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On the latest episode of Footprints in the Market, Adam Gaskell, Head of UK Marketing at Kindred Group, detailed the company’s ambition to derive zero per cent of revenue from harmful gambling.
Speaking to Sharon McFarlane, Managing Director of Digital Footprints, Gaskell explained how Kindred is promoting its mission through Unibet and 32Red’s sponsorship of various football teams, including Middlesbrough, Leeds United and Rangers.
He said: “By using the zero per cent mission, we’ve been able to open up the conversation on safer gambling with friends, fans and punters more easily.
“It’s on the front of shirts and in the front of people’s minds. We know fans are quite inquisitive about what it means and when we are able to explain to them what our initiative is, it’s a great conversation for us to have.
“It’s something that we’re very proud of and we feel like it’s a great initiative and it’s something for us to really champion and go out there and use as part of our sponsorship.
According to Kindred’s latest financial reports, its gross winnings revenue from high-risk players was 3.2%.
Gaskell also noted that since 2020, the number of its UK player base using voluntary safer gambling tools has risen from 40% to 75%.
Sponsorships
As mentioned, Kindred is heavily involved in the sponsorship of football teams through its Unibet and 32Red brands.
Outside football, it also sponsors a number of events such as Cheltenham’s Champion Hurdle and the British Open snooker, as well as Queensbury Promotion’s boxing stable – which includes Tyson Fury and Daniel Dubois.
Gaskell emphasised the importance of these sponsorships “supporting the wider community that they sit in”. This includes support for women’s sports, a sector that is continuing to gather momentum.
He said: “Women’s sport is very important to us. Only last week we sponsored Northern Ireland’s netball team, so that’s something we were really proud of. We’re proud of our work in the women’s boxing space as well, we have Raven Chapman, Ellie Scotney and Nina Hughes as ambassadors.
“It’s a big deal for us and shows our commitment to using our sponsorships for good. It’s important to send a signal that Kindred believes in investing in British sports and that applies to everybody and we’ll support them as we do any other boxer or any other sponsorship. We’re proud to commit to that rising in popularity.”
Also on the agenda in this episode of the Footprints in the Market series were the challenges that stricter legislation poses for sponsorship opportunities, Kindred’s switch to favouring longer-term partnerships over ad-hoc sponsorships and why value over volume is crucial for newcomers in igaming.
To check out the full interview, click on the video above. You can also click HERE to catch up on the previous episode featuring Niamh Gallagher, Marketing Manager for Mindway AI, who detailed how the company is harnessing AI and over a decade of neuroscience data to innovate igaming’s approach to player protection.
