Allwyn, the UK division of Pan-European lottery and gaming giant Sazka Group, has added psychologist and Professor of Behavioural Addiction Dr Mark Griffiths to an advisory board for its bid for the fourth National Lottery licence.
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Griffiths will with Allwyn bid chair Sir Keith Mills to advise on player protection safeguards and developing close relationships with other researchers studying gambling addiction.
Bringing with him 34 years of academic study, Griffiths has served as the director of the International Gaming Unit at Nottingham Trent University for more than 20 years.
Outside of academia, Griffiths has advised governments on gambling addiction and mental health, including the World Health Organisation’s Expert Advisory Group on Adolescent Technology Use.
“I embrace advisory roles because I believe it’s the most effective way to improve swift intervention by forging closer collaboration between operators, charities, campaigners and experts,” Griffiths said.
“I’m partnering with Allwyn because their sister companies have proven to be industry leaders on player protection across Europe, while their early backing of raising the National Lottery’s age limit demonstrated their serious engagement with the UK regulatory environment.”
Bid chair Mills added: “Player protection sits at the heart of our parent company’s lottery operations across Europe, where they have experience of developing tailored solutions for especially vulnerable social groups.
“By appointing Dr Griffiths to our advisory board, we will continue to set the standard on player protection in the industry, and I look forward to working with him and the rest of our fantastic team to present a plan that makes the National Lottery both exciting and safe for all its players.”
Sazka in Apirl announced it was to bring together its UK operations under the new ‘Allwyn’ corporate identity as it bids for the country’s latest National Lottery licence.
Sazka set out its intention to bid in October last year and faces competition from Italian lottery operator Sisal and India’s Sugal & Damani. Incumbent Camelot also completed the Gambling Commission’s Selection Questionnaire, but has not yet announced if it is bidding for the tender.
Technology entrepreneur and founder of Lastminute.com Brent Hoberman, former global chief executive of Syco Entertainment Charles Garland, and the managing director of Twitter UK, Dara Nasr, also serve on the bid’s advisory board.
