Playtech

Sustainability - Our Approach

At Playtech, we are committed to growing our business in a way that has a positive impact on our people, our communities, the environment and our industry. Sustainable Success is how we’re bringing the principles of sustainability and responsible business into everything we do.

 

At the heart of Sustainable Success are three commitments:

• Powering safer gambling solutions

• Promoting integrity and an inclusive culture

• Partnering on shared societal challenges

 

We have set goals for each of these commitment areas 2020-2025 and will report on our progress year-on-year. Please see below for more details.

If you would like further information, contact the team.

 

At Playtech, we’re committed to growing our business in a way that has a positive impact on our people, our communities, the environment and our industry.  Sustainable Success is how we’re bringing the principles of sustainability and responsible business into everything we do. It’s about raising standards for Playtech and the whole of the gambling sector.

At the heart of Sustainable Success are three commitments:

• Powering safer gambling solutions

• Promoting integrity and an inclusive culture

• Partnering on shared societal challenges

We have set goals for each of these commitment areas and will report on our progress year on year. Find out more about the progress we have made to date by reading our 2021 H1 Sustainable Success Progress update.

Full-year reporting data will be available in our 2021 Annual Report. 

The Board recognises that the industry has changed rapidly and that now, more than ever, is an important moment to pause and ask the question: what will sustainable success mean for our business and the sector– going forward.

Society expects businesses to engage more fully with stakeholders in order to understand and take account of the rapidly changing expectations of our industry – from sector-specific issues such as safer gambling and safer products to more generally applicable topics such as diversity & inclusion and climate change.

To gain a better appreciation of those changing expectations and improve Playtech’s ability to respond, we intend to establish a Stakeholder Advisory Panel.  This Panel is Chaired by the Playtech’s Chair and supplements Playtech’s existing mechanism for engaging stakeholders and helps advance its sustainability strategy as well as help us raise standards for responsible business practices within the sector.

The Stakeholder Advisory Panel brings together external topic experts with senior internal decision-makers to sense-check, challenge and provide direction against key non-financial topics, such as the overall responsible business strategy, safer gambling, and digital health & well-being as well as the diversity and inclusion agenda.

For more information:

Playtech Stakeholder Advisory Board - Terms of Reference

Playtech Stakeholder Advisory Panel - Insights Report on Sustainable Success Feb 2021

Playtech Actions and Response Meeting - 1

Playtech Stakeholder Advisory Panel -  Insights Report on Safer Gambling June 2021

Playtech Stakeholder Advisory Panel Insights Report on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Oct 2021

Playtech Stakeholder Advisory Panel - Insights Report on Climate Change Dec 2021

Playtech Stakeholder Advisory Panel - Session 1 Playtech Protect and Safer Gambling - June 2022

Playtech Stakeholder Advisory Panel - Session 2 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) - September 2022

Playtech Stakeholder Advisory Panel - Session 3 Climate Change - December 2022

For a summary of Stakeholder insights reports:

Playtech Roundtable Reports 2017 & 2018

RG + Playtech Collaboration - Insights on Digital Wellbeing and Safer Gambling

Safer Gambling - Whitepapers, Blogs and Research

In this section, you will find links to our social and environmental performance and growing suite of key performance indicators.  Our reporting approach is multifaceted and ever-evolving, but it remains anchored in the issues that are most material for the Group’s stakeholders and the continued success of the business.

