FanDuel doubles down on responsible gambling with new Play Well Day
US market leader adds Amanda Serrano as new RG ambassador amid $100k ICRG pledge
FanDuel has held its first company-wide Play Well Day, amid a scaling up of its responsible gambling (RG) efforts at an international level.
The employee-only event featured company and industry leaders discussing the everyday role each employee plays in creating a culture that embraces safer play.
As part of the focus on RG, FanDuel has agreed multi-year extensions of its existing partnership with radio personality Craig Carton, the firm’s first responsible gambling ambassador, and seven division boxing champion Amanda Serrano, who joins Carton as a responsible gaming ambassador.
Carton has served as a FanDuel ambassador since September 2021 and has been responsible for RG-related content at an internal level within the FanDuel organization as well as at a wider level.
As part of the expanded partnership, Carton, who hosts The Carton Show on FS1 and Carton and Roberts on WFAN 101.9 FM/660 AM radio in New York, will kick off the “FanDuel/Craig Carton College Tour” with stops at campuses beginning this fall, aiming to educate college students on RG.
“I am excited to continue working with FanDuel on raising awareness and advocacy for problem gambling,” said Carton.
“Our first year together focused on training and identifying ways to better protect customers through advocacy.
“Moving forward, speaking to young adults about my story and how they can learn from it is something I’m incredibly passionate about. I can’t wait to kick off our campus tour later this month,” he added.
FanDuel has previously served as the sponsor of Amanda Serrano’s fights, however this has been expanded to include the boxer becoming a responsible gaming ambassador.
As part of the partnerships, Serrano will film a series of responsible gaming public service announcements in English and Spanish to better serve FanDuel’s customers.
Amanda Serrano
The continued sponsorship is integrated across the FanDuel site and Serrano’s social media channels and will include FanDuel’s logo on her boxing trunks and personal appearances for her next three fights.
The boxer, who will defend her WBC, WBO and IBO featherweight titles against IBF featherweight champion Sarah Mahfoud live on pay-per-view TV at the weekend, expressed her delight at her new role.
“I appreciate how serious the team at FanDuel takes this issue as it’s one of personal importance to me. Being able to use my platform to advocate to sports fans a play well lifestyle is something I’m proud to be a part of,” Serrano explained.
As part of their respective roles, Serrano and Carton will work in a consultation capacity with FanDuel’s RG operations and customer service teams to produce content that aims to encourage customers to play within a budget and to never chase losses.
The duo will also work to encourage greater adoption of FanDuel’s responsible gaming tools.
In addition to the twin renewal, and as part of the American Gaming Association’s Responsible Gaming Education Month, FanDuel has pledged $100,000 to the International Center for Responsible Gaming (ICRG).
The funding will support research designed to better understand gambling behavior and determine areas of potential harm in order to mitigate risk and improve RG programs.
In tandem, FanDuel will continue with its multimedia responsible gaming advertising campaign entitled “The System”, which will continue to air throughout the year.
ICRG president Arthur Paikowsky lauded the US market leaders commitment to RG.
“I continue to be impressed with FanDuel’s efforts to promote responsible gaming,” Paikowsky said.
“The company is making important strides in raising awareness of safer play. Their donation to ICRG is important to advance critical research in the months and years to come,” the ICRG president added.
The commitment, the RG partnerships and the overall Play Well Day form part of parent company Flutter’s global sustainability strategy, the Positive Impact Plan.
The strategy is focused on using group-wide actions to promote responsible gambling across global markets where Flutter operates. It has set a goal for 50% of online customers globally to be using a safer gambling tool by 2026.
“The opportunity to continue our partnership with Craig while also welcoming Amanda to our responsible gaming ambassador team will allow FanDuel to connect with more consumers about our beliefs around how to play well,” FanDuel VP of responsible gaming Adam Warrington said.
“We’re proud to further our commitment to developing programs, partnerships, and tools that aim to make a tangible difference in responsible gaming,” he added.