Department of Trust signs champion jockey Harry Skelton for safer gambling push

Department of Trust, the leader in financial KYC for the gambling industry, has signed Harry Skelton as brand ambassador for its pioneering personal finance app for gamblers, BetBudget, as it begins a major social media and online marketing campaign.

BetBudget is the first personal finance tool designed specifically for all types of gamblers, to help manage money and make smarter decisions about gambling and other spend in one place. The app uses FCA regulated open banking to emphasise security, privacy and ease of use.

BetBudget offers helpful personal budgeting tools such as consolidating bank balances, tracking disposable income, discreet personalised alerts for spending or withdrawals, and P&L analysis of a user’s history with individual gaming sites. The service is free for consumers.

Gambling operators can use BetBudget to carry out financial KYC checks ranging from a simple confirmation of income, a review of vulnerability metrics, all the way to complete access to bank statement data for enhanced due diligence (EDD). Players review and approve these requests with one tap in the app – removing the need to submit bank statements, avoiding hits on their credit file, and maintaining complete control of what data is shared at all times.

To raise awareness among sports bettors, BetBudget has signed 2020/21 champion jump jockey Harry Skelton as a long-term brand ambassador. Skelton will bring a visual BetBudget presence to the racecourse and help promote the brand through traditional and social media.

“As a jockey, my profession is built on trust,” said Skelton, a winner of eight Grade 1s, including two at the Cheltenham Festival. “I’m delighted to partner with BetBudget, a tool that drastically improves the way in which players share their financial and other personal information with bookies. Anything that helps people to bet in a safer, more responsible manner should be welcomed.”

Department of Trust was founded by CEO Charles Cohen, a technology entrepreneur and executive, who previously founded and sold businesses including online currency beenz.com and mobile gambling pioneer Probability plc.

“Financial KYC is becoming something every operator needs to conduct more often, more deeply and more accurately,” said Cohen. “We are thrilled to be working with Harry to raise the profile of BetBudget among UK sports bettors in particular. They are the group most likely to encounter these checks today and benefit most from the free BetBudget app itself.”