British bookmaker Ladbrokes has established a new social responsibility committee to help the company’s board oversee the delivery of a socially responsible approach to providing betting and gaming.
Senior independent director John Kelly will chair the new committee. Non-executive director Christine Hodgson, chairman Peter Erskine and chief executive Richard Glynn will also be on the panel, which will monitor and report to the board on the adherence to and development of responsible gambling policy across the business.
The new committee, which Ladbrokes first announced in February, will also assess performance against other key social responsibility targets. Company experts will regularly attend the committee, which will also work alongside the remuneration committee on developing key performance indicators that will be used to ensure that responsible gambling is reflected in executive remuneration.
“We have always placed responsible gambling and social responsibility at the heart of our business, and the establishment of the committee formalizes this approach and reinforces its importance to the future of the business,” Erksine said.
“It is clear that trust in bookmakers has been impacted by negative publicity and lobbying in the last year, and while we may believe that much of the concern is ill-founded, we accept that it is only by our actions will be able to win it back. The social responsibility committee, chaired by John Kelly with a wealth of experience and knowledge of the gambling industry, is a significant step in this process.”