2020 Sustainability Reporting Methodology and Data: This document provides additional details on our methodology for non-financial reporting as well as the indicators we have reported on for 2020 and their relation to both the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Sustainability Accounting Board (SASB) standards. Read the report here

2021 Sustainability Reporting Methodology and Data: This document provides additional details on our methodology for non-financial reporting as well as the indicators we have reported on for 2021 and their relation to both the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Sustainability Accounting Board (SASB) standards. Read the report here

2020 Assurance: In 2020, Playtech engaged PwC to independently assure Playtech’s Greenhouse Gas emissions. To access the assurance statement, please visit the webpage here

2021 Assurance: In 2021, Playtech engaged PwC to independently assure Playtech’s Greenhouse Gas emissions. To access the assurance statement, please visit the webpage here

CDP:  In 2020, Playtech began participating in the CDP, a global disclosure system to manage environmental impacts. For more information please visit the webpage here

2021 H1 Progress Update: This document provides a half-year update on our sustainability progress. Full-year 2021 data and reporting will be available in our 2021 Annual Report. Read the report here 

 

Anti-Bribery and Corruption:

Playtech is committed to conducting its business in a lawful and ethical manner and takes a zero-tolerance approach to bribery and corruption.  The policy also provides guidance on receiving and/or giving gifts or hospitality.

Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism:

This Policy outlines our approach to and your responsibilities for preventing and mitigating money laundering and terrorist financing risk in our business. The policy also provides employees with information and guidance on how to identify and escalate ML/CFT concerns.

Anti-facilitation of Tax Evasion

This policy sets out the responsibilities for observing and upholding our position on preventing the criminal facilitation of tax evasion and provides information and guidance to employees on how to recognise and avoid tax evasion and the facilitation of it.

Business Ethics Policy

Playtech is committed to engaging in business in a responsible, ethical and sustainable manner and to play a positive role in the communities in which it operates.   This Policy sets out Playtech's standards of business conduct, its approach to corporate governance, its commitments to its employees, and its ambition to be a sustainable company.

Diversity and UK Gender Pay Gap Report - 2019 

Diversity and UK Gender Pay Gap Report - 2020 

Human Rights and Modern Slavery 2021:

This statement outlines Playtech’s commitment to uphold and promote human rights.  The statement sets out the steps that Playtech has taken to prevent modern slavery from occurring in its operations and supply chain.

Group Environment Policy:

Playtech is committed to reducing its environmental footprint and taking action to reduce its carbon, waste, and water impacts in its operations. The environment, and particularly climate change, is a growing area of concern for all our stakeholders, including investors, our employees, and the communities where we operate. The Company also recognises that urgent action is required to substantially reduce the risks and impacts of climate change globally and in the countries, cities, and communities in which it operates.

Playtech Group Personal Data Protection and Privacy Policy:

Playtech is committed to good data protection compliance and governance and processing personal data in line with legal requirements as well as safeguarding data subject rights. This policy is designed to encourage all employees to embed data protection considerations in their daily operations by outlining general data protection principles and provides in particular guidance on how to raise any data protection or privacy concerns. 

Responsible marketing and advertising policy

This policy sets out our commitment and procedures for advertising and marketing in a responsible manner.  This policy applies to all corporate and product marketing as well as B2C operations.   This supplements compliance with local laws and regulations governing marketing and advertising.

Safer Gambling policy

Safer gambling is a critical part of the long-term success of its B2B and B2C gambling operations as well as the sustainability of the industry as a whole. This Policy provides an overview of the responsible gambling commitments as well as the regulatory and operational risk and management processes for both our B2B and B2C operations. 

Speak Up Policy:

Playtech is committed to conducting its business with honesty and integrity and to promoting a culture of openness, integrity and accountability. This policy is designed to encourage staff to report suspected wrongdoing as soon as possible, in the knowledge that their concerns will be taken seriously and investigated, and that their confidentiality will be respected.

Governance

At Playtech, we have taken steps to strengthen our sustainability governance and priorities across the business. Our approach continues to be informed by changing stakeholder expectations and our commitment to delivering against the objectives in our business and sustainability strategy.

We regularly update our materiality assessment to consider evolving risks and opportunities for the business. See our latest materiality overview below. The issues identified in our assessment form the backbone of our Sustainable Succes strategy for 2020-2025.

