Entain is one of the largest companies in gaming. With size comes responsibility, however. “All of us, nations, organisations and individuals should be thinking beyond self, working together to do all we can to sustain the wellbeing of the society – and the environment in which we live,” Ed Davis, Chair of the Entain Foundation, said at the event.
The Entain Foundation aims to promote positive change and sustainability within the operator’s business. The Foundation's focuses include, but are not limited to: responsible gambling, regulation research, sports integrity and education and treatment, grassroots women’s and disability sport, men’s health (with a large focus around mental health and mental wellbeing) and lastly, projects with a clear and concise link to the local community. Community being a preferred word of the company, here.
During Entain Sustain, new ideas were presented, such as the new ARC (Advance Responsibility and Care) scheme, based on Entain’s Changing for the Bettor programme. ARC boasts a newly designed app dedicated to player protection, with an implementation technique applying several checks on consumers at various thresholds in their gaming journey. When testing out the app for ourselves at the event, there was a range of different avenues based on a customer’s personal experiences, in which regular breaks were advised at different intervals.
The launch of EnTrain was also discussed, with the aim of supporting one million people through diversity and technology by 2030. The global commitment is comprised of four key pillars: The EnTrain Academy, EnTrain Scholarships, EnTrain partnerships and EnTrain Apprenticeships. The basis of EnTrain is to provide opportunities for disadvantaged and under-represented communities across the UK, Europe, Australia and America.
The focus of the overall conference was the operator’s Social Impact Report, which compiles all demonstrations of its contribution to safer gambling and supporting such communities; all the while exploring the positive outcomes the company supports. The report showcases social impact, worldwide case study findings, and an approach to measuring and maximising social impact for future years. The company’s commitments offer a promise to invest over £100m ($134m) in its partner organisations, and continue to increase the proportion of GGY (gross gaming yield) donated towards the research, education and treatment of betting and gaming related harm to 1%. Another focus surrounds safer betting and gambling delivery, and an increase in the number of women involved and working in tech-related subjects.
The Foundation supports a plethora of worldwide causes alongside charitable endeavours. Entain invests in grassroots sport through committed development programmes including its Pitching In initiative, an investment fund financially supporting English football league clubs following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The support commenced with a flagship partnership involving The Isthmian, Northern Premier and Southern Leagues.
Additionally, a multi-year strategic partnership with SportsAid supports aspiring athletes, helping 50 up-and-coming sportsmen and women. One beneficiary of the SportsAid partnership is Ruth Mwandumba. During a live panel named Supporting Sport in a Post-Pandemic World, the Britsh Shooting Pathway athlete spoke alongside panellists Nick Robinson (Trident Leagues), Leon Taylor (former diver and SportsAid alumni) and Danny Crates (Paralympian and world record-holder). Mwandumba expressed her gratitude for The Entain Foundation.
“My sport is really expensive so it’s great to get that financial support, but it was a lot more than that for me,” she said. “It wasn’t just about finances, we had access to workshops in mental wellbeing, in nutrition and things I would never have access to; but things I was so grateful for. Without that, I would be in a worse position because I was going through the mindset of being stuck and not knowing what to do.
“So it was good to have that support in a different way; the Zoom calls we were having were regular as well, it wasn’t like we had one workshop and we would never hear from anyone again. Every week there was something new and something for us to get involved with. Having that active contact all the time was a confidence boost; knowing that there are people who support you, support your journey, see you going far and want to do everything in this situation to help you, making sure you are not too affected by what’s going on, was great.”
Other programmes include the Entain Sports Integrity Forum, Professional Players Federation and Women’s Football Initiative with Inter Milan. Elsewhere, Entain assists Harvard Medical School, investing £5.5m in a five-year research project with the Division on Addiction at Cambridge Health Alliance.
It also focuses on the prevention of gambling-related harm to young people, by aiding GamCare with a project raising awareness among adolescents and professionals, surrounding the problems associated with gambling and the markers of harm.
Other groups supported by Entain are YGAM (Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust), The Gordon Moody Association, Leon House Residential Rehabilitation Clinic, GambleAware, GamBan, Seton Hall Law School, EPIC Risk Management and NCPG (US National Council on Problem Gambling). In addition to investments in sport and education, Entain works closely alongside independent charitable organisations such as The Ladbrokes Coral Trust (LCT), Children with Cancer UK, Prostate Cancer UK, NHS Charities Together, Cancer Relief Gibraltar, and 52 Lives.
What interested Gambling Insider the most? Entain’s new partnerships with Girls Who Code and the Tech Girls Movement Foundation focus on providing support to young women interested in building careers in technology. During the Governance and Diversity virtual speech by Virginia McDowell, Entain NED and Chair of the Board ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) Committee, there was a large focus on women in the industry, and women involved in tech-related subjects and employed in tech-related positions.
A study on the comparisons between men and women involved in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects was brought to light, indicating that the gaming industry is still extremely male-dominated. “I felt it was time to encourage talented young women to consider us as a career choice. Entain shares that vision as a company; we are determined to support, inspire and influence the development of women in the gaming industry,” said McDowell.
She continued: “We added digital programming during the pandemic which has enabled us to reach women globally. I firmly believe in the business argument for diversity and inclusion. A company that better reflects the societies in which it operates will perform better because it will understand its customer base better; responding positively to the expectations of all the communities and stakeholders it works with.”
Entain is one of the most significant partners of Girls Who Code, a non-profit organisation that works to close the gender gap in technology. The Entain Foundation will grant £250,000 to support the group’s global ventures in bringing young women from the UK, US, Canada and India into the more STEM industry subjects.
Alongside Girls Who Code is the Tech Girls Movement Foundation in Australia. This specifically challenges the gender perceptions in STEM subjects. Entain’s research has shown that still, only 15% of those who work in such roles are women, compared to 85% being men. The Entain Foundation will grant £50,000 toward mentorship by women in such roles to young women looking for guidance on career choices.
Finally, we move back to the operator's aforementioned key word – community. As Davis explained: “The overarching core value of Entain is ‘the right thing to do,’ a core value I believe can only be successfully sustained with a combination of public, non-profit and private sectors.”
The event was an exhibition of Entain’s values, its foundations, and the multitude of support and programmes it provides. Since re-branding the group from GVC Holdings, the operator has reflected its ambition to be the world leader in sports betting and gaming entertainment. However, given the importance of corporate social responsibility in the modern world, Entain has made equally clear the social issues that are important: sustainability, diversity and responsibility.
