Industry News
Bede Gaming kicks off biggest responsible gambling campaign to mark RG Week
Week-long series of RG awareness includes seminar from problem gambler – aimed at long-term goal of becoming the ‘safest place to play’
Bede Gaming, the award-winning supplier of software to the online gaming industry, has launched its inaugural campaign of responsible gaming initiatives to coincide with Responsible Gambling Week, as it progresses towards its long-term goal of being the ‘safest ‘place to play’.
The week-long internal campaign highlights the major issues, technology challenges and realities of problem gambling with the aim of educating its 177 strong staff as to how a responsible gaming company is more sustainable and successful.
With a strong focus on staff well-being, Bede has arranged a series of diverse initiatives and activities that it plans to continue to drive forward in the coming months and years.
As well as striving to develop its tools to the highest standard with an RG focus for player safety, the company is using this week to engage its staff with RG practices, to educate them on the risks of problem gambling and to encourage open discussion around the issues.
Bede’s Responsible Gaming Week highlights includes:
- A series of staff awareness initiatives encouraging every technical and non-technical employee to examine how Bede can improve RG methods, and enhance its own RG technology tools
- The integration of staff RG policies within the Bede Gaming employee handbook ensuring Bede is taking every step possible to look after the mental health and welfare of its staff
- A seminar delivered by a reformed problem gambler to highlight the risks and to educate staff on spotting problem gambling behaviours
Alex Butcher, CEO, Bede Gaming, said: “RG Week is just the beginning of our journey to becoming a more responsible member of the gaming industry and practising what we preach. Raising awareness and discussing openly the issues involved, as well as engaging everyone to improve our responsible gaming tools and technologies, plays a crucial part in our long-term vision of being the safest place to play. We have a responsibility to both the industry and our staff to keep gambling safe and fun.”
Patrick Foster, Epic Risk Management, who is speaking to Bede employees this week, said: “It’s great to see Bede Gaming embracing RG week and taking the necessary steps on their journey to achieving their vision of being the safest place to play.
“If my story can help them achieve this through educating their staff and customers it can only be a good thing. At Epic Risk Management, we have all had problems with gambling and are now putting our experiences into helping the industry become more empowered and positive towards safer gambling practices.
“We want the industry to be fun, not destructive, and we’re starting to see a shift in attitudes towards more responsible gambling. The more companies like Bede, that can get on board with better practices and policies, the more successful and enjoyable the industry will be.”
Industry News
SKS365 keeps investing in people: GROW People Management Program took the next level
11 experienced people managers from the SKS365 group’s 4 locations gathered last week in Belgrade for the new GROW People Management Program. From 15 th to 19 th of April, through trainings, discussions, and social connections, people had the opportunity to further grow individually and as a team, while enjoying Belgrade’s city center and rivers.
Created in 2023 with the purpose of building foundation people management skills across the organization, GROW initiative evolved this year by including a new, advanced program for experienced people managers to further consolidate their skills and prepare for future opportunities.
Building and fostering connections, sharing experiences, and enjoying team building experiences – all these activities have been part of the GROWpmp agenda for the 11 people managers coming from Commercial, Product and Development, Finance, and Sportsbook departments of the group’s 4 locations – Malta, Italy, Austria, Serbia.
GROWpmp included a variety of topics that people managers in SKS365 recognized as the key areas for management development. Topics such as influence through communication, team effectiveness, DEI, through to presentation skills and business topics like understanding finance and management reporting, were delivered with the support of external professionals and internal experts, while designed and organized by the SKS365 People & Culture team.