Of significant material impact currently is:

  • The environment – see here for an update on the progress we made to reduce our carbon footprint.
  • Player welfare – see here for our actions to promote safer gambling with Playtech Protect.
  • Data protection and security – see here for more information on the security standards we implement. 
  • Anti-corruption – see here for an overview of training our Board and employees receive on ethical behaviour and tackling financial crime. 

In June 2021, the Board established a new Sustainability and Public Policy Committee. This Committee’s primary responsibility is to review, monitor and advise on Playtech’s sustainability, responsible business and public policy matters. The Committee reviews the ESG considerations, continued effectiveness of the ESG strategy and policies and ensures appropriate governance is in place for the successful execution of the strategy. More details can be found here


The day-to-day responsibility for managing sustainable business sits within the Sustainability function, which is part of the
Compliance and Regulatory Affairs function. In practice, this function coordinates action, provides subject matter expertise, delivers support to other functions, business units and country management and manages and tracks performance as well as leading engagement and partnerships with external stakeholders.

As part of our Sustainable Succes strategy 2020-2025, we have committed to invest £5m for research, education and treatment (RET) to prevent gambling-related harms and promote healthier online living and digital wellbeing. Read more here.

Read more here.

Environment

The environment, and particularly climate change, is a growing area of concern for us all. At Playtech, we have committed to reducing our carbon footprint by 40% by 2025 from our 2018 base.

To do so, the Board established a cross-functional environment forum to set, coordinate and oversee Playtech’s strategy and response to the challenges posed by climate change.

Playtech’s work on climate change includes:

  • Identifying short, medium and long-term climate-related risks.
  • Building risk management strategies across our key markets and operations.
  • Improving our environmental footprint by committing to buy renewable energy and empowering local teams to make lasting changes to our operations.
  • Looking beyond our operations to examine the entire carbon footprint across our value chain.

You can find more details in our global environmental policy.

Playtech is committed to regularly reporting progress made towards reaching our targets. Find out more about the progress we have made to date by reading our 2021 H1 Sustainable Success Progress update.

We recognise that climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing society and future generations. We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint by being as efficient as we can.

As part of our Sustainable Success 2020-2025 Strategy, we are committed to reducing our energy and water consumption and waste.

For more information on our environmental performance, see our latest progress update here

Playtech has committed to implement the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), a framework that allows it to report consistently on climate-related financial information to investors and financial markets.

Since 2018, we have successfully reduced our total global energy consumption, GHG emissions and water consumption.

For more information about our environmental performance click here.

People, Culture and Community

At Playtech, our culture and behaviour are guided by our values of integrity, innovation, excellence and performance. By committing to promote integrity, responsibility and inclusivity, we are working to enshrine these values in everything we do. 

We are expanding participation in diversity and leadership networks, supporting the development of our workforce and providing comprehensive health ad wellbeing programmes to ensure employee safety and security.

We have reduced our mean gender pay gap year-on-year since 2018. Read more here.

For our communities, we launched a £3m COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Fund and committed to investing £5m for research, education and treatment (RET) to prevent gambling-related harms and promote healthier online living and digital wellbeing. Read more here.

 

At Playtech, we are committed to improving gender diversity across all levels to build strength, insight and expertise and to reflect the stakeholders we serve.

Read more about the progress we are making on reducing the gender pay gap here.

Our people are our passion. At Playtech, we support our employees with a suite of learning and development programmes to enhance their personal and professional development.

Over 4,000 employees participated in courses in H1 2021. We covered a range of topics including workplace wellbeing, leadership and management, mental health, information security and diversity and inclusion.

Read more about our workforce development here.

 

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Powering Safer Gambling solutions:

Learn more about how we are investing in the next generation of technology to make the gambling experience safer and raise industry standards.

Promoting Integrity and Inclusive culture:

Learn more about how are embedding responsible business practices in our operations and promoting a culture of stewardship, inclusion and wellbeing.

Partnering on shared societal challenges:

Learn more about how we are collaborating to reduce gambling related harm, promote digital wellbeing and support local communities where we operate.