Flutter’s Modern Slavery Statement • Hacker News Board

Re: Flutter’s Modern Slavery Statement

#11

Post by n4r9 » Tue, Aug 02, 2022, 2:31 PM UTC

_fat_santa wrote: post #4

I don't mean to sounds cynical, but what is this really going to do besides signaling to investors how much they "care". If the company was a mine, or some other business with a large on the ground operation in places where modern slavery is a thing, then I could see a statement like this holding water. But you guys arent a mine, or a lumber factory, you provide online gambling services. I'm really struggling to see…

As tech workers it's not always obvious that there's a wide range of people that any sufficiently large business will have contractual dealings with, be it cleaners, construction workers, painters and decorators, or retail staff. In low skilled labour jobs especially there is a risk of exploiting trafficked or enslaved workers unless due diligence is undertaken.

Re: Flutter’s Modern Slavery Statement

#12

Post by sparsely » Tue, Aug 02, 2022, 2:31 PM UTC

_fat_santa wrote: post #4

I don't mean to sounds cynical, but what is this really going to do besides signaling to investors how much they "care". If the company was a mine, or some other business with a large on the ground operation in places where modern slavery is a thing, then I could see a statement like this holding water. But you guys arent a mine, or a lumber factory, you provide online gambling services. I'm really struggling to see…

It's a requirement under UK law. They have retail operations (as stated in the disclosure) and a large number of suppliers in a wide variety of countries. I agree that they are fairly low risk on average but some of those vendors will be in high risk sectors.

Re: Flutter’s Modern Slavery Statement

#13

Post by paulgb » Tue, Aug 02, 2022, 2:31 PM UTC

I think all UK companies of a certain size need to publish something like this. E.g. "Dyson" was the first UK-based company that popped into my head, and I found this: https://www.dyson.com/inside-dyson/terms/modern-slavery-stat...

Is there something particular about this one of note?

Re: Flutter’s Modern Slavery Statement

#14

Post by andsoitis » Tue, Aug 02, 2022, 2:33 PM UTC

_fat_santa wrote: post #4

I don't mean to sounds cynical, but what is this really going to do besides signaling to investors how much they "care". If the company was a mine, or some other business with a large on the ground operation in places where modern slavery is a thing, then I could see a statement like this holding water. But you guys arent a mine, or a lumber factory, you provide online gambling services. I'm really struggling to see…

I also wondered what’s the connection between the online gambling industry and slavery so I Googled.

Here’s one article I found: https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/The-Big-Story/Cyber-slaver...

Re: Flutter’s Modern Slavery Statement

#15

Post by hedora » Tue, Aug 02, 2022, 2:40 PM UTC

Note that slavery is still legal in the USA, and they don’t specifically say they won’t use such labor in the US.

Text of 13th amendment (note the disclaimers) https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-13/

Prisons are the main source of slave labor / involuntary servitude in the US, and provide over a million workers.

Re: Flutter’s Modern Slavery Statement

#16

Post by difosfor » Tue, Aug 02, 2022, 2:58 PM UTC

In my head modern slavery is the cheap and dangerous labor in other countries we rely on altogether; even the voluntary workers. It doesn't make sense to me that we still so easily value the lives of people who happen to be born somewhere else lower than those who were born more nearby. Why don't we pay the same minimum wage we do here in other countries? Or require the same safety measures etc? Yet we all just play along quietly endorsing widespread use of power to further inequality as long as it suits us.