Speaking as part of ‘The fallout from Sweden’ panel at the SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital, Hoffstedt explained that the newly-imposed deposit limits are having a negative impact upon channelisation, thus driving players towards off-shore, unlicensed casino sites.

The panel, moderated by Jesper Kärrbrink, creative director at Green Jade Games, initially struggled to find some of the positives that have come about as a result of the re-regulation of the market – with the introduction of player protection measures, channelisation and credibility being among the most favoured outcomes.

Discussing the deposit limits, which Kärrbrink aptly described as the ‘elephant in the room’, Hoffstedt pointed out that the Swedish market is tentatively edging towards a channelisation rate which was previously the key driver for its re-regulation in January 2019.

“We shall remember the temporary measures and other issues which are hurting the gambling regulation – which are not from the gambling authority but from the government. They believe that they have reasons to safeguard a number of land-based gambling operators,” he explained.

“We must remember that they still own Svenska Spel, as well as the majority of the seats on the board of ATG. The social democratic party also own their own lottery company. They have reasons to safeguard particular verticals within the gambling industry. With the temporary measures, it’s really interesting that the government advocated for these measures due to a fear that online casino activity would heavily increase due to COVID-19.

“This issue was addressed in Denmark – the Danish regulator looked at the numbers and dismissed them. Sweden implemented the restriction despite what happened, which is that trotting had a large uptick in activity due to sporting restrictions, while online casino activity stood still. Despite this, trotting was not subject to the temporary restrictions, but online casinos were.

“When a digital industry says that you cannot make offers to your customers, it would effectively reduce the competition”

“Of course this will have a negative impact on channelisation. When we measured channelisation earlier this year, it was between 80-85 per cent. When it comes to online casino, this dropped slightly to 75 per cent. Once the limits were introduced, we asked Copenhagen Economics to estimate what channelisation rates will be, and they estimated that future channelisation would reach between 52-63 per cent – which is incredibly close to the reason as to why Sweden re-regulated for the first time.

“We may have to re-regulate the Swedish market once again – and I’m not entirely convinced that the privately-owned businesses will be as enthusiastic as it was a few years ago when the government first asked us to re-regulate.”

Drawing comparisons between the Danish and Swedish market, Morten Ronde, managing director of Nordic Gaming, explained that the defining difference between the two jurisdictions was the laws regarding bonus offers – pointing out that the prohibition of such promotions in Sweden has reduced the competition among operators.

Ronde said: “Not only is the purpose of the Swedish and Danish legislation the same, I’d say the wording of the law is almost identical. I’d guess that 80 per cent of the law is the same – but it’s that final 20 per cent that makes the difference. What you don’t see in the law is the dealings of the local gambling authority. Bonusing is a major difference between the two countries.

“Our industry very much depends on the bonus offers, but it goes beyond that because it’s also sales promotion too. When a digital industry says that you cannot make offers to your customers, it would effectively reduce the competition in the market which is effectively what has been done in Sweden.

“Denmark obviously has strict regulations when it comes to bonus offers, but they are still permitted. The authority in Sweden has created a very non-transparent market because there is no communication for the operator or supplier with the gambling authority – you have to communicate through your representative.

“I’d argue that it’s not even aimed at player protection, it’s just pure politics”

“But in Denmark, every company has two contact persons within the gambling authority, and a lot of issues are cleared out this way. In Sweden, it is decided by these decisions made by the authority that creates a massive liability for suppliers.”

Panellists were in overwhelming agreement that the government-mandated measures would significantly impact on channelisation rates, which could in turn result in a ‘re-regulation of the market’.

Thomas Vermeulen, affiliate and internationalisation manager at Smarkets, asserted his opinion that the limits would not necessarily have a negative impact on the typical player, but would rather have a huge effect upon the high-value customer – subsequently driving them to play via offshore sites.

He explained: “I think the limits will have a negative effect. There was previously a report which showed that the average loss of a Swedish gambler over the year was roughly 5600 SEK, meaning that only a small percentage of the user base is generating a large portion of the revenue while a large majority are playing with significantly lower amounts.

