Sustainability and its broader umbrella term ESG (environmental, sustainability and governance) have come to have a great deal of power in the corporate world over the last few years. This is particularly true amid growing climate change concerns and a brightening spotlight on diversity and inclusion within the workplace.
For the gambling sector, embracing ESG has been crucial to protect its reputation as an activity that faces significant scrutiny from regulators, media and consumers alike.
Who’s behind FiNTEL Sustain?
FiNTEL Sustain was established by former Genting executive and founder of the Praxis consultancy Steven Myers and Robert Montgomery. Montgomery is the investor and entrepreneur behind First Maximilian Associates in 2023.
It started by setting out its thesis in a white paper published in June 2023, urging the sector to consider a superior approach to ESG. It also sought to prepare gambling companies for incoming international regulations around sustainability. FiNTEL Sustain’s aim from inception has been to aid the sector in remedying its “significant ESG compliance and reputational issues”.
“Our position is that consistency and transparency vary greatly between different companies and something needs to be done to address it,” says Myers to iGB. “The gaming industry is remarkably inconsistent in its reporting despite many companies having really good initiatives and building from a strong compliance background.
“But there’s a reluctance to share basic data, so that’s where we started the journey to having a consistent approach to rating companies and having no reliance on traditional information formats.”
Industry-first sustainability rankings
Myers and Montgomery have combined their vast knowledge of the sector and their in-house model to establish an industry-first ranking for those championing ESG in the sector. The list has been in development throughout this year and seeks to rate and rank 20 of gaming’s largest public companies in Europe and the US, using the framework outlined in the white paper.
The top 10 companies ranked will be revealed over the course of the week, kicking off with an insight into how FiNTEL Sustain has modelled its list and views ESG within the gambling sector.
