SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The Hippodrome, one of London’s oldest and most prominent casinos, has depended its partnership with gambling harm consultancy EPIC Risk Management.
EPIC will coordinate a pilot programme at the venue to highlight the need for harm minimisation training in UK casinos. The consultancy will work with licensed and unlicensed customer-facing staff to ensure safer gambling is treated as a key focus of player interactions throughout the two-year partnership.
Joanna Whitehall, the firm’s Sustainability Manager, will play a key role in organising the programme, which will consist of 20 workshops and four focus group evaluations looking at best practice on identifying risk and harm in player activity, vulnerability, stigma, meaningful interactions and increasing confidence.
“We’re very pleased to have further strengthened a very close working relationship with The Hippodrome Casino,” she said. “We hear examples of the gambling-harm journey experienced by a number of our facilitators throughout the company.
“Training of this nature hasn’t been standard practice previously in casinos, so it stands to reason that customer-facing staff who may have felt an urge to intervene in cases of harm may not have had the knowledge on how to deal with such clients.
“Now we can provide specific examples of markers of harm, and how to bring up the conversation with confidence and empathy with the intention of identifying risk and preventing gambling-related harm before it happens.
“We look forward to working with The Hippodrome Casino further, to improve safety and confidence for staff and clients alike, and trust that we can continue to expand the reach of this programme to other land-based casinos across the UK who have expressed an interest in a similar project at their venue.”
EPIC Risk Management takes an active role in education and training, particularly around gambling harm prevention and treatment, to a number of stakeholders both in and outside of the betting and gaming industry.
In a recent expansion of its operations in professional sports and activity in North America, the London-headquartered group began delivering programmes to the Major League Soccer Players Association (MLSPA), in partnership with the Entain Foundation US.
Sam Douglas, Director of Business Services at The Hippodrome Casino, added: “We are thrilled to partner with EPIC Risk Management to help our employees build empathy and understanding through lived experience.
“The training they provide is invaluable, and we have already seen a positive impact on our team. We are happy that this partnership will assist us in creating a safe environment for our players in the years to come.”
