Austrian gambling company Novomatic held the latest edition of its Responsible Gaming Symposium on Tuesday, at the group’s headquarters in Gumpoldskirchen, Lower Austria. Player protection and prevention were the key topics of the day, which saw the participation of top Novomatic executives and an international panel of experts.
From preventative measures in the operating business of the subsidiary Admiral to regulatory aspects, the event’s panel of experts agreed that taking responsibility is the key to sustainable business. Novomatic also used the event to emphasize that the group is only active in markets with a clear set of laws and regulations and that player protection plays a key role in its operations.
Robert Hofians, Supervisory Board of Novomatic AG, and Alexander Legat, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Admiral Casinos & Entertainment AG, two of the Novomatic executives present at the symposium, both highlighted the importance of responsible gambling during the meeting, which was attended by more than 100 participants.
The latest edition of the symposium marks Novomatic’s ninth stakeholder dialog on how to continue making improvements to player protection efforts. The participants of the meeting were warmly welcomed by Johannes Gratzl, Executive Board Member of Novomatic AG. Gratzl began by emphasizing the great importance of responsible entertainment within the group.
“We are constantly implementing measures designed to make further improvements in the area of prevention, some of which go far beyond what is required by law, confirmed by the fact we are certified in accordance with the highest international player protection standard of the Global Gambling Guidance Group (G4), making us the first Austrian gaming company to receive such certification,” Gratzl said.
The heads of clinical psychology at the Anton Proksch Institute, Oliver Scheibenbogen and Ute Andorfer, also emphasized the importance of an active sense of responsibility in their presentation: “Actively supporting player protection measures is not just about fulfilling legal requirements, but also about actively undertaking prevention work and making a significant contribution to sustainable business practices.
“Responsible gaming or gambling means taking responsibility, both by the company and by the customer – a sign of solidarity when it comes to working together to fight the risk of addiction.”
Monika Racek, Executive Board Member of Admiral Casinos & Entertainment AG, explained the special features of player protection in the Austrian market: “Ensuring player protection across the board has now become the most important factor when licenses are issued.
“Fortunately, our focus on continuously optimizing our Responsible Entertainment on the basis of scientific concepts began several years ago, which means that we are now a pioneer in player protection across Europe.”
The network of Admiral branches includes a large number of trained prevention officers responsible for introducing ever-better player and youth protection measures. Representatives of Admiral then presented the prevention work and the comprehensive training concept at the symposium.
Christoph Neubauer, Head of Group CR & Sustainability at Novomatic AG, gave an overview of the comprehensive measures in international markets. He highlighted the heterogeneous nature of international requirements in the gaming sector, each of which requires market-specific responsible gaming measures.
In addition, Bernhard Teuchmann and Jaime Estalella, both Managing Directors at Novomatic Spain, explained the Spanish concept of sustainable gaming and presented an innovative prevention platform for making responsible use of new technologies.
The Responsible Gaming Symposium took place for the first time as a “Green Event” this year, having been certified in accordance with the criteria of the Austrian Ecolabel.
