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LONDON, Feb. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

-- Innovation using analytics and data science heralds new era in proactive

protection

Entain, the leading global sports betting and gaming entertainment operator

with brands including Ladbrokes and bwin, has completed the initial stage of

its pioneering preventative approach to customer protection, known as ARC

(Advanced Protection and Care). As a first outcome the company has

significantly extended behavioral indicators used to identify players

potentially at risk and is now developing models using more than three times

the previous number.

Video - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1440062/Entain_ARC.mp4

Entain believes ARC will provide unprecedented safeguards for customers of its

online sports betting and gaming brands by minimising problems before they

arise. This promises to revolutionise conventional thinking around responsible

gaming and usher in a new era of more personalised and proactive,

technology-driven player protection, widely applicable across many forms of

online sports betting and gaming entertainment.

"ARC is fundamental to our future strategy for sustainability and growth," said

Jette Nygaard-Andersen, Chief Executive of Entain. "We are putting customers

first, both by prioritizing their safety through our use of technology to limit

individual exposure to risk, whilst also enhancing their experience across all

our brands. We will do this not only in our traditional markets of sports

betting and gaming, but also as we grow into new areas, like videogaming and

esports as a global entertainment company."  

Since 2018 Entain has monitored customers using markers of protection based on

things such as frequency of play, changes in spend patterns and length of time

of online play. The new markers being trialed include additional checks on, for

example, fluctuations in stake levels, erratic play during a single session and

signs that a player might be chasing losses. These were identified as potential

danger signs by world-leading academics and gambling support groups taking part

in scientific workshops held by Entain earlier this year.

Data scientists at the company are now building models to test the extended

range of new behavioral indicators in real situations, seeking to identify

customers who, according to the research, may show signs of potential problems

as well as people exhibiting intermittent signs of being at potential risk.

Eventually, Entain hopes to offer every customer both a personalised playing

experience and protection tailored to their individual risk profile.

"We're using our technology, leveraging our data and behavioral science, to

deliver a fundamental shift in customer care," said Peter Marcus, Entain Group

Operations Director, who is overseeing the development of ARC. "The real

innovation is to apply hyper-personalisation, to customer protection – using

insight into the individual behaviors of customers to manage their exposure to

risk in real time."

Data from the new models is to be assessed prior to further development of ARC

in the coming months. Entain will also seek further input from Harvard Medical

School Faculty, Division on Addiction collaborating with Entain on a multi-year

research project, Dr Michael Aeur, from the scientific management of the

Gambling Research Centre at the University of Hohenheim in Germany and Dr Mark

Griffiths, a Distinguished Professor of Behavioral Addiction and Psychology,

who all participated in the workshops and contributed expertise to feed into

the design of the new system.  

Entain will launch ARC first in the UK in the summer, offering real time online

player protection for customers across all its brands and products, and plans

to roll it out internationally from later in the year.

For more information see the Group's website: www.entaingroup.com

SOURCE  Entain Plc