"It's an exciting time for IGT post-merger, especially with regard to our CSR efforts"

What did it mean to you to receive this honor?

The WLA Responsible Gaming certification for Associate Members is an important milestone for IGT as a technology vendor and gaming manufacturer. For nearly 40 years, we have built our history on our leadership around trends and issues in Corporate Social Responsibility and Responsible Gaming. Our Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives have always centered on being a good corporate citizen and a responsible business partner. We have continuously focused on the cultural and social issues that affect our industry, and consistently communicate our commitment to our Responsible Gaming and CSR stakeholders through outreach to our industry peers. Our future relies on maintaining this leadership, and this certification reinforces our Responsible Gaming commitment not just to our customers, but to lottery retailers and players around the world.

Why is CSR fundamental to IGT's business success?

Sustainability has always been central to IGT’s goal of maintaining its position as the world's leading end-to-end gaming company. Our sustainability initiatives support our mission to provide our customers with best-in-class solutions, and create maximum value for shareholders, by adhering to the highest levels of service, integrity, responsibility, and innovation.

Responsible gaming is fundamental to our business success and our corporate social responsibility initiatives are part of our DNA. These principles govern the protection of our lottery customers and their players. It also gives us a unique opportunity to work more closely with our Responsible Gaming stakeholders, refresh our advertising practices, and involve our employees in unique ways to reinforce the Company’s commitment to responsibly delivering growth to the lottery industry.

How do you build long-term employee, consumer, and citizen trust?

Though there are several important aspects to building long-term employee, consumer, and citizen trust, we believe that Corporate Social Responsibility fosters a spirit of transparency. This enables us to continually grow responsibly, particularly in the area of Responsible Gaming, which is demonstrated by our recent certification by the WLA. Because we have key stakeholders in more than 100 countries, it is imperative that we actively engage our employees, customers, regulators, governments, and other key stakeholders on a regular basis.

We hold ourselves to the highest standards in the gaming industry, which helps us develop and maintain our capacity to build long-term employee, consumer, and citizen trust. As a corporate citizen, we proudly honor our commitments to support the communities in which we serve. This dedication has enabled us to open nearly 300 After School Advantage learning labs since the program’s inception in 1999. These technology labs offer our employees at every level a unique opportunity to use their technological expertise to benefit at-risk youth in diverse communities throughout the world.

In addition, we are committed to obtaining the highest honors that can be achieved in our industry. Our annual Sustainability Report is GRI/G4 accredited, our environmental program is ISO certified, our Responsible Gaming programs for our global lottery operations are now WLA certified, and our Italian lottery operations are certified by both the Global Gambling Guidance Group (G4), and the World Lottery Association (WLA).

This level of transparency, verified by third-party entities, provides value to our customers as partners, and gives them a sense of pride for doing business with a company that holds itself to the industry’s highest standards of integrity.

How do you coordinate CSR tasks after the merger? Has the merger benefited you? Does CSR contribute in the creation of a positive work environment?

This is an exciting time for IGT post-merger, especially with regard to our CSR efforts. Prior to the merger, legacy IGT offered a significant amount of support for education, health and human services, arts and culture, as well as the environment through their recycling program. Legacy GTECH also developed a robust program that focused on education through the After School Advantage program; college scholarships through its G-Scholars program; and global support for organizations that focused on issues pertaining to women, youth, healthcare, sports, social services, cultural and military services.

Today, we have an opportunity to take the principles within both legacy companies and create an impactful global charitable program. As a combined Company, we will work together to enhance our employee volunteerism efforts, and continue to support organizations and charities that share our goal of making positive contributions in the communities we serve across the globe. By remaining focused on the development of this combined program, it will increase the passion our employees have for the Company, and the pride they have in their careers. This creates a winning recipe for a positive and sustainable work environment.