Sports betting and gaming group Entain has today taken the wraps off its global EnTrain initiative, designed to increase access to technology and improve diversity. The goal, said the firm, is to positively impact the lives of over 1,000,000 people around the world by 2030.
The launch took place at Entain Sustain, the group’s debut environmental, social and governance (ESG) event and marks the first global, strategic commitment from its Entain Foundation to contribute to the international communities in which it operates. It builds on programs launched earlier this year by the Foundation to support women in technology.
Chief Executive Jette Nygarrd-Andersen explained: “Entain is an ambitious business and sustainability is one of our two core strategic pillars. It benefits our customers and is also good for our business and the wider communities we are part of.
“I believe passionately that we have a vital role to play in inspiring the next generation to pursue careers in technology. As we re-shape the future of interactive entertainment, we also want to help many more people become involved.
“Our new EnTrain initiative provides the building blocks to help them, through access to academic and vocational courses and the technological expertise and equipment they need to succeed.”
The EnTrain initiative comprises four core pillars, namely the Entain Academy; Entain Scholarships; Entain Apprenticeships; and Entain Partnerships.
The new global partnerships, announced today as part of EnTrain, aim to provide opportunities for under-represented and disadvantaged groups in the communities in which Entain operates – across the Americas, UK, Europe, and Australia.
In the US, Entain has a scholarship partnership with the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), to support applicants looking to build careers in the online sports betting and gaming industries. The first graduate placements will work alongside software engineers and technologists working in Entain’s Global Innovation Team at the Harry Reid Research and Technology Park.
Moreover, in LatAm, the Entain Foundation is entering a partnership with non-profit organisation Tiempo de Juego to launch a high-performance and community-led female football team in Colombia.
The programme provides an integral educational offer to 25 girls, including six football training sessions per week, three English lessons per week, and psychosocial counselling. It aims to create sports-related life projects in the country and tackle the invisible barriers that girls and women face when it comes to both practicing and competing in sports.
Through existing initiatives, the group has already helped approximately 50,000 people around the world in 2021 and EnTrain, it predicted, will build on this between now and 2030. This includes support via previous apprenticeships and donations to existing partners promoting diversity to under-represented groups, such as the partnership with Girls Who Code announced earlier this year.
In closing her address during today’s Entain Sustain event, Nygarrd-Andersen told delegates: “Our commitment to ESG goes beyond all the indices and awards and standards that are out there – valuable though they are. It is now baked into our business and future strategy. We recently launched a new set of values in our business which includes ‘Do What’s Right’, for the customers, colleagues and communities.
“And we also included a responsible gambling metric in our remuneration to make sure that we are all accountable for making things better. And I want us to lead the industry with this approach. I want our impact on society to be positive, whether in terms of jobs, taxes, communities or, indeed, enjoyment. So we embrace ESG, we accept our role in society and we prove that we are sustainable and responsible.”
