The Gambling Commission’s decision last month to press ahead with financial risk assessments (FRAs) once again put the gambling industry at the centre of public debate. Some operators responded, as did the Betting and Gaming Council and the British Horseracing Authority.
Analysis quickly followed from advisers, analysts and industry experts. Politicians, trade publications and commentators added their perspectives, while LinkedIn posts, podcasts and vlogs explored the implications. Within hours, the discussion had moved well beyond the regulator’s original announcement.
And FRAs are only one part of a much bigger picture. The regulated industry is dealing with a sharp increase in remote gaming duty, exacerbating concerns about the black market, and increasingly varied regulatory and advertising restrictions across individual European markets.
These are not peripheral issues. They have the potential to shape how operators compete and how the regulated market develops. That makes the communications question more important.
At a time when decisions are being made that could have lasting consequences for the sector, the people who understand those issues best need to be part of the conversation around them.
For years, the gambling industry communicated in much the same way as most other industries. CEOs gave interviews. Corporate affairs and communications teams managed the media. Trade bodies represented the wider sector.
Having worked in communications throughout much of that period, I saw first-hand how well that model worked. I still think it has a very important role to play. I’m just not convinced it’s enough anymore. When I first started in PR, most communications were aimed at journalists, investors and other stakeholders. If you landed a story in the right newspaper, you’d done your job.
Years ago, while leading communications at William Hill, I organised an interview with our CEO. The interview achieved exactly what we’d hoped. Important messages landed, the CEO’s personality came across well and the feedback internally was overwhelmingly positive. At the time, that felt like success.
Today, I’d ask a different question: how do we help that story travel? How do we encourage leaders, colleagues and others across the industry to add their own perspective and extend its reach? I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen communications teams across multiple sectors produce thoughtful content explaining complex issues or highlighting important work, only for it to reach little further than the organisation’s existing audience.
The same pattern exists in gambling, too. Important work around player protections and safer gambling can get relatively little attention outside the organisations producing it. Not because it lacks value, but because too few voices carry these stories any further.
Prompt a response
Communications are changing in another important way. As AI becomes more embedded in how a person finds things out, people aren’t just discovering information through search engines or social media. They’re asking AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Grok to explain complex issues or summarise industry debates.
Those systems draw on information, analysis and public discussion available online. If informed voices don’t contribute to that wider conversation, they’re less likely to influence how future audiences understand the industry. That’s not a criticism of communications teams. I’ve worked with outstanding communications professionals throughout my career, but the environment they’re operating in has fundamentally changed.
That’s why internal audiences matter. They are often the ones who determine if the story travels beyond the organisation by sharing it, advocating for it or carrying it into the wider industry. I also understand why many people choose to stay quiet. In gambling, speaking publicly isn’t always straightforward.
People worry about regulatory boundaries, being misquoted or becoming the story themselves. Sometimes staying quiet is exactly the right decision. When there’s a live regulatory process or genuine legal risk, holding back is judgement, not avoidance. But that’s different from staying quiet simply because it’s easier, or because we’ve fallen into the habit of leaving those conversations to someone else.
Whether intentional or not, silence also influences how the industry is understood. I’m not arguing for more noise, and I’m certainly not arguing that every criticism should be met with another positive story. Some criticism is fair, and any responsible industry should expect scrutiny, learn from it and improve because of it. What matters, is making sure informed voices remain part of that debate.
That doesn’t mean everyone should become an industry advocate. It means leaders being prepared to explain difficult decisions, subject matter experts sharing what they know, and employees feeling confident enough to talk about the work they’re proud of. There’s no shortage of expertise across the industry. We just don’t hear enough of it.
For a long time, reputation was often seen as the sole responsibility of communications teams. I don’t think that’s true anymore. The answer isn’t to shout louder or dismiss criticism. It’s to add context, share experience and help people understand an industry that is often more complex than the public debate suggests. If informed voices choose not to contribute, the industry’s story won’t go untold. It will simply be told by someone else.
Tony Kenny is a strategic communications adviser. He previously held senior communications and marketing roles at William Hill, working across corporate communications, public relations, reputation management and sponsorship.
The post Opinion: The industry’s biggest communications challenge isn’t what it says – it’s who says it first appeared on EGR Intel.
Strategic communications adviser Tony Kenny suggests there’s no shortage of expertise to explain to people a sector that’s often more complex than public debate suggests. We just don’t hear enough of it
The post Opinion: The industry’s biggest communications challenge isn’t what it says – it’s who says it first appeared on EGR Intel.