15 Feb Eurobet presents the 2021 Integrated Report
"The first value that gaming companies sell is trust. Trust is important to us; we are a bastion of legality. We operate within a licensing and regulatory framework that allows us to be a bastion of legality." This is what Andrea Faelli, Eurobet Italia CEO, had to say at the event "The place to be: an ethical project for companies embedded in the urban fabric."
Eurobet's number one in Italy also spoke about technology’s state-of-the-art in the sports betting industry and how the market may develop over the coming months.
"Two years of pandemic have changed people's habits in many ways, including entertainment. We see this in attendance numbers at theaters, movies and other events too. If I had to say where the landing point will be, I don't know. I do believe, however, that there will be a gradual recovery. Will we ever reach pre-pandemic levels? I think so. Online gaming is easier and is in the DNA of the younger generation, but what it is missing is the social aspect. As human beings, we need social relations. We are renewing our outlets with a different architectural design to make them better looking, more welcoming and more entertaining regardless of betting: turning them into true and proper meeting points. Italy is a country of 8 thousand municipalities, and even if we exclude the large and medium-sized cities there remain about 7 thousand municipalities that need social meeting points regardless of betting. We are moving in this direction; turning our points of sale into meeting places where people can socialize, have fun and perhaps place a bet."
"I believe the pandemic exponentially accelerated a process that was already in the making, the osmosis between retail and online channels, where the retail channel perceived this as a threat. I believe, however, that with the pandemic there has been a realization that the famous omnichannel is not only necessary but also valuable. The retail world has come to realize that interaction with online adds value to the overall supply chain. The integration of retail and online has also boosted the approach side, and I hope the regulating authority picks up on this too.
Faelli also spoke about the long-awaited for reorganization of the public gaming sector. "The re-ordering issue is a complex one from a technical standpoint. A re-ordering is necessary and I fully endorse the idea of the undersecretary (Federico Freni) to carry this out because in recent years, even ahead of the 2016 concession expiry dates, things have gone astray. Let me give you an example: I am part of a multinational group and I report to shareholders who are British and American. Describing our regulatory situation to them is very complicated. Being Italian we know how to handle certain situations, but from a third party's point of view it is inconceivable. A reorganization is surely needed in order to give certainties, but these must not be fleeting ones that are disappear only the day after. Companies, especially large ones, need lengthy time horizons in order to make investments. Since we have been in the country, we have invested hundreds of millions of euros in the business, creating jobs, spin-off work and culture, and being the bastion of legality is what makes me happy in this job. I think that a single vision of the rules has to be recovered and state concessionaires have to live by them, and those who operate outside of the rules must receive a fair punishment."
The market’s evolution after the pandemic was also addressed by Giuliano Guinci, director of institutional relations at Eurobet. "The period we are living, also as a result of the pandemic, has accelerated two processes that were already underway: the digitization of services and products and the transforming role of retail vis-à-vis the progressive growth of online. The world of regulated betting is – and shall increasingly always be – an entertainment service that competes with other similar, predominantly digital, services. Only those companies that are able to provide continuous innovation, both in terms of new products and customer services, will secure sustainable growth. From a distribution point of view, the future of the industry will be achieved through mutual support between the two channels, online and retail."
"The gaming offer shall," continued Guinci, "also, and especially for the purpose of implementing Responsible Gaming policies, be increasingly provided through a single channel, with the customer freely choosing the channel that best meets his or her needs. This requires a complete paradigm shift when it comes to gaming, both from a regulatory point of view as well as from a communication and information one. The Italian gaming market is characterized by the central role played by the state, and in turn, by concessionaires appointed to ensure that the regulations issued at the central level are properly applied across the country. With this in mind, a process of transparent collaboration among the sector's main stakeholders is central to a no longer deferrable process of reorganization. This reorganization must be geared towards identifying and implementing the most effective measures possible to make gaming truly safe – both for customers and, in the case of betting, for the world of sports. A change in communication and information methods is also desirable so as to provide an essential tool for listening and interaction, but also to properly frame the legal gaming sector within the world of entertainment. Eurobet, availing of the support of the international group it belongs to, is ready to face the innovative challenge ahead and to place it at the center of its sustainability strategy."
" Raising awareness among customers, suppliers and stakeholders in general about the principles of responsible gaming is the basic premise of our sustainability plan." This is what Eurobet's Head of Trading & Sportbook, Federico Spescha, said in the 2020 Integrated Report. "Ethics for us means implementation of appropriate tools to monitor gaming and control the related flows. Upstream we have committed, when selecting our commercial offer, to choose and implement products and services that best reflect the business of a bookmaker that has chosen to operate only in regulated markets.
Eurobet has, over the years, been committed to improving the management of information flows, both qualitative and quantitative, working with international partners who are able to certify our products and oversee their integrity. As bookmakers this activity allows us to ensure maximum safety for our customers and to contribute, in a proactive way, to ensuring the integrity of our betting events and, more generally, of sports. For the analysis of customer behavior, Eurobet has a sophisticated internal reporting process capable of performing as many as 39 "ex ante" and "ex post" checks, mapping possible customer risk areas and identifying anomalies or gaming frequencies/peaks that are inconsistent with gaming behavior."
"These checks, which constantly feed into our internal reporting process, can trigger referrals to relevant departments or external authorities, initiating effective action to prevent the effects of improper gaming practice. Another essential issue to ensure sustainability of the company's business is the fight against match fixing – where this is understood as an intentional agreement, act or omission aimed at improperly altering the outcome of a sports competition in order to eliminate its unpredictability and obtain an undue advantage. A lot has been done against averting match fixing, and it will certainly remain a priority over the coming years too. The legal betting system has succeeded in building a solid network of cooperation, which sees us working alongside other industry players, the Customs and Monopolies Agency and sports federations. This system, thanks to the real-time centralization of gaming data and the implementation of sophisticated monitoring tools, has managed to intercept, even on a preventive basis, a significant number of match fixing instances, including particularly complex ones. The goal is to strengthen the system over the coming years, expand the network of collaboration to bodies and administrations across other countries and to continue investing in the development of IT systems. Business Ethics for Eurobet means doing business in a sustainable way and encouraging healthy gaming behavior."