Protecting players the Entain way

Protecting players the Entain way

Protecting Players - The Entain Way

Our ambition is to be the world-leader in sports betting and gaming entertainment, whilst delivering long-term value for all our key stakeholders. In order to achieve this, we have set out a clear strategy that puts both growth and sustainability on an equal footing. Protecting our players is a key part in achieving business sustainability, which is why safer betting and gaming underpin everything that we do at Entain. We take a holistic approach to protecting our customers by deeply investing in research, education, prevention and treatment.

ARC, our pioneering approach to customer protection signals a switch in how we approach player protection - moving from reactive to proactive. We want to be there for the customer and intervene to prevent harm before it occurs, and encourage customers to play in a more moderate and sustainable way. Latest figure on the effectiveness of ARC are showing just that;

• 92% of higher risk customers have kept a limit in place or lowered it due to ARC's interventions.
• 41% medium and high-risk customers moved to low or no risk levels following an intervention. Meanwhile, 95% remain active within 30 days of receiving interaction, reaching sustainable playing levels.

Through ARC, players are showing that they are able to continue betting and gaming safely at a standard that is both sustainable for them and the business. We want our customers to continue being entertained in a safe way, ensuring that less and less people over time need intervention. Entain are at the forefront of player protection globally, showing that through using technology, advanced modelling, and our market expertise, we can protect the small number of customers who need it, to a much higher standard. 2022 saw the start of ARCs international roll out, with it coming to 22 international markets, of which 9 had the full real time model. Throughout 2023, we plan to continue building on the successes of ARC, as the business continues to follow its pathway to becoming 100% regulated.

We continue to push ourselves to lead in the area of responsible betting and gaming. In 2021 we introduced a responsible betting and gaming metric to our Group wide remuneration policy. At 15% weighting this was, and remains, the highest safer betting and gaming metric used by an Operator. The importance of ARC, ESG and safer gambling across the Group plays a key part in this policy, which is global and relevant to all our office and digital employees, as well as the board of executives. In 2022, the metric related to tangible elements of safer gaming, through the roll out of ARC to our international markets as well as the effectiveness of ARC's models influencing customer behaviours, and achieving high levels of completion in our Safer Gambling training module. We want to put our money where our mouth is and show not just our customers, but our colleagues that sustainable gambling levels are important to not just players, but us too. In order to ensure legitimacy of the metric, we commissioned EPIC Risk Management to provide an independent review of the outcomes which determine whether targets have been met or not, and to the standard and scope expected. In 2023, we will continue to focus on safer gambling and the roll out of ARC within our ESG component of the scheme.

However our affirmation in safer betting and gaming progress goes beyond this. In mid-2022 we achieved the GamCare Safer Gambling Standard in both our digital (highest standard - level 3) and retail business (level 2). This is a quality mark and certification that provides comprehensive assurance of safer gambling practices. In order to achieve the standard, there was an assessment process that included numerous stages. The 10 key areas that Entain was assessed on were, safer gambling, governance, customer interaction, children and young people, collaboration, product design, staff training, self-exclusion, RET, and advertising and promotion. These are all areas that we believe to be important for any business within our industry. Achieving this certification proves that we are on track to meet our goals when it comes to safer gambling.

One of the ways we continue to show this, is by applying an evidence led approach to safer betting and gaming. We are investing into rigorous research and understanding on gambling related harms, and thus, showing the importance of our long-term partnerships with world renowned research institutions, aiming to shape player protection. Our five-year research partnership with Harvard Medical School's Division on Addiction has played a pivotal role in the Group's efforts to understand addiction in its entirety. The team have submitted 14 papers, with a further 6 in active development that aim to gain a deeper knowledge of the causes and solutions to addiction and gambling related harms. We have also partnered with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on a project that combines scientific research with operational expertise to apply best practice in both responsible betting and gaming, and public health. We believe that by gaining deeper knowledge and understanding of these issues will allow us to bring this information back into the business, and use it to develop and change the ways in which we operate in our entirety.

We take pride in the work we are doing in this space and are constantly striving to achieve more and be better. We strongly believe that the world leader in betting and gaming will see the value at placing safer gambling to such a high standard. Through collaboration, we will continue with to keep striving for a more sustainable business and customer base.