Entain to deploy new affordability model across UK brands

Entain Plc will deploy a ‘new affordability model’ across its entire UK brand portfolio, to detect customers at ‘greatest risk of potential financial harm’, ensuring early intervention from its customer care teams.

The model – which has been ‘under development for the past 18-months’ – has been configured by Entain’s proprietary ‘ARC’ (Advanced Responsibility and Care) safer gambling player monitoring system.

Built by the operator’s in-house data science team, Entain’s ARC system combines open source and commercially available data with behavioural indicators to optimise the targeting of at-risk customers.

“We have been working on player affordability concepts for the past 18 months as part of our ARC affordability programme,” said Peter Marcus, Group Operations Director at Entain, who is leading the ARC initiative.

“This aims to identify relevant limits at the right time to protect customers whom our technology has identified as being vulnerable, or particularly at risk.”

Entain’s ‘new affordability model’ coincides with intense regulatory debate on how best to protect those at risk without limiting the enjoyment of the vast majority.

Addressing industry leadership, Tim Miller, Executive Director of Policy development for the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), stated that licensed operators had to fundamentally improve their mechanics with regards to measuring and intervening on affordability.

Backing its ARC model, Entain stated that tests had shown that interactions with targeted customers and the utilisation of betting and gaming tools had reduced their staking and depositing limits by around 55%.

“We firmly believe that a more personalised, individual approach to player protection is the way forward which is why, for the most vulnerable customers, we have taken action as soon as we can,” said Jette Nygaard-Andersen, chief executive of Entain.

“We are deeply committed to giving every customer the best experiences and protection we can, tailored to their particular needs.”

Entain aims for its new ARC model to be fully live in the UK market across its 14 brands this summer, with the model being customized for specific countries internationally and different cultural norms later in the year.