“I don’t think that the smaller players are really affected by the measures, but the bigger value players are still playing, albeit somewhere else. They’re now playing offshore.”

Fintan Costello, managing director at BonusFinder, expressed his complete disregard for the idea that the new measures were introduced to protect players, arguing that the ‘ridiculous’ measures were merely a political decision.

He added: “It’s obvious that it’s a nonsense piece of legislation. It’s clearly a soundbite for a politician to use as part of the next election campaign. The practicalities of this are ridiculous – players can still open up multiple accounts, they can still bet offshore.

“It’s failing in protecting those that it’s aimed at. It’s clearly just politics – I’d argue that it’s not even aimed at player protection, it’s just pure politics.”

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Introducing the landscape in India, Tirabassi stated: “The number of gamers in India today is extremely high. It’s grown from 120m to a forecast of 310m by 2021. The market is divided into a number of legal operators. One is DFS, related to sport which was stopped during lockdown, another is Gin Rummy and the other is poker. This is what is today’s legal market. We understand there is a large unregulated market so there are a number of websites outside the country targeting players.” 

Providing the panel with the consumer’s point of view, Harshit Krishna, director of sales in Europe & LatAm at Probability Gaming commented: “From the consumer’s point of view, India is interesting. We were never in a habit of playing lots of RNG, so people are more likely to play games involving skill. So games like Rummy are more popular than slots for example. 

“The market itself is there and the players are there, but the market is not growing in a legal way. I’m hoping players can bet and that they can trust the operators. When things are legal it will be easier for players to trust and play.”  

Krishna also touched on how the Indian government could benefit from its gambling industry, adding: “If things become legal there could be huge tax income so if gambling activities become legal then it becomes a big revenue for them. As soon as it becomes legal it becomes an income for the state especially the sports betting market.”

Discussing the recent digital growth of the market, Jaydeep Chakravartty, vice president commercials at Markor Technologies, said: “What we have seen is that in the last few years there are a couple of things that have changed which are related to consumer behaviour and the Indian digital ecosystem. 

“A few years ago the government took out 86 per cent of notes in circulation and the public became suddenly very used to digital currencies. The indian market saw a huge digital growth over the last few years also and as a result online gaming has pushed themselves into the market and entered into smartphones.”

Chakravartty also looked to the future, and discussed one main challenge facing the Indian gaming market in its quest to be regulated. 

He added: “One thing that has happened is because of the internet and no regulation there is a lot of fly by operators in India right now. I have seen operators getting into morally questionable techniques. Globally we know betting is part of the entertainment industry, what’s happening in India is that rogue operators are operating gaming scams and not entertainment. 

“I see it being a big challenge on the road to our regulated environment. Gaming has to be considered as fun and entertainment and not a scam.” 

Also looking to the future, Gowree Gokhale, partner at Nishith Desai Associates gave her thoughts on how a potential regulated Indian market should be run: “For brick and mortar I think states can keep it on a state to state basis. On online however I think all states need to have a centralised law. For skill gaming I believe there also needs to be a central law as well as with sports betting. I think this is the best way forward.”

SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital takes place over four days this week (8 – 11 September) and features four main zones – Sports Betting, Casino & Gaming, Payments & Compliance, and Affiliate & Marketing – each of which have their own conference tracks, networking roundtables and interactive expo halls. 

Click here to secure your free pass for the betting & gaming industry’s largest ever virtual event. 

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Moderating ‘The balance between responsible gambling and business’ panel, Steen Madsen, CEO of A Game Above, raised the question over whether monopoly-based lotteries truly prioritise the customer.

He said: “I have the feeling that some monopolies are stating that they are justified because they believe they are more responsible than smaller operators simply because they have been around for many years. They believe that because they have been around, they are more likely to put the customer first.

“Having said that, realistically, where is the customer in all of this? It’s not just about the business, it’s not just about donating to good causes. Is the customer helped by having a monopoly that limits the products available?”

Madsen was joined on the panel by Vincent Perrotin, head of CSR at Française des Jeux, Tay Boon Khai, chief risk & compliance at Singapore Pools and Adrian Sladdin, director of Seventh Wave Corporation.