Industry News
Kindred’s Share of Revenue from High-risk Players Shows Slight Increase
Kindred Group plc’s (Kindred) share of revenue from high-risk players showed a slight increase to 3.2% (Q4 2023 3.1%) in the first quarter of 2024. Compared to the first quarter of 2023, the high-risk revenue share decreased marginally. The percentage of detected customers who exhibited improved behaviour after interventions came in at 87.1% (compared to 87.4% in Q4 2023 and 83.0% in Q1 2023). This sustained trajectory in the improvement effect after interventions, observed over an extended period, serves as a testament to the strong dedication and collective efforts throughout the company. It reflects Kindred’s ongoing commitment to fostering positive change within the industry.
“We continue to see our share of revenue from high-risk players fluctuate quarter to quarter, and we are working closely with all teams across the company to support customers towards a more sustainable gambling experience. However, it is encouraging to see that our Journey towards Zero data has steadily decreased since 2020. A similar trend can be seen across the healthier gambling behaviour effect after interventions. This tells us two things: our work is paying off, but we need to continue to push ourselves to propel a sustainable progression,” Alexander Westrell, Director of Communications at Kindred Group, said.
“It was very encouraging to witness the open and transparent discussions at the Sustainable Gambling Conference in London on 20 March, where those with lived experience shared their important stories. Also, it is evident that technology is moving forward, and will provide greater opportunities to detect and intervene in the future. We hope to see more regulators engage with the industry and with experts to secure a more sustainable industry for everyone,” Alexander Westrell added.
Industry News
PENN Entertainment Names Aaron LaBerge as Chief Technology Officer
PENN Entertainment announced that Aaron LaBerge has been named Chief Technology Officer (CTO) effective July 1, 2024, subject to customary regulatory approvals. Mr. LaBerge will report directly to PENN CEO & President Jay Snowden.
In his new role, Mr. LaBerge will be responsible for driving the technology strategy and execution for PENN, while leading the multinational team of technologists and serving as the key business leader for the company’s Interactive division.
Mr. LaBerge spent more than 20 years at The Walt Disney Company, in two stints separated by five and a half years as a technology entrepreneur. He was most recently President & Chief Technology Officer for Disney Entertainment and ESPN where he was responsible for driving all technology and product development in support of The Walt Disney Company’s two media divisions. In that role, he helped set the vision and strategic leadership for how Disney uses technology to enable storytelling and innovation, drive its business, and create unparalleled consumer experiences with entertainment and sports content.
“We are thrilled to have someone of Aaron’s caliber join our PENN executive team. Having overseen a global organization of thousands of engineers, product developers, designers, technologists, and data scientists that created some of the largest scale and most successful media properties in the world, there is no better candidate to lead our Technology and Interactive division into its future. I know Aaron is looking forward to working with Todd George, our head of operations, and our entire Executive Team to continue growing our position as a leader in online gaming, sports betting, and digital sports media,” Mr. Snowden said.
“I’m excited to join another talented team at PENN Interactive and lead our technology strategy. PENN Entertainment is at the forefront of the fast-changing gaming and sports media industry. I plan to use my experience from Disney and ESPN to help make ESPN BET an essential piece of the sports fan experience. Together, we’ll push the limits and redefine how fans interact with sports and gaming,” Mr. LaBerge said.
Prior to his most recent role at the Walt Disney Company, Mr. LaBerge was Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at ESPN from 2015 to 2018. At ESPN he played an instrumental role in the growth of ESPN’s consumer-facing digital media products and services – leading many of ESPN’s most ambitious and challenging projects and helping establish ESPN’s position as the leader in digital sports and innovative sports technology development. He was a key architect in the design, development, and engineering of ESPN’s state-of-the-art facilities in Bristol, CT; Los Angeles, CA; Charlotte, NC; and Austin, TX, as well as data centers and infrastructure that connect those facilities around the world, as well as the technology design and development to support the launch of the multi-platform SEC Network.
Between 2007 and 2012, LaBerge was co-founder and CEO of Fanzter, Inc. – a venture-funded consumer software and digital product development company. At Fanzter, he directed all day-to-day operations and led the development and launch of a variety of consumer-focused internet and mobile products, ground-breaking social and commerce technologies and more.
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