The dialogue with Svenska Spel’s stakeholders is important to develop long-term, sustainable operations. Svenska Spel endeavours to maintain good relations with its stakeholders and values their viewpoints.
Svenska Spel’s prioritised stakeholder groups are those who are deemed to have the most influence over and greatest interest in Svenska Spel’s operations and sustainability efforts. These are customers, owners, stakeholder organisations and employees. The table on page 19 illustrates the issues stakeholders have prioritised in the ongoing dialogue with Svenska Spel in 2014 and how Svenska Spel has addressed them.
Svenska Spel performs regular analysis of stakeholders’ views on the Company’s responsibility. The analysis forms the basis for the Company’s business development, activity prioritisation, ongoing dialogue with stakeholders and the design of its sustainability efforts.
The findings of the 2014 survey were unequivocal. All stakeholder groups considered responsible gaming the most important area within the framework of Svenska Spel’s sustainability efforts. Responsible gaming is clearly communicated and many new responsible gaming measures are well known. Obligatory game registration and the removal of bonuses and discounts are both measures that many stakeholders have requested. The overriding opinion is that Svenska Spel is on the right track, but scope exists for improvement.
Anti-corruption and business ethics are other prioritised areas. Both are strongly linked to gaming operations and prerequisites for long-term sustainable business.
Most stakeholders view areas, such as the environment, working conditions and human rights as hygiene factors and have given them lower priority. Diversity and gender equality issues are rated slightly higher by stakeholders.
According to stakeholders, as a state-owned company, higher requirements apply, generally, for Svenska Spel’s responsibility initiatives.
Of those interviewed, many agreed that it will be important for responsible gaming efforts to produce well-constructed games and responsible gaming measures that are scientifically based and proven through research. Such research should focus on preventing gaming problems by identifying the underlying factors why customers make the transition from players at risk to addiction.
In the 2014 survey, 63 in-depth interviews were conducted with relevant stakeholders on the following areas: the gaming market/social responsibility, responsible gaming, business ethics, the environment, working conditions, diversity and gender equality, anti-corruption, and governance and implementation. The diagram on the left shows the stakeholder groups who participated in the survey. Information from existing surveys was used for customers and the general public.
Stakeholders | Examples of stakeholders’ expectations 2014 | Examples of dialogues/activities in 2014 | |
Customers |
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Owner |
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Stakeholder organisations |
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Employees |
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The dialogue with stakeholders is important to Svenska Spel in terms of the development of the Company’s operations and responsibility. This year, some of Svenska Spel’s stakeholders were given the opportunity to present their expectations and their assessment of the Company’s performance.
Kim Grahn, Chairman of the Swedish National Association for Gambling Addicts
Johan Carlson, Director General of the Public Health Agency of Sweden
Stefan Borg, Chairman of Svenska Spel’s Research Council
Aziz Jakobson, District Manager, Svenska Spel and Lars Rimeslotten, Vegas partner