Defending the customer-first approach, Perrotin explained that monopolies must pay attention to customer demands if they wish to maintain player engagement and avoid channelisation to unlicensed lotteries.

He said: “It is not right for us to say whether we are more responsible than other operators. But France has had a monopoly for some time, we have a very long tradition of protection and responsibility. But we have also been confronted with the same digital revolution that everyone else has had to face.

“What is important for a monopoly to do its job today is that it needs to prioritise customer experience. At the end of the day, if we do not do this, customers will begin to favour the illegal, unlicensed operators which subsequently endangers the monopoly. We don’t have a choice – we have to be very cautious and pay attention to what it is our customers are saying.

“When it comes to the products on offer to the public, there is a balance between offering a high-risk product in terms of problem gambling. This is something that – for the regulators – is an issue generally. But it is also an issue for the monopoly. We need to keep that in mind and accompany our offering with the appropriate responsible gambling tools. It is all about the balance between principles and reality.”

Responding to Perrotin’s point, Madsen suggested that there have previously been instances in which responsible gaming has been used as a way to generate publicity for the operator – something which he explained does not truly consider the end customer.

He said: “I’m glad to hear that you are considering the customer because that is super important in my view. What I have experienced is that some monopolies have been using responsible gaming as a ‘political football’ for publicity – using measures as a way to say they are more responsible than others. But I don’t really think that the end customer really understands what it means for them.”

Sladdin vehemently dismissed the claims that monopoly-based lotteries prioritised their players, drawing upon the UK lottery as an example which he described as a ‘way of raising money’.

He argued that the only ‘tangible’ element of customer service originated from players’ hopes of winning the lottery, despite ‘miniscule’ chances to do so.

He added: “It is really interesting to think – where is the customer in all of this? Historically in the UK, I think that the first time we had a lottery was to raise money to send troops abroad to fight. We should never kid ourselves. The reason that we have lotteries certainly isn’t ‘for the good of the people’.

“The roll out of the lottery wasn’t to give the people of Britain a fun experience, it was quite clearly a way of raising money for the government, for diverting money into these ‘good causes’. I’m really not sure as to whether I buy into the notion that monopoly lotteries have a customer-first idea in the slightest.

“In terms of what I see here in the UK, the reality looks like people in the supermarket buying tickets in the hope that they may win. The chance of them winning is miniscule, and I’m not sure that the customer experience is really anything tangible other than people’s hopes. I don’t see that interaction between the lottery operators and the players, even if we do want to call it customer experience.”

SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital is a FREE to attend virtual conference and exhibition running from 8-11 September. To register for your free ticket or find out more please visit – https://sbcevents.com/sbc-summit-barcelona-digital/.

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Speaking on the ‘Customer Advocacy – Gambling’s Forgotten Discipline’ panel at the SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital, panellists discussed how calls have widened for the creation of an independent gambling ombudsman. 

However, discussion turned towards the effective representation of views in the face of a ‘vocal minority’ of gambling prohibitionists. Haijer pointed out that while there may be a vocal minority, the voices of every consumer must be taken into account – something which can often be quite difficult due to the lack of an ‘organised consumer voice’.

“First and foremost, I think it’s important to take the customer seriously, even if there is a minority of customers which have complaints or are unhappy with the way that the gambling industry behaves. Regardless of our own opinions, these are complaints that we seriously need to listen to,” he explained.

“Secondly, what I do think we suffer from as an industry is that the consumer is not organised. That is something that we noticed a long time ago, and it is pretty disappointing.

“We at EGBA have tried to have debates with European consumer organisations about gambling, but strangely when we tried to engage with such organisations on both a local and national level for us to be able to discuss issues relating to gambling from the consumer perspective, they shy away from the topic.

“The industry suffers from the fact that there is no organised consumer voice. Because of this, the people that are shouting the loudest are the ones being heard. We have tried to engage and alert consumer organisations, but this has not worked.”

