Simon Westbury, Chair of 1xCare, pens an open letter to the international iGaming community to argue the global sector has reached an existential inflection point where passive compliance must give way to independent governance.
For too long, the international gambling industry has treated responsible gambling as a corporate social responsibility exercise and a peripheral department designed to tick compliance boxes rather than a core operational imperative. This paradigm is no longer sustainable.
Regulatory pressures are intensifying globally, from the evolving strictures of Europe to emerging frameworks across Latin America. At the same time, player demographics are shifting toward digital-native cohorts who demand seamless but demonstrably safe environments.
The tension between commercial scale and social licence is real, and it is growing. The industry cannot simply market its way out of this systemic challenge. True player protection requires structure, capital, and, above all, independent oversight. It is this fundamental realisation that drives the establishment of 1xCare.
When I accepted the role of Chairperson of the 1xCare Advisory Committee, I did so with a strict caveat: this initiative must possess genuine governance and structural autonomy. Established as a Cyprus-registered non-profit organisation, RG Practices Ltd, by the owner of the global 1xBet brand, 1xCare represents a necessary structural decoupling of commercial operations from harm-mitigation mandates.
An initiative of this magnitude is judged entirely by the calibre and independence of the people willing to stand behind it. It is a critical imperative that those overseeing player protection are empowered to critique, allocate funding, and enforce ethical standards without commercial interference.
To achieve this, we have assembled a committee of recognised independent specialists across critical operational streams. Quirino Mancini leads our regulation and law stream, ensuring strict alignment with licensing standards and international best practices. Sissel Weitzhändler directs public policy and regulation, focusing on transparent funding and evidence-based interventions in collaboration with regulators and non-governmental organisations. Chris Bird supervises our sports and sponsorships stream, embedding gambling awareness directly into sporting settings and commercial partnerships.
This is not a cosmetic board. This committee holds absolute authority over the strategic direction, policy oversight, and capital distribution of our programmes. Responsible gambling is not a marketing slogan; it is an absolute operational duty, and this framework exists to enforce it.
To systemic challenges, we must apply systemic solutions. The future of player safety cannot rely on broad-brush, reactive interventions. It must be built upon targeted, data-driven pillars that address the entire lifecycle of player interaction. The 1xCare framework has four distinct, measurable operational hubs.
First, the Research Hub exists to eliminate empirical blind spots. Policy without data is merely guesswork. The industry frequently implements mitigation tools without empirical validation of their efficacy. The Research Hub funds independent, peer-reviewed studies examining evolving player behaviour, micro-transaction addiction risks, and the behavioural impacts of emerging technologies. Crucially, all findings will be published transparently to foster genuine evidence-based interventions. We must be willing to face uncomfortable data if we are to build robust defences.
Second, the EduCare pillar ensures that education extends past the consumer to the wider ecosystem. Through EduCare, we are deploying targeted educational programmes across operator networks and, critically, within sports communities. Given that global brands engage with millions of fans through high-profile sports partnerships, embedding proactive harm-prevention modules into these athletic environments is a paramount objective.
Third, TechShield focuses on algorithmic intervention. The modern gambler moves at digital speed; our protection mechanisms must do the same. TechShield focuses exclusively on the development and deployment of predictive responsible gambling technologies. By leveraging machine learning models to detect early markers of harm, such as erratic velocity changes, chasing losses, or disrupted sleep-pattern betting, that we can transition from retrospective blocking to real-time, preventative friction.
Fourth, the Support and Well-Being pillar provides direct, localised remediation. No ecosystem is entirely risk-free. When failures occur, immediate access to professional help is non-negotiable. Through targeted grants and institutional partnerships, this pillar expands funding to qualified local helplines, clinical psychologists, and holistic recovery services, ensuring players are never isolated when navigating vulnerability.
The prevailing corporate culture within the gaming sector has historically been insular, treating proprietary compliance mechanisms as competitive advantages. This logic is flawed. Player protection is a pre-competitive necessity. If the industry fails to protect its consumers collectively, it risks systemic regulatory overcorrection that threatens the viability of the entire market.
Our mandate at 1xCare is built to contribute, not to compete. Our objective is to collaborate openly with academic institutions, regulatory authorities, and civil society. Over the coming months, we will expand the Advisory Committee further, adding dedicated seats for specialised academic researchers and sports integrity experts to ensure our governance keeps pace with technical realities.
The long-term viability of the global betting and gaming industry depends entirely on trust. Operators must accept that maximising lifetime customer value through sustainable, protected play is infinitely superior to short-term revenue extraction. 1xCare provides the blueprint for how major global ecosystems can—and must—fund their own independent critique. The industry must accept that true corporate maturity lies in a simple reality: we are only as sustainable as our most vulnerable players.
Yours sincerely,
Simon Westbury
Chairperson, 1xCare Advisory Committee
