The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has released its fourth annual sustainability report, revealing that 65% of European customers, totalling a record 21 million individuals, used safety tools in 2023, with more than half of these users doing so voluntarily.
This represents a 14% increase from the previous year. Additionally, EGBA’s operators sent 67.6 million messages to promote safer gambling in 2023, marking a 49% increase from the previous year.
Over 23 million of these messages were personalised based on customers’ actual playing behaviour.
The Sustainability Report 2024 outlines the collective efforts of EGBA members to promote a sustainable approach to gambling and their contributions to society in Europe. The report includes data on customer engagement with safer gambling tools, social contributions, employment, diversity and environmental impact.
Maarten Haijer, EGBA Secretary General, said: “In the report, our CEOs also quite rightly flag their concerns about the growing black market in Europe and the risks it poses to players and the progress made in safer gambling. We’re pleased to expand our reporting this year with specific new metrics about the use of safety tools and messages to promote safer play.”
EGBA members sent a record 67.6 million safer gambling messages, with 23.7 million of these messages personalised. These messages were primarily delivered via on-screen pop-ups and email. Additionally, 80% of all employees, totalling over 45,000 individuals, received dedicated safer gambling training.
Among customers displaying potentially problematic play, 65% improved or stabilised their behaviour following safety messages. Specifically, 45% improved, 10% refrained from playing and 10% stabilised their play.
Furthermore, 32% of these customers voluntarily activated or strengthened safety tools, including self-exclusion. The total number of customer accounts reached 32.5 million, marking a 4% increase from the previous year. The customer base was 72% male and 28% female, with the largest age groups being 26-35 and 36-50 years, collectively accounting for 59% of customers.
EGBA members allocated €61.2m ($66.6m) to problem gambling research, education and treatment services and donated €151.4m to various charities and community initiatives across Europe.
The total number of employees was 58,633, with 57% male and 43% female employees. Total energy consumption was 253.4 GWh, with 71.8% sourced from renewable energy and greenhouse gas emissions amounted to 0.93 million tonnes CO2e.
In May 2024, the EGBA announced that the European Safer Gambling Week 2024 will be held from 18-24 November. The event will feature workshops and discussions on regulation and research, aiming to bring together operators, regulators, support organisations and experts to promote safer gambling practices across Europe.