Haijer was joined on the panel by Jenna Ekstrom, responsible gaming specialist at PAF, Jon Duffy, SVP for corporate assurance and regulatory affairs at Genting UK and Richard Hayler, managing director at IBAS. The discussion was moderated by Adam Bradford, co-founder of Safer Online Gambling.

Duffy explained that complex consumer advocacy processes should not be dictated by the ‘very vocal minority’ of prohibitionists, but rather through ‘healthy debate and evidence-led discussions’.

He said: “There is clearly a very vocal minority which would like to see extreme controls across the board. I certainly have no issue with them vocalising their opinions – I’ve actually learnt from what some of them have said, and on occasion, have implemented changes in my company based on their experience. That said, I don’t think a lot of what they say is needed nor wanted by the vast majority of gamblers.

“I like to think that my own views and those of organisations like the BGC achieve a balance of commerciality and care. However, working in the industry, I may be a little biased. The key, therefore, is healthy levels of debate and evidence-led decisions undertaken by those with the final say.”

When discussing the ways that consumer voices can be heard, panellists turned towards recent debates in the UK regarding the creation of a gambling ombudsman.

Duffy vehemently argued for the creation of an independent ombudsman, highlighting that the ‘current system is broken’.

“I think everyone would agree that the current system is broken. We’re dealing with a case right now, I believe that we’ve gone over and above to help this customer,” it was added.

“They disagree. IBAS is unable to deal with this case, so we’ve gone to the regulator – but we’ve heard nothing back. With cases that judge whether principle-based regulations are being broken, that – to me – feels like a job for the regulator. Clearly this is at odds with the ADR regulations. As such, we fully support the need for an independent ombudsman.”

In agreement, Ekstrom pointed out that the creation of a gambling ombudsman would be beneficial to the gambling industry on the condition that it represents the views of both the operator and consumer.

She noted: “I believe that having a gambling ombudsman is a good idea providing they serve the needs of both the operator and the consumer. As a gaming operator, it can often be quite difficult to find a balance when it comes to this. We have had players that have gambled via multiple operators, then return to us to claim their money back.

“Of course, if we do something wrong, I fully agree that the funds should be returned. But it’s really hard to determine the extent of our responsibility when it comes to helping the consumer.”

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“The games themselves are sort of coming from popular TV shows. You’re currently on an offering where you have Deal or No Deal, Monopoly, you know, Dream Catcher and other games, which are on a different level in terms of player engagement.

“It’s more attractive to a wider audience and I think the players feel more comfortable on them because they’re much simpler to players or require a lesser knowledge level to play them.

“It really opened the door for a much wider player profile for live games. I know in the past when we see you know, the specific profiles tend to gravitate towards classical games like blackjack or roulette. But the growth in the last couple of years really came from game shows.”

Ciara Nic Liam, product director games of chance at Betsson Group, agreed with Benetis’ comments whilst also highlighting that game shows in live casinos also came at the perfect time given that the sector was undergoing new regulations.

Nic Liam added: “I think the piece worth pointing out as well is the emergence of those game shows came at a really great time when there was an enhanced focus on due diligence and KYC and people weren’t just trying to bring in large live casino VIPs that wanted private tables.

“People pivoted more to recreational players and their player base to make sure their casino was more sustainable. So people push these games quite heavily. There were live casino players that tried these game shows, and that was to love to buy them. But actually, as we see, even with the streamer community, it’s a lot of predominantly strong, slot players that go on and play these game shows.

“What we then find is we try to up-sell them and cross sell them to other live casino games because a live casino customer in a lot of markets can be more valuable than a slots customer.”

However, whilst OneTouch’s head of product, Madis Raus, agreed with the panellists over the popularity of game shows, he feels that there is still room in the market to attract this new audience whilst also maintaining a strong consumer base for land-based casinos. Especially when land-based venues offer more of a localised feel than their online counterparts.

“I definitely see the game shows more appealing to the younger generation that actually are looking for this excitement, entertainment and also the community feeling,” Raus commented. “I don’t think these game shows will attract those hardcore gamblers very well.”

“What I see is that those, like regular guys playing in land based casinos, one of the things that they definitely might want is the localisation. Probably a Japanese guy doesn’t want to play with an English speaking dealer is one of the things and if we offer them the same local experience that they could get from the local casinos, this might help.”

