Anticipating the inevitable as regulation reform looms in Ireland and the U.K., Paddy Power, the republic’s largest betting company, says it is already spending more than €100 million annually on safer gaming measures.
Paddy Power is owned by Flutter Entertainment, whose chief executive for the U.K. and Irish Division, Conor Grant, told the Irish Times that it spent £48 million ($33.5 million, €55,028,265) on safer gaming the first half of 2022, up from £93 million in 2021.
Grant said, “Yes, we’ve taken some pain,” adding, “but we think that this is absolutely the right thing to do, and we think everyone else is going to have to do the same thing eventually.”
It’s been nearly 90 years since the Republic of Ireland updated its gaming laws. It has begun the process by naming Anne Marie Caulfield as chief executive designate of the Gambling Regulatory Authority ahead of the new authority being actually authorized by legislation. Its duties will include licensing gaming businesses, bookie shops, casinos and websites. Companies will be required to contribute towards consumer protection and safety.
Grant commented, “Ireland has lacked a regulatory framework. From our perspective, it’s now a case of ‘let’s make sure that this is well-funded and well-resourced.’” In the past, he said, Ireland has not provided resources for regulators to do their jobs.
Former Paddy Power CEO Stewart Kenny is skeptical about the appointment of Caulfield, a career bureaucrat, because he feels that someone with experience in the modern gaming sector would be better. He told the Irish Times that the government should have tapped the experience of gaming regulators in Australia or other countries that have addressed problem gambling in recent years.
He added, “I have seen very little political interest in the issue.”
The U.K. is also poised to update its 2005 gaming laws. But first the resignation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and now the resignation of Liz Truss has kept pushing the update back.
One safe gambling measure that Flutter employed this year was a €500/£500 deposit limit for U.K. and Irish consumers under 25. It points out that most consumers that age are still in college and younger people tend to take more risks.
It also employs a digital alert system, called Action Center, that monitors 270 “triggers” that might indicate a path toward problem gambling. It also takes behavioral changes into account, such as someone who regularly bets on soccer games who suddenly begins playing table games into the early morning hours.
Action Center identified 100,000 customers in the first six months of 2022 and decided that 48,000 should be contacted. Half of those led to results such as consumers agreeing to self-exclusion or having deposit limits imposed.
