London-listed betting and gaming operator Entain is further strengthening its player protection measures to include video gaming and eSports players in the United Kingdom and Europe.

Through its not-for-profit Entain Foundation, the company plans to build on work initiated with partners in the United States to provide education and support to video gaming and eSports players in the UK and Europe at potential risk of harm.

The first initiatives will include the launch of Mind Your Game in the UK with Game Quitters, a support community for victims of gaming disorder. The Mind Your Game initiative was developed with additional support from Kindbridge, a teletherapy company focused on the treatment of gamblers and gamers suffering mental health issues.

The Foundation will also provide education and support for people at risk of online addiction and gaming disorder in video gaming and interactive entertainment in partnership with EPIC Risk Management, which specialises in the prevention of gambling harm, together with the Counter-Strike Professional Players Association, which represents professional players across eSports.

“Our business is all about understanding and meeting the needs of customers, which means offering the most entertaining experiences whilst doing everything we can to protect them,” said Entain director of safer gaming and regulation Grainne Hurst.

“At the core of our approach to sustainability is our belief that delivering the highest possible levels of player safety and protection is the best way to guarantee our long-term success.”

Last year Entain launched a Sustainability Charter, promising to invest £100m in the Foundation by 2025 to develop educational and support projects.

Entain is advised by Dr Mark Griffiths, Distinguished Professor of Behavioral Addiction and Psychology at the University of Nottingham.

Dr Griffiths, together with academics from Harvard Medical Faculty School of Addiction, are working with Entain on a five-year research project to improve understanding of addictive behaviours. They also serve on a panel of academics advising Entain on its pioneering, proactive technological approach to personalized player protection, ARC (Advanced Responsibility and Care).

Shares in Entain plc (LSE:ENT) were trading 1.97 per cent lower at 1,788.00 pence per share in London Friday morning.