The panel, which was moderated by Arjan Korstjens, marketing consultant at ExPlayner, also discussed what lessons can be learnt from both industries to ensure that land-based and online can prosper.

Richard Walker, head of digital table games at Rank Interactive, explained that retail needs to look at online offerings and attempt to ‘catch up’ in terms of the technology that live casino’s have.

Walker said: “Obviously there is a lot more technology wise for digital gaming and retail are trying to get there now, looking to use the Dragon Fire roulette multipliers in. We are looking to launch something similar in retail and the demand for it online is massive to kind of retail are trying to catch online with their offering rather than the other way around.”

Moving back to localisation of live casinos, Nic Liam emphasised the importance of ensuring that the correct products are offered to customers in specific regions to create a greater understanding for the customer.

“When we look at places like Asia or the African continent, and like America we definitely see an emergence of different pieces and what we really strive to do is make sure we offer the best regionally diverse content to our customers, whether that’s something in LatAm, specifically, or whether it’s a version of Turkish poker. 

“I think if you want to compete in a region, you need to make sure that you understand and you respect what the local games are and you try and compete on that front rather than just thinking that you know, European games are going to work in every region because we know that’s not always the case.”

SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital takes place over four days this week (8 – 11 September) and features four main zones – Sports Betting, Casino & Gaming, Payments & Compliance, and Affiliate & Marketing – each of which have their own conference tracks, networking roundtables and interactive expo halls. 

Click here to secure your free pass for the betting & gaming industry’s largest ever virtual event. 

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That was the question posed to Paul Buck, CEO of Epic Risk Management, Minal Jain, co-founder of RecoverMe and Martin Lycka, director of regulatory affairs, GVC Holdings, in a panel discussion at SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital, led by Daniel Bliss, head of external affairs at YGAM, who ably assumed the moderating role.

The 40 minute session travelled down numerous avenues of the research, education and treatment paradigm, addressing a need to remove stigma, improve education and increase signposting, as well as touching on responsibilities assumed by operators, the necessity of correctly utilising lived experience and delivering anonymised methods.

A necessity to adopt a balanced approach was the initial message delivered by Buck: “I think, first of all, that it is a very positive move that there is a much greater investment into research education and treatment and how it’s looked at. I think that’s very positive, I think it’s overdue, but it’s very positive and it’s a good sign of intent from the industry. 

“I think the important thing here for me is getting around the logic of why the full £100m would go to treatment, we know at the moment that there’s only a very small percentage who present themselves for treatment, ranging from around three per cent to six per cent depending on where you look, and I think that by investing it purely into treatment all we are probably doing is creating an environment going forward where we get more and more people falling off the edge of a cliff, and at least they have somewhere to be treated if that amount of money has been invested.

“So, for me I don’t think it’s the right model to put 100 per cent into treatment, and I would personally, if you ask me for figures, go for maybe 60 per cent into treatment, 20 per cent into research and 20 per cent into prevention and education.”

“…we need to embrace technology”

Asserting that all exercises need to start with prevention and crucial education, Lycka backed-up the opening statement: “I believe that the split needs to be more balanced than just whack it all on treatment. More money needs to be spent on treatment not only in the UK but in many other countries that have been the poor sister of prevention, research and education in the last few years, but at the same time it can’t be the case that the other relatives that so far have been better funded would lose that funding.”

In an ever changing world, and industry, all panellists emphasised that “it is not a one size fits all addiction,” with individuals, triggered by a range of factors, needing to have a variety of services to be able to recover and have a positive life going forwards. 

Jain travelled down one particular route that she believes is essential in today’s environment: “I think going forward what we really need to be investing in is, to continue investing in solutions that already work but, to be looking at innovative and disruptive technologies that could potentially change the landscape because we’ll be offering choices to those suffering. 

“They’ll have the ability to access treatment in a different way, they might respond slightly differently but we can also facilitate pathways into treatment.

“So, from my perspective the integration of current services is really important and looking to see how we can embrace technology, like RecoverME for example, is something that we could focus our energies on.”

