Kane Purdy Highlights the Importance of GamProtect at Launch Event

Kane Purdy, operations managing director at Gamesys, participated in the launch event of GamProtect, a new player safety scheme. At the event, Purdy, who also serves as chair of GamProtect’s board, spoke about the scheme, highlighted its importance and thanked everyone who made its launch possible.

GamProtect Launches amid Rapid Industry Growth

GamProtect was been in development since 2020. The new solution seeks to create a database for gambling harms that operators can leverage to identify at-risk customers and keep their players safe.

The creation of GamProtect aligns with the rapid growth of the gaming market and the need to better understand players and the nature of risky betting.

The GamProtect system went live in April and secured backing from many of Britain’s top-flight operators, including bet365, Entain and Flutter. As a result, representatives of these companies’ management also attended the event.

GamProtect to Protect Players from Gambling Harm

GamblingInsider, which attended the event, summarized Kane Purdy’s speech, which highlighted his decades-long experience and deep industry understanding.

At the start of his speech, he congratulated Grainne Hurst, the new chief executive officer of the UK Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), on her recent appointment. Purdy expressed excitement about the new CEO’s appointment and wished her success.

With that out of the way, the GamProtect chair focused on the evolution of the British market and regulation, as well as the shift towards online gaming. According to him, there are now more at-risk customers than ever, highlighting the importance of teaching operators how to identify markers of harm and intervene on time.

Purdy argued that GamProtect will create a system that iGaming companies can leverage to protect their players and shield British consumers from harm. He described the scheme as simple and easy to understand and noted that 5,000 players have already been added to GamProtect.

In his speech, the chair also addressed some of the critiques placed toward the system. He rejected the notion that the scheme is “Orwellian” and emphasized that its intent is not to limit gamblers but to protect the vulnerable players in the United Kingdom.

Purdy further emphasized that participation in GamProtect is optional, although advisable because of its benefits.

Hurst Targets Growth, Stability and Diversity

In the meantime, Grainne Hurst just spoke on her appointment as CEO, saying that she would target industry growth. As someone with a significant understanding of regulated gambling thanks to her prior experience at Entain, she was deemed to be the perfect successor to Michael Dugher.

Hurst highlighted the importance of regulatory certainty after a long period of reforms and promised to focus on growth, stability and diversity within the sector.