Matthew Garratt Talks To The iGaming Post

Matthew Garratt
Chief People Officer – (LiveScore Group)

Q: Hi Matthew good to meet you so to start, One of the key LiveScore values is to ‘Respect Sport’. How far does this impact upon recruitment decisions? Do you feel it’s necessary to have a real passion for sport to join this part of the business?

MG: Our goal at LiveScore Group is to fuel fans’ passion for sport. We aim to recruit people who share this ambition because it’s at the core of what we do and this manifests itself in different ways. For example, a data engineer may not stay up all night to watch the NBA or own a season ticket for a sports team, but they have passion about working with enormous volumes of data that can be used to enable LiveScore to deliver innovative products and reach fans who are passionate about sport.

Whilst a passion for sport is welcomed, and can be advantageous for certain roles, displaying passion for our products, services and organisation is hugely appealing in that it can provide us with different viewpoints and ideas that help us develop and improve on existing products and services.

We are focused on being inclusive, spotting the brightest talent, as well as listening to our employees and supporting them to become the best they can be.

In turn, we aim for our future employees to understand and respect the importance of sport to our customers. This allows us to place the customer at the heart of what we do and provide them with our world class products and services.

Q: The I.D.E.A forum sounds like a fantastic way to raise awareness of matters relating to Diversity & Inclusion. Can you tell us more about it?

MG: We formed the I.D.E.A forum in 2021 with the help of The Clear Company, and the proactive support of our board. Our initial focus was increasing skills and awareness, looking at ways to improve and to help us understand ourselves better with an aim to be more inclusive.
This process encouraged us to think, behave and ultimately hire in a different way. As an industry there is always more work to do, and whilst I’m not keen on hitting specific targets or a ‘quota’, the three key areas I want to look at are:

1. Focusing on grassroots recruitment, aiming to attract a more diverse workforce that helps change the make-up of the industry for this generation and beyond
2. Ensuring that all our employee’s voices are heard, and nothing is lost, particularly if their voice is not part of the majority
3. Staff and employees can learn from each other, sharing experiences and understanding each other’s viewpoints.

I am particularly excited about our employee-led groups within the company that allow for anyone to create a group if they are passionate about a specific topic or cause. This has seen the formation of the Pride Employee Group and a Women in Gaming Employee Group. Our job in the people team is to enable those groups to continue to flourish, and I hope to see new groups founded by our employees arise in the future.

Q: In recent times, causes such as BLM and LGBTQ have had an increased presence in sports. We’ve even had the first gay professional footballer to come out in the UK since 1990. What do you think the future of D & I looks like in sport, and how are sports betting companies supporting trailblazers in this space?

MG: Undoubtedly the ability of sport to shift attitudes and increase awareness of causes cannot be underestimated. This has been evident through the voices of courageous athletes across the globe, including the likes of Jake Daniels, whose actions have helped pave the way for more people in sport and wider society to feel pride in themselves and not feel a need to disguise or feel ashamed of their identity, sexual orientation, race or gender.

Everyone working in sport can further continue to support these movements by aiming to enhance visibility and increase awareness of important issues, emphasising the importance of inclusion for those from marginalised or lesser represented backgrounds. Whether it’s a brand, a rights holder, or a national governing body, it is crucial to support trailblazers and work towards sport being something that is truly for all.

Q: You’ve been working with LiveScore Group for over a year now, who are still a relatively new business. How far has the company evolved over the twelve months? Is there a clear culture and identity, or is that still in its formative stage?

MG: LiveScore Group has a very distinct culture and set of values. Despite only being here a relatively short time, I have noticed an evolution and growth in aspects of the culture and identity of the business. For me, the most exciting thing about working here is the passion, drive, and enthusiasm from the top down at every level.

Q: You have considerable experience in the gaming business, having worked for The Stars Group for over seven years before assuming your current role. How would you say your role has changed and working for the companies differ?

MG: There are many similarities between both companies, with key values including the importance of placing people at the heart of everything that is done and allowing people to be authentic at work.
At LiveScore Group, we are going through an exciting stage of our evolution and growth that is hugely beneficial for all of us involved in creating something special for our employees and customers. Having worked for various large organisations, whilst there are benefits, often that comes with a layer of bureaucracy and constraint. We have a first-class team at LiveScore Group which means when an innovative idea arises in the morning it has the potential to be delivered the same afternoon which I find extremely stimulating and rewarding.

Q: You’ve previously worked in the hospitality and retail industries. Are there any similarities between working in these environments, and delivering a role in the gaming sector?

MG: Both industries are fast paced in nature and subject to constant change, whilst focus on the customers and players ensures people are central to our organisations.
Of the industries I’ve worked in, I believe the gaming sector has more constraints from a regulatory and governance perspective than any other. Despite this, I love that the industry is full of incredibly passionate people, with experts fanatical about creating the very best products. That shared obsession and love for sports, our products and our services is amazing and contagious to be around.

Q: One of your passions is creating ‘better places to work’. How do you inspire and engage your team, and make LiveScore Group somewhere that people want to come and work?
The simple answer is leadership!

MG: We have great offices in fantastic locations around the world, with great benefits including table tennis, games consoles, free breakfasts and a fantastic panoramic roof terrace where we enjoy parties.
However, whilst these things help for our people to enjoy where they work, I see them as the icing on the cake rather than the key reason people want to work here. Without strong leadership underpinning our values, allowing our people to be authentic to themselves and helping them reach their full potential, then we’re just any other place to work and we’re definitely not that!