It's practically impossible to read the news these days and not come across the acronym ESG. Coming from English, it represents three aspects, Environmental, Social and Governance, which companies, their investors and other stakeholders monitor to assess their impacts on the world. Controversies over its popularity aside, I believe ESG is a powerful acronym, as it has broadened companies' awareness and perspective beyond their financial results.
Adding these three aspects to the equation of success for a company can be decisive for the future of an organization. I am a partner and director, in Brazil, of the Swedish group Betsson, one of the world leaders in the sports betting segment. We know that, for a few, gambling can stop being fun and turn into a harmful compulsion. Aware of these possible negative impacts we can have on society, actively promoting conscious betting is a pillar of Betsson's business model and therefore a top priority.
With 60 years of experience in this market, Betsson knows that the success of its long history is due to the fact that it cultivates long-term relationships with its surroundings. We know that transparency is key to our longevity. Therefore, we actively promote this discussion, assume our responsibilities and mitigate our impacts in all the locations where we are present.
Even in Brazil, where the sports betting market has been growing sharply for a few years and which has been hit so hard by COVID-19. If the ESG letters bring an optimistic view of the future, on the other hand, the pandemic has been a catalyst for anxiety and insecurities. At brutal speed, it made many people sick—in body and mind. Mental health has never been so important and discussed in the last 18 months. I don't think there is a better time to emphasize that our mission of providing entertainment goes hand in hand with providing the most transparent, accessible and secure environment possible for our customers.
After all, it is in this increasingly conscious and sustainable ESG world that Betsson has always believed. Therefore, we never lacked the courage to improve our products and create new actions, training and policies that promote fair play. Our global Responsible Gaming team systematically trains our more than two thousand employees around the world. In addition, the work of this important area and all our processes are audited annually by independent international organizations such as eCogra and Iso.
It is also our responsibility to educate our customers about the dynamics of betting so that they develop a healthy relationship with them, as well as to identify all consumers at risk of developing problems with the activity. Therefore, we offer in all our brands and jurisdictions where we operate a combination of tools enhanced by rigorous processes and the use of artificial intelligence to minimize the risk of gambling. Here are the main ones.
Self-exclusion: the customer can choose a period from 24 hours to six months to deactivate their account and, under no circumstances, can reactivate it at the selected interval.
Self-Assessment: the consumer has an online test at his disposal to assess if he has any problems with gaming.
Time notification: the platform interrupts the user to constantly notify him of the time spent playing. He can only return to play if he consents to the warning.
Deposit limits: protects the consumer from spending more than they can.
Prevention with data analysis: Betsson uses data science to refer customers with unusual behavior to other prevention tools.
I would also like to highlight the review of our entire external communication rule, implemented during the pandemic, further strengthening our risk reduction strategy. Our ruler gained more contact points to raise awareness and promote sustainable practice and had its messages reformulated taking into account the context in which we live.
On our team, prevention is not taboo, it is responsibility. I think it is extremely important to promote this discussion, especially at a time when the regulation of sports betting here in the country is imminent. This is even another agenda that Betsson supports, as it understands that a regulated industry brings more security to the consumer. Anyway, betting has to be as safe as it is fun. And that is exactly our commitment.
André Gelfi
Managing Partner Brazil at Betsson Group. The international company of Swedish origin is one of the biggest references in online gambling in the world, publicly traded on the Nasdaq in Stockholm, which has a history of six decades. In Brazil, it is a pioneer in the sports betting and fantasy games market.
