ESG Watch (August 2022)
All the latest ESG news from the igaming industry, including updates from Betsson, Sisal and Pragmatic Play
Betsson Group donate to a food bank in Malta
This month, Betsson Group visited the Foodbank Lifeline Foundation in Malta and donated towards purchasing durable bags and sorting and labelling donated foods.
The Foodbank Lifeline currently supplies food packs to hundreds of families and individuals across Malta each week. The number of people needing food has substantially increased in the region during the winter months as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on the local economy and the cost-of-living crisis sweeping Europe.
The foundation also works closely with a number of NGOs and other charities in the region.
Pragmatic Play makes a donation to Alameda Wildlife Conservation Park
Slot supplier Pragmatic Play has donated £6,850 to Gibraltar’s only wildlife sanctuary, The Alameda Wildlife Conservation Park (AWCP), which houses many native and exotic animal species.
The park is located in Alameda Botanic Gardens, where the wildlife conservationists look after unwanted exotic pets and animals confiscated by customs (such as the critically endangered cotton-topped tamarin) to raise awareness of important endangered species through conservation education.
The wildlife park also houses three species of North American turtle: the common snapping turtle, map turtle and yellow-bellied slider, the latter of which can live for up to 70 years.
The money donated by Pragmatic Play will go towards the new turtle exhibit, funding the refurbishment of the park’s turtle ponds that require running, filtered water to ensure the health and cleanliness of the animals, as well as outdoor spaces for the turtles.
Julian Jarvis, CEO at Pragmatic Play, said: “As the only wildlife park in Gibraltar, the AWCP fulfils a crucial part in the protection of rare animal species, and we’re extremely proud to be able to support the restructuring of its outdoor spaces and turtle ponds.
“Up to four species of turtle will be housed in a specious pond in a prominent area of the park thanks to our donation, and we look forward to establishing new ways to support the conservation group moving forward.”
Sky Betting & Gaming raise £30,000 for Support Dogs
Sky Betting & Gaming have been doing a number of events throughout the month to raise money for the charity Support Dogs, which provide, train and support specialist assistance dogs for those affected by autism, epilepsy and physical disability.
At the time of writing, the operator has raised £30,000 for the charity through several events. These included a traditional pub quiz, a dog-themed photoshoot for staff to get snappy with their pets, as well as a ‘Dog and Donut Day’ where the charity took some of their working support dogs into the Sky Bet offices to meet with staff and share doughnuts.
Sky Betting & Gaming also took on the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge, which saw over 90 members of staff taking part and all money raised going to Support Dogs.
Sisal partners with Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore to aid responsible gambling research
Italian lottery operator Sisal has partnered with Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan to support a research project to better understand and help prevent excessive gambling behaviour.
Sisal will finance a PhD scholarship at the Doctoral School of Psychology at the university, which aims to run the project entitled: “Development of an integrated model of analysis of behavioural and psychometric data to predict behaviours at risk of problem gambling.”
This funding forms part of Sisal’s commitment to helping reaffirm “gioco responsabile”.
The application process for the scholarship is now closed.
Betclic Group run a blood drive
On 25 August, sports betting operator Betclic Group ran a blood drive as part of its commitment to give back to the community.
In a post on LinkedIn, the Everest Group-owned operator thanked its staff for giving blood. The post read: “At Betclic Group, we try to promote social responsibility towards different initiatives. On this note, we recently invited our teammates to a blood donation day organised by the company. We strongly believe blood donation is a key gesture for the community, a small one for the individual and a big one for a life saved. A big thank you to our Betclicers, well done.”