The next stage of responsible gaming evolution will be defined by the creation of secure, members-only forums that enable professionals and individuals with lived experience of gambling harm to speak openly without fear of public exposure.
That was the key message shared by Steve Hoare, Editor of the SBC Player Protection Hub (PPH), during a recent episode of Martin Lycka’s The Safe Bet Show. Hoare outlined how the Hub aims to move beyond being a passive information resource and instead foster an active, community-driven platform for open, meaningful dialogue.
“We wanted it to be a safe space for people to talk about these issues,” Hoare explained. “We don’t want someone’s words ending up in the Daily Mail if that’s not where they want them to be.”
What is the Player Protection Hub?
Launched last year, the Player Protection Hub is a relatively new addition to the SBC portfolio. While The Safe Bet Show predates it, the Hub consolidates responsible gambling content from across SBC News, SBC Americas, and SBC Noticias, creating what Hoare describes as a “one-stop shop” for news around player protection, responsible gaming (RG), and the black market.
However, Hoare’s ambition extends well beyond aggregation. The goal is to transition the Hub into a dynamic, interactive space where RG professionals, researchers, and those with personal experience can engage directly in constructive discussions about the sector’s biggest challenges.
“The founding philosophy of the Hub was to give people somewhere to come and talk about these issues,” Hoare said, acknowledging that fostering genuine engagement will take time and commitment.
A central theme of the discussion was the industry’s need to listen more closely to those with direct experience of gambling harm. Hoare emphasised that stories grounded in personal experience are among the most powerful tools for understanding the human impact of gambling addiction.
Citing the BBC Radio 4 podcast The Girl Gambler, Hoare referenced the story of a woman who used gambling as a way to “turn off the noise” and later found recovery through treatment at Gordon Moody’s Women’s Centre, a facility regularly featured on the Hub. The woman now works for EPIC Restart, supporting others on the same journey.
Host Lycka reinforced the importance of such narratives, recounting the experience of an EPIC Global Solutions team member who placed a devastating Super Bowl bet on his beloved Seattle Seahawks, only to lose both the wager and his family’s trust.
His willingness to share that story publicly, Lycka said, “puts gambling addiction into perspective” and serves as a reminder that industry progress depends on empathy and openness.
“These are the stories that should inspire the sector to be greater, and more sustainable,” Lycka added.
Europe vs US – who did it best?
The conversation also turned to the evolution of gambling regulation over the past decade and a half. Reflecting on his time joining Betfair in 2009, Lycka described the early days of regulated markets in Europe, beginning with Italy in 2010, followed by France and Spain, as a period of seismic change.
Where once operators simply debated “whether we could stick a billboard up on the main square,” the industry suddenly faced a complex maze of legislative, licensing, and lobbying challenges.
The pair revisited Europe’s failed bid to harmonise gambling regulation, which was effectively shelved after the European Commission confirmed that each member state could set its own rules. The result was a “patchwork of regulation” that persists to this day.
This was contrasted with the US’ state-by-state model, initially dismissed by some lobbyists as “madness”, but which has since proven to be a pragmatic approach shaped by America’s strong ties between sports, betting, and local governance.
Ultimately, both agreed that despite the geographical differences, regulatory systems around the world are guided by similar objectives: to capture the market, to tax it, and to protect consumers.
As the Player Protection Hub looks to the future, its mission is clear: to transform responsible gaming discourse into an active, empathetic community that welcomes both professional insight and lived experience.
For Hoare, this next step is vital to ensuring that responsible gambling efforts are not just about compliance, but about people.
“If we can build a place where those conversations can happen safely and honestly,” he concluded, “then we’re really moving the dialogue forward.”
The next stage of responsible gaming evolution will be defined by the creation of secure, members-only forums that enable professionals and individuals with lived experience of gambling harm to speak openly without fear of public exposure. That was the key message shared by Steve Hoare, Editor of the SBC Player Protection Hub (PPH), during a …