“I also agree with Minal that we need to embrace technology I think, either as part of the process or a big part of the process,” Buck continued. 

Adding: “Embracing technology will mean a much greater number of people, a much greater percentage of people, will be able access treatment 24/7 in exactly the same way that they can access gambling 24/7. 

“I’m a big believer in expanding the great stuff that is already going on, but also really embracing technology so that a greater number [can gain access], such as that three per cent getting to ten per cent, twenty per cent, thirty per cent and beyond, going forward in the future.”

“I think that it’s crucial going forward that we have a more balanced approach”

Emphasising the advantages offered by mobile apps, particularly with certain activities, such as group sessions, potentially impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, Lycka elaborated on the necessity to embrace technology.

“The bottom being line being that having anonymised methods of obtaining the relevant information, but also having opportunities to talk to the professionals in a way that makes sure that I will not be stigmatised for going and trying to resolve my problem, will ultimately be extremely extremely helpful because there are a lot of people out there that, for very good reasons, are not prepared to share that they have this problem, and at this same time they will be able to resolve, or try to resolve this, by electronic means because they will simply feel much more comfortable with it. 

“It will give them the chance to do something about their gambling problem, whereas if they had to force themselves to attend a gamblers anonymous session, for example, they may not like it, they may not get the most out of it, and unfortunately their problem might develop a little but further.”  

Following a deep discussion across each of the RET segments talk returned to the title of the session, with each panellist offering a succinct answer to the question ‘What’s the best way to spend £100m?’

“I think that it’s crucial going forward that we have a more balanced approach, like we have discussed today, it can’t all go to treatment. We need to better education, we need better awareness and consequently then we might be treating less people,” Jain began. 

“That money needs to be spent both sensibly and efficiently with a view to protecting customers’ interests in this space,” added Lycka.

With Buck rounding off the session: “For me, it’s completely nonsensical that the £100m would go to a treatment infrastructure that wouldn’t be able to deal with it, so there needs to be a lot more emphasis on, lets prevent people from getting to the edge of a cliff in the first place rather than just treat them once they have fallen off.”

SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital takes place over four days this week (8 – 11 September) and features four main zones – Sports Betting, Casino & Gaming, Payments & Compliance, and Affiliate & Marketing – each of which have their own conference tracks, networking roundtables and interactive expo halls. 

Click here to secure your free pass for the betting & gaming industry’s largest ever virtual event. 

The post SBC Summit: What’s the <br> best way to spend £100m? appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Speaking on the Australia – pushing back on restrictions panel, Cohen explained that due to a combination of a saturated gambling market coupled with a lack of incentive for the federal government to lift such a ban, the block on online casinos is ‘not necessarily that noticeable’.

He explained: “I think it’s important to understand that the ban on online casinos is in a country which has access to so much gambling already. It’s not necessarily that noticeable that the ban exists. Everyone in Australia has access to either a casino because they live in the big cities or to the slot venues which are distributed right across the country – except in the state of Western Australia. This state has a population of 1.5 million people in a landmass which accounts for approximately a third of Australia. 

“But the rest of the country has access to gambling when and where they want. So I don’t really think there’s a huge push from the wider community for online casino-style games. They’ve got plenty of access to gambling already. 

“I think that the brick and mortar industry that houses those slot machines are probably not pushing for a lift on the ban – most probably because they would rather people walked through the doors. So I don’t really think that there is an appetite for that change. 

“The federal government also isn’t going to amend its Interactive Gambling Act to allow online casino games – largely because they won’t get any of the revenue from lifting the ban. The tax revenue is directed towards the state, so there is no incentive for the federal government to have a fight with anti-gambling people to allow online casino games. 

“I can’t see it happening. I actually think that getting rid of the ban on in-play betting has a miniscule chance of happening – but lifting the ban on online casinos has no chance.”

On the panel, Cohen was joined by Paul Newson, Head of Advisory Practice at Senet, and Jake Henson, COO of BetMakers Technology Group. The discussion was moderated by Nathan Rothschild, Founder of Genius Group.

