Focused Strategies to Safeguard Participants

## Focused Strategies to Safeguard Participants – Responsible Gaming – iGB

Tipico’s sustainability report, published in September, emphasizes the progress made in their connection with all patrons, as well as the relatively low percentage of individuals exhibiting problematic gaming habits.

Although this might be perceived as a balance between assisting those with gambling issues and catering to casual users, Joachim Haeusler, Head of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting, asserts that Tipico holds a different perspective on this division, and that regulators may need to adapt.

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Focused Strategies to Safeguard Participants
Unlike the initial edition, which displayed an image of football enthusiasts, Tipico’s second annual corporate sustainability report features a plain red cover.

Considering the operator’s approximate 50% market share in the German sports betting sector, and the substantial changes the market is experiencing, this premise alone could be quite intriguing. It offers insights into how the leading player in the German market addresses social responsibility – a topic that has been thoroughly examined during the development of regulations.

The 90-page document not only encompasses Tipico’s approach to problem gambling, but also its environmental footprint, customer satisfaction, and performance as an employer.

Nevertheless, for Joachim Haeusler, the leader of corporate accountability and sustainability reporting at Tipico (pictured), the most significant accomplishment of the report is its very presence.

“I believe it’s quite an accomplishment for a non-publicly traded company like ours to initiate non-financial reporting just a year ago, to have a sustainability report at all, and to make all this data accessible to the public in such detail,” he stated.

In his opinion, recording achievements – and potential flaws – throughout the process should be a crucial component of any operator’s corporate social responsibility strategy. This openness, he clarified, enables the public to observe what functions effectively and what does not.

“We’re ahead of numerous other operators in documenting our sustainability and we’re making it a central part of our strategy, not just a simple perfunctory task.”

No concessions

Among the most noteworthy figures presented in the report are overall customer contentment, which has risen year after year, and the proportion of revenue from individuals with gambling problems, which remains below the German average.

At first glance, fulfilling the vastly different requirements of a large customer base and the most susceptible customers might appear like a balancing act where an operator would seek a compromise, but Haeusler dismisses this notion.

He stated that businesses are constantly seeking a point of equilibrium where the offerings provided by operators align with the requirements of the majority of participants, enabling them to engage in gambling without complications while ensuring the protection of those who are unable to do so. However, according to Hausler, this “ideal spot” might not exist.

“In essence, there is a range extending from situations where fully informed consumers bear responsibility to scenarios where operators must assume responsibility because consumers are incapable of doing so.”

He mentioned that for the majority of consumers, Tipico’s approach centers around informed decision-making: guaranteeing that players possess all the necessary information to make responsible choices. Nonetheless, he added that if this were Tipico’s sole guiding principle, it would signify a failure.

“The manner in which you handle unusual situations is highly significant,” he remarked. “Based on our comprehensive understanding of our clientele, we recognize that we are posing the question: ‘Is informed choice sufficient, should we share responsibility with the customer, or should we go beyond and assume full responsibility?’

“This enables a wide array of approaches, some of which are non-intrusive, but occasionally it becomes necessary to intervene, impose limitations, and even potentially exclude highly intrusive participants.

“Informed choice entails providing players with all the knowledge you possess as an operator to assist them in making the correct decision. But then contemplate the implications of addiction, it signifies a loss of control.”

Its overly optimistic to believe that informed choices alone can help individuals overcome addiction.

While various groups require distinct approaches, this strategy only functions if you can readily identify each member. Hausler believes this was once a hurdle, but modern technology has transformed the landscape.

“I believe progress in behavior monitoring and artificial intelligence makes this feasible,” he stated. “We can relatively swiftly determine the trajectory of players and their likelihood of choosing self-exclusion in the future.”

“We can categorize players and say, ‘These players are content with sufficient information, these players require us to share responsibility, and this group necessitates us to pose challenging questions and potentially restrict or exclude them.’ If you can achieve this, you’re closer to a secure market, and most current regulations fall short in this regard.”

A pivotal moment

The timing of this document’s release, at a critical juncture in the German online gambling market, is likely to garner significant attention.

Less than two weeks after the document’s publication, Tipico was declared as one of the initial sports betting license holders under the third revised version of the State Treaty on Gambling. A few days later, the transition period for online casinos officially commenced.

This transitional framework allows operators adhering to social accountability controls to function without legal repercussions if they enforce a €1 wager cap and a 5-second spin rate by December 15th.

The updated German gambling regulations (GlüNeuRStV) represent the fourth inter-state agreement that will restrict wagers in games to the next goal scorer and final outcome markets, while imposing a comprehensive deposit limit for most participants. During the transition period, advertising of slot machines and poker will also be banned.

These measures appear to contradict Hausler’s belief that most individuals make rational decisions, while targeted intervention is necessary for a small group.

He highlighted that many regulations seem to lack sufficient evidence to support their implementation, which could be a consequence of the uncertainty arising from years of attempts to establish a new national gambling structure.

“After years of effort, a licensing system has finally been established, and it seems they want to finalize it,” he stated. “If they need to overlook some details, they are prepared to do so, because the more intricate things are, the more challenging it is to achieve. It’s understandable that they want to expedite this process.”

Conversely, there’s a dearth of proof to back this perspective, as although you can consult numerous individuals and gather a wealth of notions, these ideas might not have been thoroughly evaluated. Some concepts hold promise, but they require testing before being released to the market, as there could be adverse effects that actually hinder the regulatory objectives.

Haeusler added that while it’s premature to determine the impact of the regulations included in GlüNeuRStV, there are inherent risks, and they could cause damage if they don’t function as intended.

“The issue is, if you simply impose people’s ideas on regulation, we’ll discover if it works, but you’re doing it with real individuals. So if a measure proves to be counterproductive, it will cause actual harm,” he explained.

“Consequently, we shouldn’t do that, we should begin with what we know is effective, and then through small, limited assessment studies, we can experiment with all the other promising but unproven concepts. Begin with what you know, and then expand gradually.”

Thus, how can operators persuade regulators to adopt a more cautious policy-making strategy?

Haussler asserts that the objective of sustainability reporting is to attain transparency and a favorable environment for examination. He highlights that he believes certain operators are deficient in this domain, enabling external forces to exert greater sway in policy formulation.

“The more you can propel research, the more you can disseminate your findings, the more you can assist policymakers in possessing a robust empirical data foundation,” Haussler stated.

“In a sense, the industry is harming itself by not backing evidence production. Only when we actively support policymakers by generating an evidence base can we possess a foundation to stand on when we declare ‘Hold on, until this measure is evaluated.'”

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