The past year has seen a palpable rise in demand for businesses to be transparent about their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance. In Malta, the legislation and policies for private companies to invest in such initiatives are fairly new. But one company that doesn’t believe in maintaining the status quo is Lottoland. Their ambassador for Malta, Ira Losco, explains how this company has not settled for good enough.
"As the world’s leading privately-owned lottery operator, we believe in making Lottoland an ambitious organisation that puts great dreams at the heart of its actions. Working alongside our 15 million customers, we are taking decisive action to create a better world that enables people, animals and the environment to flourish," she said.
"We understand that this is where our true wealth lies: a better future and a better planet. As an international Gaming company, we offer, fair and secure gaming for all players, providing access to the world’s biggest and most exciting lotteries. Correspondingly, our corporate social responsibility focuses on bringing opportunity to everyone," added a Lottoland spokesperson.
Lottoland was the first gaming operator to make the transition to become a fully carbon neutral company and also signed The Climate Pledge. Working with Tunley Engineering, a global climate reduction consultancy the company has taken the necessary steps in measuring, reporting, and offsetting their carbon footprint. Lottoland has planted over a million trees worldwide, including one thousand in Malta with local NGO Saġġar.
The company has also set up a Foundation, to take social responsibility and make a positive contribution by improving conditions and creating better opportunities. The projects it embarks on are financed directly through income from Lottoland and other donations by leveraging its brand and client base to draw more attention to global environmental issues.
As part of this social commitment, the foundation helps non-profit environmental protection organisations, recognising that they tackle important issues which affect us all. Furthermore, the Lottoland Foundation supports integrated projects that create better leisure and sports activities for disadvantaged children and young people, foster their development and opening up new perspectives for them.
In addition to investing financial resources, the company believes it’s important to contribute its time and creative know-how to charity work. Accordingly, it has allocated resources to the development of bespoke games for good causes. One can mention important partnerships with the Irish Red Cross, Hospice UK, Blue Cross for Pets, Prader-Willi Syndrome Association UK and the Dublin Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals featuring these very special charities in its Win-Win charity lotto and scratchcards.
In addition to investing financial resources, the company believes it’s important to contribute its time and creative know-how to charity work. Accordingly, it has allocated resources to the development of bespoke games for good causes. One can mention important partnerships with the Irish Red Cross, Hospice UK, Blue Cross for Pets, Prader-Willi Syndrome Association UK and the Dublin Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals featuring these very special charities in its Win-Win charity lotto and scratchcards.
Here in Malta, Lottoland is the official partner of Nature Trust’s Wildlife Rescue Team which rescues all protected wildlife including marine turtles, dolphins, hedgehogs and reptiles. In 2020 the NGO launched an ambitious project to build a new Rehabilitation Centre at the Xrobb l- Għaġin Nature Park to house all injured wildlife saved. The new facilities will include a nine-metre tank for injured dolphins and 18 turtle tanks to cope with increased casualties.
Last summer, Lottoland launched its “Safe hands” campaign made up of a series of articles, mailers and social media posts. The campaign highlighted how to set deposit limits and “reality checks” (a regular reminder of exactly how much time you’ve spent playing) and also discussed the effective use of the “time out” and self-exclusion features, which enable online players to take breaks from gambling.
The campaign was very successful and in the three months following its launch, Lottoland saw a 17% rise in the number of customers setting deposit limits and a 10% rise in the use of reality checks. During the pandemic Lottoland took the initiative to roll out its own enhanced player protection measures including removing under-25s from targeted marketing, and investing further into its dedicated safer gambling team of 11 persons to accelerate alerts and enable real-time intervention.
‘’Lottoland is committed to responsible gambling and goes to great lengths to protect its most vulnerable customers, raising awareness of safer gambling, and helping players to gamble in a way that remains fun rather than problematic.
"Over the past year, we have gone the extra mile to ensure a culture of safety, not only for our own customers, but for the industry as a whole. We don’t believe in “reacting” to new legislation and compliance procedures; instead, we believe in gambling safety innovation, making sure that no player is left behind, and leading the sector by example," added the Lottoland spokesperson.
All new customers from Malta that register an account with Lottoland through this link receive a free chance to win this week’s EuroMillions jackpot.
The promotion expires on May 31, 2022 at 23:59 CET and is only open to new customers. The offer is redeemable once per player. Winnings from this offer are paid out in cash (not bonus money). Players must be 18 or over. These terms are supplemental to Lottoland’s Promotional Terms and Conditions which are found here. Lottoland is operated by European Lotto and Betting Limited and is licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority, licence number MGA/B2C/609/2018. Gambling can be harmful if not controlled. Please play responsibly. For help visit rgf.org.mt.