Agreeing with Cohen’s point, Newson highlighted that the ban of online casino games should not be ‘sensationalised’ nor anchored to rates of problem gambling – pointing out his belief that it is a ‘policy oddity’ that the federal government draws the line at online casino. 

He added: “The access to gambling, certainly land-based as well as online, is everywhere. It’s ubiquitous. To give an example, we say that in New South Wales we technically have one casino – two if you ignore the technicalities. But we have gaming and slot machines distributed throughout the state – some 90,000+ through our clubs and hotels. 

“Accessibility to gambling, whether it’s on your phone or at a land-based venue, is really easy for the majority of the population. I say this to address the question that it is slightly odd that you draw the line at online casino games. But I don’t think that there is a momentum nor advocacy – especially not one with any weight which argues for the ban to be lifted. 

“If you want to anchor it to problem gambling, I think you put yourself in a spot of difficulty because – as serious as the issue is – we shouldn’t sensationalise it. Certainly in NSW, problem gambling has been at a stable rate for the last 15 years. There is plenty of gambling available, but it is a bit of a policy oddity that when there is such a market saturation available and you have choice, we still hold a ban on online casinos.”

Echoing a similar sentiment, Henson turned the discussion towards the potential for revenue losses as a result of ‘offshore leakage’ – implying that online casino players could be more likely to bet via unlicensed sites. 

“I also think that there would be a lot more offshore leakage in online casinos than there would be for in-play wagering on sports,” he explained. 

“I do feel that there is enough saturation of other products in the market which has been absorbed in pre-match, same-game multis. But the times when in-play wagering would be appealing here in Australia, it would be in the evening times on our Australian sports where often there isn’t a wider interest from the rest of the world, online casino would present much more of an issue when it comes to lost revenue for the gambling operators.”

SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital is a FREE to attend virtual conference and exhibition running from 8-11 September. To register for your free ticket or find out more please visit – https://sbcevents.com/sbc-summit-barcelona-digital/

The post Cohen: There’s no appetite to lift the ban on online casino games in Australia appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Launched at this week’s SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital, the programme intends to provide industry employees with specialist online training to strengthen play protection standards and effectively safeguard consumers from gambling-related harm.

Resources have been developed using a methodology known as ‘flipped learning,’ derived from Neuroscience studies on how the brain learns.

Lee Willows, chief executive of YGAM, explained: “Our journey with Betknowmore UK has been humbling. Together we have been fortunate to work with a number of operators to deliver face-to-face training over the last twelve months and so having a strategic alliance to continue this and combine with digital learning seems a good natural progression. Player protection and understanding customer vulnerability is an area we know operators want to upskill their staff in.

“Safer Gambling Training will support the customer facing teams by increasing their understanding gambling-related harm through the lens of lived-experience. We are working with international partners to scope an international standard that colleagues within the sector can take with them throughout their career, and which includes regular mandatory updates and refresher courses.”

The partnership will draw upon, and combine, specialist knowledge, lived experience insight and research to create a series of global training programmes. 

Six interactive digital training modules have been released which cover key topics including customer vulnerability, safeguarding, customer interaction, identifying harm and employee mental health and well-being.

“Companies operating in the gambling space require trained employees providing consistent, high level and trusted customer service. Our aim with this new training programme is to help raise standards and create a benchmark of knowledge and understanding of gambling-related harm,” added Frankie Graham, chief executive of Betknowmore.

“We have developed content with collaboration from those with lived experience of gambling, combined with the insight and knowledge from our partner organisations who are experts within their sector.

“We will continue to develop our programme, ensuring it remains fit for the changing, dynamic gambling market, with the ultimate purpose of keeping players safe and free from harm.” 

The training content is all relevant to the Gambling Commission‘s latest LCCP requirements and has received funding from regulatory settlements to support the delivery of the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling-related Harms.

Furthermore, Canada-based Responsible Gambling Council is also involved in the alliance acting as independent evaluation partners, with design agency Me&You designing a new safer gambling website and eLearning content. 

All profits made by Safer Gambling Training will go back into the two charities to support their social purposes.

