UK gambling operator William Hill has shared that its operations, as well as the wider gambling industry, have not managed to remain in line with the expectations related to tackling possible gambling-related harm. This is also one of the main reasons for the company to announce a new approach to protect customers from possible harm related to gambling.
William Hill has appointed Lyndsay Wright as the first-ever director of sustainability, by adding the new role to her already existing responsibilities related to strategy and investor relations. Ms. Wright has commented on increased concerns over problem gambling, saying that taking care of customers affected by gambling-related harm would be crucial to the company’s future. She also outlined several aspects of William Hills’ policy, including the changes brought to the company’s advertising policy when it comes to live sports and the campaigns for registered play across all gambling products in the sector.
The move comes after the major gambling regulatory body in the country – the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) – has called for the local gambling operators to make sure they invest some efforts into reducing problem gambling rates in the sector. What is more, the new customer protection program comes only a few months after the UK Gambling Commission imposed a massive £6.2-million fine on William Hill for money laundering and customer protection failures.
The company has been investigated by the gambling watchdog under allegations related to violations of social responsibility requirements and anti-money laundering rules from November 2014 to August 2016.
Recently, gambling operators in the UK have faced a wave of criticism, especially when gambling advertising is concerned, with TV, online and social media adverts being one of the major focal points of anti-gambling campaigners.
William Hill to Focus on Four Areas as Part of the Program
As mentioned above, for some time now, gambling operators in the UK have been blamed for fuelling customers’ problem gambling behaviour by releasing aggressive advertising campaigns and offering special enticements to customers in order to attract more of them to their offerings.
The UK Gambling Commission has previously revealed that more than 430,000 people in the UK can be classified as problem gamblers, with a further two million put at risk of becoming gambling addicts. According to information revealed by the gambling regulatory authority, for every problem gambler, there are a further six people who are affected by the negative consequences of gambling.
The increased concerns for spreading gambling addiction rates have made William Hill roll out the so-called “Nobody Harmed” campaign. Ms. Wright has revealed that the company had been working on the project for about nine months as a response to the rising concerns for the increasing number of people affected by gambling. She further explained that the UK gambling operator would be focused on four areas, including identification of people at risk, providing support for players who suffer from gambling-related harm, making the company’s employees more engaged in problem gambling issues and working on its products’ design and marketing.
- Author
Olivia Cole
