Foreword
Dear Reader,
There is virtually no other sector of the economy in which social responsibility is of such central importance as it is in the gaming industry. “Responsible gaming” is thus the guiding principle in all our business activities.
In this report on corporate social responsibility (CSR) at the Casinos Austria and Austrian Lotteries Group, we describe how we embrace our responsibility to society in the key areas of our business. We also provide information on our corresponding approach, goals, progress and future challenges.
Our CSR Strategy 2020 “People-Gaming-Environment” clearly shows how we demonstrate this responsibility. We orient ourselves thereby on recognized international standards like the UN Global Compact and make a positive contribution towards the achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Social responsibility begins for us in our core business, i.e. gaming. Accordingly, responsible gaming, player protection, fair play and rigorous gaming compliance are absolute priorities for all companies in the Casinos Austria and Austrian Lotteries Group. But our responsibility also goes far beyond our core business and extends from our duties to our employees and our longstanding sponsoring and retail partners to our engagement for climate protection and our sustainable use of resources.
From a gaming perspective, we continued to focus in 2018 on protecting our players and customers and providing our staff with excellent training and education. Throughout the year, we carried out almost 1,600 counseling interviews with guests, initiated over 10,000 entry restrictions and received and enacted more than 4,000 self-exclusion orders.
Adherence to statutory regulations and internal rules is of the highest priority in our Group. The introduction of a whistleblower system to facilitate anonymous reporting of serious violations of any rules or regulations within our Group was a further important step in this regard.
Respectful, friendly, reliable and competent staff form the basis for our success. Diversity management – actively embracing and making use of the diversity in our workforce – played a key part in our HR activities in 2018, with special focus accorded thereby to the topic of disability. In addition to our aim to be a top employer, we are also responsible for ensuring that our business is a commercial success and that we remain a reliable partner for society in Austria. We paid around 650 million euros in taxes, duties and social security contributions in 2018, making us one of the top taxpayers in the land. We likewise continued to actively support arts and culture, sports and charitable initiatives through our comprehensive sponsoring activities. We also expanded our corporate volunteering program. First introduced back in 2013, the program now allows each member of staff in our Group to spend up to five working days a year on full pay doing voluntary work.
Climate protection is one of the biggest global and regional challenges of our time. At the Casinos Austria and Austrian Lotteries Group, we have set ourselves the goal of making a tangible contribution to addressing this issue. Our mission thereby is to run our business in an environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient manner on all levels. In 2018, we purchased, for instance, a new cooling system for our MC4 computing center in Wiener Neustadt. The switch to the new system will reduce our CO2 emissions by 115 tons per year. We also adhere rigorously to our fair and sustainable procurement policy and strive to reduce our volumes of waste. In this regard, we have banned, for instance, the use of plastic straws in our Cuisino casino restaurants and bars from 2019 onwards.
The Casinos Austria and Austrian Lotteries Group will continue to strive to meet its responsibility to society and make an active contribution to the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The direction is clear: our goal is to be the “Best in Class for People, Gaming and the Environment”, and we are all working together to achieve this goal.
This online CSR Report 2018 provides further details and information on our engagement in corporate social responsibility. We hope you will find it to be an interesting and informative read.
