GamProtect: Will the single-customer view benefit the industry and vulnerable players?

GamProtect, the initiative that is the combined brainchild of the BGC, ICO, GC and gambling operators, has now moved from the ‘sandbox’ stage to the implementation stage, and has caused a great deal of interest in the sector.

While creating a ‘single-customer view’ shared amongst operators will help to protect the most vulnerable customers, there have also been concerns that it may be viewed by customers as an invasion of privacy or used by operators for commercial purposes.

That’s where the ICO’s buy-in is important: GDPR concerns have been taken into account when crafting the initiative and deciding which information to share, when and with whom.

Some of the largest operators in the sector have been participating in GamProtect since April 2023, including Flutter, Entain, bet365 and William Hill – with the programme officially opened to all operators last week.

One interesting point to note is the suggestion that introducing the single-customer view, with operators taking the lead, will have the tangential benefit to the industry of helping reduce the need for further mandated player protection legislation.

Whether this is true remains to be seen.

How does GamProtect work?

Under the scheme, participating operators will identify a player as being at risk if the customer themself states they meet one of five triggers:

• that they have a gambling addiction,

• they are seeking support or treatment for addiction,

• they might harm themselves and/or others,

• they should not be gambling due to a health condition or

• they want to stop gambling due to gambling addiction.

Following an interaction with the customer, an operator will share the customer’s name, date of birth, postcode, email address, telephone number and the reason for the flag with GamProtect, allowing other operators to check if the same customer has an account with them and to close it if necessary.

According to the Gambling Commission, GamProtect has already identified 5,527 consumers to date, with the goal of helping to protect them from risk and serious harm. Of these consumers, 88 per cent were matched by at least one operator, and 66 per cent by at least two.

Now the initiative is open to more operators, it will be interesting to see its efficacy and what public perception of it is.