Q&A: Betsson on the importance of sustainability, ESG and group-wide action

EGR: How is Betsson’s sustainability framework structured?

Jonna Danlund (JD): Betsson is celebrating its 60^th anniversary this year. The only way to run a successful business for that long is to have a long-term, sustainable approach.

Our framework has five focus areas: responsible gaming, business compliance, employee impact, social impact and climate impact. Each area has ambitions, goals and KPIs and we report on these in the quarterly and annual reports.

There is a whole governance structure to support this, with close C-level involvement and board oversight. Buy-in from the top is crucial.

No woman is an island. While it’s my responsibility to drive the sustainability agenda and processes forward, it’s the experts in the organisation who are key to making it happen. They are the ones who take this from an idea on paper to tangible projects and actions that support our business.

Believe me, all areas have a sustainability angle. Just ask yourself – what do I need to do within my field today to ensure that my company will still be here and be successful in another 60 years? That’s sustainability.

EGR: How do you define responsible gaming as part of your ESG strategy?

JD: Responsible gaming is the core of our ESG efforts, and I think anyone would agree that it is also the most important sustainability area for the igaming industry.

At Betsson, we want to be the inspiration for a healthy approach to gaming, and our KPIs therefore focus on raising awareness and increasing knowledge about responsible gaming and, most importantly, on always having our customers at heart, helping them to play responsibly.

That being said, all of the areas within ESG are important.

Take the environment for example, even though our business is online, and we don’t have a massive amount of emissions, we still need to do our part. This is why we have set targets to reduce our emissions and why we also climate compensate for the electricity used by our customers who play with us.

EGR: How do you maintain and evolve strategies when acquiring businesses?

JD: At Betsson, we have a specialised M&A team dedicated to managing acquisitions and a thorough due diligence process to evaluate the target company, where ESG is one component.

When working with acquired businesses, we share our sustainability processes and provide training but are also open to ideas and input from new members of our group. Together we get better.

It’s so important and therefore we do our utmost to communicate internally about sustainability with the aim to engage the whole organisation.

EGR: How is technology enhancing the compliance and ESG strategy?

JD: With the igaming sector being highly regulated and Betsson falling under the EU’s new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, I think it’s most beneficial to have a tool to collect and track your ESG data. This gives you visibility and traceability.

ESG reporting may sound daunting, but I see it as an excellent opportunity for the industry to showcase all the good that we already do within this area. For example, when it comes to the G in ESG – governance – we have several highly efficient processes in place when it comes to onboarding and KYC, AML and working against match-fixing, to just name a few.

Working with ESG is a journey and we should be proud of how far we have come and humble that there is always more to be done.

Being sustainable is the right thing to do, it’s important to our stakeholders and good for our business. It’s a win-win.

Jonna Danlund is head of sustainability at Betsson Group. She has 25 years of experience in communication and sustainability from large, global organisations.

Danlund is committed to driving ESG and sustainability forward in cooperation with internal stakeholders.