For November’s Better Collective Spotlight, we delve into the world of social responsibility and some of the initiatives that the Danish sports media publisher has introduced to tackle problem gambling behaviour.

Following on from Safer Gambling Week (SGW), which took place from 1 – 7 November, Esben Skou Vinther (pictured below), Senior Director for Group Strategy & Execution, told SBC News that Better Collective produced a series of media assets and literature to ensure that its users had access to responsible gambling information.

Vinther said: “This year, we created a number of high-quality articles on various topics of responsible betting which were shared among the users of Bettingexpert, our largest brand in the UK.

“The articles were then also shared on Better Collective’s internal site, which had its design transformed in honour of SGW. We also aimed to spread awareness on social media through numerous posts in support of SGW across our most important brands including BC Group, Mindway and Bettingexpert.

“Lastly, we created content, banners and logos for our media partners, which was featured in both the physical newspaper and online campaigns.

“SGW is a very important event that puts awareness on Responsible Gambling across stakeholders and various parts of the value chain as well as the users themselves. We can also see that the operators are having requirements for affiliates regarding the SGW initiatives, which is a testament to how important SGW is for all of the stakeholders.”

Since its inception back in 2017, SGW has seen the betting and gaming industry collaborate on several safer gambling messages via online and land-based venues to drive a nationwide conversation on responsible betting.

For Vinther, this collaboration has been essential to promoting responsible gambling across the industry – especially when it comes to shining a light on the role that affiliate marketing providers play in raising safer gambling standards and educating bettors on how to bet responsibly.

He added: “Cross industry collaboration is key to promoting responsible gambling in the industry and Better Collective has pursued various initiatives in order to promote collaboration between relevant stakeholders.

“As the cofounders of RAiG – an independent body set up to help raise standards in the sector, particularly in respect of responsible gambling – we help to raise the standards in the sector and aim to create a safer gambling environment for the consumers.

“The association aims to foster wider initiatives in the UK affiliate marketing sector to promote social responsibility and help create a safer gambling environment for consumers. Annually, all RAiG members are going through an audit, ensuring high responsible gambling standards.

“We recognise the role affiliate marketing providers must play as part of widening industry initiatives in the UK to promote social responsibility and a safer gambling environment for consumers.”

Better Collective doesn’t limit its promotion of safer gambling initiatives to just the United Kingdom, with membership of the Danish Online Gambling Association (DOGA) enabling it – among many other things – to help initiate dialogue between all stakeholders in the gambling industry to secure a responsible and safe gambling market in Denmark and further afield.

The acquisition of Mindway AI has enabled Better Collective to take the conversation surrounding safer gambling to the next level by utilising software solutions that increase the knowledge and safety of the bettors.

By combining neuroscience, artificial intelligence and collaboration with experts from the iGaming industry, Mindway AI’s solutions can monitor, profile and identify gamblers at risk, and the solutions can be implemented by the operators.

“Ensuring safety and transparency for the users of our products is on the top of Better Collective’s list of priorities, which is why we have a long history of responsible gambling initiatives,” Vinther continued.

“Most recently, Mindway’s software solution Gamalyze, a game-like self test creating a risk evaluation of gamblers, which won The Compliance Innovation of the Year award at the Global Regulatory Awards Gamalyze, is currently being integrated into all of Better Collective’s largest sports betting sites to ensure that all of our customers are able to assess their risk-profile.

“Our brands are also focusing on preventing problem gambling behaviour. For example, Bettingexpert has an extensive responsible gambling page as well as responsible gambling video content; SpilXperten recently initiated newsletters about responsible gambling, with the goal of many brands to follow in the near future, and several of our podcasts include advice on how to gamble safely and where to go, if a user experiences problematic gambling.”