Press Releases

GVC Sets out plan to safely welcome customers back to betting shops

Published

4 years ago

June 10, 2020

Reading Time: 3 minutes

GVC Holdings PLC, the global sports-betting and gaming group, has today set out the comprehensive plan it is implementing to safely re-open its Ladbrokes and Coral betting shops. From 15 June, all 2,445 shops in England will open their doors, followed by the remainder of the Group’s c.3,000 shop estate, as the devolved administrations in the UK ease their own lockdowns.

The guiding principle behind the plan is to ensure the health and wellbeing of all colleagues and customers. The plan details the social distancing and safety procedures put in place alongside the provision of new protective equipment installed in store and provided to the shop personnel. The new measures have been designed to meet or exceed guidelines laid down by the UK government and World Health Organisation.

The key elements are summarised below, with each element supported by detailed guidance and the provision of additional equipment and training where required:

Pre shop-opening checks

Property maintenance checks.
Facilities, screens, bet stations, gaming machines and till systems cleaned.
Review of security hardware in shops.

Tools to support social distancing

Installation of additional equipment including ‘sneeze screens’, protective barriers between gaming machines and bet stations to act as a physical barrier between colleagues and customers to ensure social distancing.
Installation of customer signage and floor markings to provide direction on social distancing whilst in shop.
Compulsory social distancing training module for all colleagues.

Health and safety provisions

Supply of stylus pens for customers using bet stations and gaming machines, to avoid customers physically touching screens.
Provision of additional hand sanitiser stations, hand wash and cleaning products to promote and maintain good hygiene standards.
Provision of colleague comfort measures such as face masks, protective shields and disposable gloves.
Introduction of enhanced colleague cleaning routines in both the customer and colleague areas.

Shop operation guidance

Clear guidance on maximum customer occupancy levels, based on size and layout of each shop, to support social distancing.
Guidance on customer entry/exit management procedures.
Guidance on bet placement and payment processes, with use of contactless payment encouraged.

Colleague wellbeing

Installation of dividing partitions between till positions to act as a physical barrier between colleagues and ensure social distancing.
Restrictions on transfer of personnel between multiple shops to reduce exposure.
Provision of a third-party app “Unmind” to promote mental wellbeing.
Supply of video and printed training materials.
Employee Assistance Programme made available to all colleagues and their families.
Open and honest communication channels with all colleagues.

Safer gambling

Increased monitoring of customer behaviour and wellbeing, to identify potentially vulnerable customers and ensure they are playing within their financial means.
Guidance on interactions with vulnerable customers whilst social distancing
Review of self-exclusion lists.

Commenting on the plan GVC CEO Kenny Alexander said:

“We are very pleased to be re-opening our shops in England as the UK begins the first steps in returning to some form of normality. Ever since the lockdown was introduced, we have been working tirelessly on a plan which will deliver the safest possible environment for both our customers and our people. I am confident we have achieved that and look forward to welcoming our customers back in the near future.”

Michael Dugher, Chief Executive of the Betting and Gaming Council, said:

“I’m delighted that GVC, home of some of the world class brands in betting, will be able to re-open their English betting shops safely from 15 June. GVC make a significant contribution to the economy, supporting good jobs in communities across the country, and it’s great to see at first hand their commitment to ensuring that their reopened shops will provide a safe and enjoyable environment for staff and customers alike”.

Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO)

Soft2Bet strengthens integrity monitoring with IBIA membership in Ontario

Published

17 hours ago

May 6, 2024

GamingAmericas.com

soft2bet-strengthens-integrity-monitoring-with-ibia-membership-in-ontario

Soft2Bet, a leading casino and sportsbook platform provider, has joined the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) and activated its membership in Ontario, Canada, following its licensing in the Canadian province.

Soft2bet obtained its Certificate of Registration from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) at the end of March, where the company’s Ontario-focused brand Tooniebet.com will now feed into IBIA’s world-leading sports betting integrity monitoring platform before worldwide implementation in the coming months.

IBIA includes over 50 of the world’s leading sports betting and gaming companies, who operate over 125 sports betting brands. Soft2Bet’s decision to join the association further strengthens its own internal betting integrity protocols and IBIA’s position as the world’s leading sports betting integrity monitoring body.

David Yatom Hay, General Counsel at Soft2Bet, commented: “Soft2Bet is delighted to be joining the IBIA as we strengthen our own betting integrity monitoring processes and play our part in furthering the IBIA’s long-standing work on this key issue. Ontario is a world class iGaming jurisdiction; it will be the first market where we will implement our IBIA membership and we look forward to deploying the monitoring infrastructure worldwide in all the other markets in which we operate.”

Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, said: “Soft2Bet is a very welcome addition to IBIA, further strengthening our position in the Ontario market. The operator’s decision to join IBIA demonstrates its desire to utilise the best integrity protection available for its sportsbook product. The association is delighted to be able to integrate Tooniebet within our integrity monitoring system and looks forward to working closely with Soft2Bet to maintain the high integrity of its sportsbook.”

IBIA is a not-for-profit body that has no competing conflicts with the delivery of commercial services to other sectors and is run by operators and for operators to protect regulated sports betting markets from match-fixing. IBIA’s global monitoring network is a highly effective anti-corruption tool, detecting and reporting suspicious activity in regulated betting markets.

Through the IBIA monitoring network it is possible to track transactional activities linked to individual customer accounts. IBIA members generate more than $300bn in annual betting turnover (handle), accounting for approximately 50% of the global commercial regulated land-based and online sports betting sector, and in excess of 50% for online alone.

IBIA recently released a report on the Availability of Sports Betting Products which highlighted Ontario as a leading regulated gambling jurisdiction, with an expected onshore channelisation for sports betting of 92% in 2024 forecast to rise to 97% in2028. IBIA currently represents over 60% of the private sports betting operators licensed in the province. All online sportsbetting operators licensed in Ontario are required to be part of a betting integrity monitoring body.

IBIA’s Q1 2024 report detailed 56 alerts during the quarter. IBIA alerts contributed to the investigations and subsequent successful sanctioning of 21 clubs, players and officials in 2023, an increase on the 15 sanctioned in 2022.

Latest News

South African Online Casino Player Strikes Gold with R189,000 Win at Tusk Casino

Published

20 hours ago

May 6, 2024

GamingAmericas.com

south-african-online-casino-player-strikes-gold-with-r189,000-win-at-tusk-casino

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