getting treatment and those who need it by increasing the range, quality and quantity of early interventions and treatment while helping people to avoid gambling problems in the first place.”

Sir Ian Prosser, Chair of GamCare, said: “GamCare is delighted to have signed a new Grant Agreement with GambleAware. The extra money will enable us to help more people to recover from problem gambling, and to help those who are affected by the gambling of a family member or friend.

“We will use the Grant to develop further our range of services and to deliver a new model of care, so that individuals get help which is tailored to their needs.

“The assurance of a three-year agreement gives us the certainty about funding which means that we can push forward with our plans to develop and deliver an integrated treatment system, which people rightly expect.”

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