Safer gambling messaging sees 20% growth in 2022, with increasingly personalised approach – new report from EGBA

13.07.2023

EGBA members sent 45.5 million messages to their customers last year to promote safer gambling, with nearly half of these being personalised, according to EGBA’s latest sustainability report.

BRUSSELS, TODAY – Members of the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) stepped up their efforts to promote safer gambling last year, sending 45.5 million safer gambling messages to their customers, a 20% yearly increase, according to the organisation’s third annual sustainability report published today. Nearly half, or 48%, of these communications were personalised, meaning that they were sent to individual customers in direct response to their actual playing behaviour, up from 40% the previous year, indicating an increasingly personalised approach by EGBA members to safer gambling promotion.

EGBA’s annual Sustainability Report 2022/23 outlines the joint efforts and progress made by the association and its members to promote safe and sustainable gambling and contribute positively to society in Europe.[1] Included in the report are aggregated data points from EGBA members related to their customers, safer gambling tools and promotion, social contributions, and for the first time their progress in the areas of employment and diversity, and energy and environment. The report also has a section dedicated to the key corporate social responsibility initiatives of EGBA members.

“We’re delighted that our members continue to make positive progress in their efforts to promote safer gambling. This is all part of their commitment to put a sustainable approach to gambling at the heart of what they do. The contribution of our CEOs in this report demonstrates their personal and crucial commitment to the collective sustainability drive of the association. We’re particularly pleased this year to expand the scope of our sustainability reporting and to publish for the first-time new data points about our members’ progress in the areas of employment and diversity, as well as metrics on energy and environmental performance.” – Maarten Haijer, Secretary General, EGBA.

Key European data from EGBA members (2022)

Customers

• Total number of customers accounts increased to 31.2 million, representing a 5% yearly increase.
• 74% of customers were male, while 26% of customers were female.
• The largest customer groups by age were customers in the 26-35 years and 36-50 years categories, each representing 30% of customers.

Safety tools

• Number of customers using at least one safer gambling tool increased to 18.4 million, or 60% of customers. 30% of customers used a safety tool voluntarily.
• Deposit limits were the most popular safer gambling tool, accounting for 67% of the tools used by customers.

Promotion of safer gambling

• 45.5 million messages[2] were sent to customers to promote safer gambling, a 20% yearly increase. Of these, 21.7 million messages were personalised, representing a 42% yearly increase in the number of personalised communications. The share of personalised messages rose to 48% of all safer gambling communications, up from 40% the previous year.
• 51% of the customers intervened with about their gambling behaviour reduced their financial losses in the three-month period immediately following intervention – and our members continued to interact with those that did not.
• 76% of all employees received dedicated safer gambling training during the reporting year, with a 5% yearly increase in the number of employees who received such trainings.

Social contributions

• Contributions to problem gambling research, education, and treatment (RET) in Europe increased to €49 million, a 109% yearly increase.
• Donations to various European charities and community initiatives were €127 million, a 5% yearly decrease.

Employment and diversity

• Total of 63,386 employees, a 11% yearly increase, across both online and land-based operations.
• 57% of employees were male, while 43% were female.

Energy and environment

• Total greenhouse gas emissions were 0.77 million tonnes CO2e across both online and land-based operations, a 12% yearly increase.
• Total energy consumption was 198.5 gigawatt hours (GWh) across both online and land-based operations, a 5% yearly increase.
• Renewable energy use was 137.4 GWh, a 6% yearly increase, while the share of renewables in total energy consumption was 69.2%, an increase from 68.6% in the previous year.

– ENDS –

[1] The initiatives and data points presented in the report, unless stated otherwise, cover the online gambling operations of EGBA members in the EU and UK.

[2] Including email, SMS, phone call, in-website chat, pop ups, and mail communications. Personalised communications are those which contain messages that are personalised to a specific customer based on the customer’s individual gambling behaviour.