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SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital is set to open with two of the sports betting & gaming industry’s most influential figures, when Carsten Koerl (CEO & founder, Sportradar) and Jason Robins (chairman, CEO & co-founder, DraftKings) take part in an In Conversation session.

The theme of the event’s keynote, which is scheduled for Tuesday 8 September at 10am CEST, is The Future of Sports Betting and it will see the pair sharing their thoughts on the changing face of the industry and ideas for its future direction. 

The pair are uniquely well placed to offer insights into the industry. Koerl has built Sportradar into the world’s largest sports data, content and integrity services provider, driving the ecosystem for online and mobile sports betting and being a trusted partner to more than 1,000 companies around the globe. 

Robins has emerged as one of the key leaders in the development of the fast-growing US sports betting industry, having guided DraftKings from its roots as a DFS start-up to its current status as a Nasdaq listed digital entertainment and gaming company. 

Rasmus Sojmark, CEO and founder of SBC, said: “What a great way to start our flagship event. I know our audience will be excited to hear from Carsten and Jason, and ready to learn from two of the industry’s leaders and biggest success stories. 

“The session will undoubtedly set the tone for what promises to be a hugely valuable four days for all attendees, with more than 200 expert speakers sharing insights on the issues shaping the future of the industry, and plenty of opportunities for people to connect and talk business.”

SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital, which takes place on 8 – 11 September 2020, is the largest ever virtual conference and exhibition for the sports betting & gaming industry.

The event platform has four main zones – Sports Betting, Casino & Gaming, Payments & Compliance, and Affiliate & Marketing – each of which features tailored conference content with input from senior industry executives, an interactive expo, a programme of skills workshops and selection of themed networking roundtables.

To join the 10,000 delegates at the event, click here to register for a free pass.

The post Carsten Koerl and Jason Robins to open SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Attendees at the virtual conference and exhibition, which takes place on 8 – 11 September, will have access to six conference tracks in the Casino & Gaming Zone: 

• • Future of Gaming
  • Global Gambling 
  • Innovation & Technology sponsored by Kaizen Gaming
  • LatAm Market
  • Lottery Daily
  • US Market

The agenda features sessions that will deliver valuable information about doing business in emerging markets, ideas for how to tackle the industry’s biggest problems, and predictions on how new technology will influence the landscape for operators. 

The speaker roster features a selection of the most influential senior executives in the online casino industry, including Ariel Reem (CEO & co-founder, Genesis Global), Tim de Borle (COO, Napoleon Sports & Casino), Avigail Nir (COO, Mansion Casino), Eric Olders (CEO, JVH Gaming), Paul Fox (CEO, LeTou), Minja Bolesnikov (CEO, MaxBet), Aris Dimarakis (CTO, Kaizen Gaming), Fernanda Sainz (CMO LatAm, Caliente Interactive) and Sam Brown (CCO, Hero Gaming). 

Outside of the virtual conference auditoriums, the event will provide further learning opportunities in the form of a programme of skills workshops delivered by online casino and slots experts.

Another key feature of SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital is that it offers a straightforward way to connect and talk business with operators, suppliers and affiliates from around the world; something that is particularly valuable at this time when physical trade shows are not possible.

The schedule includes a series of themed networking roundtables to help bring together people with shared business interests. Along with a dedicated casino industry session, there will be forums about specific markets, including Asia, the Netherlands, Germany, Africa, the CIS and Latin America.

Additionally, the Casino & Gaming Zone features a virtual expo hall and games showroom. With the physical editions of major international trade shows unlikely to be staged until March 2021 at the earliest, provides the very best current opportunity to view the latest innovations for the sector. 

The companies taking advantage of the interactive booths to display their new games and technology include Stakelogic, BetConstruct, Hub88, Lotto Instant Win, OneTouch, Finnplay, Fast Track, Microgame, IWinBack, Translation100, Pragmatic Play, Synot Games, and BetGames.TV. 

Rasmus Sojmark, CEO and founder of SBC, said: “SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital is a must-attend for anyone with an interest in the future of the online casino, slots and live casino sectors. We have a superb speaker line-up ready to share their insights on how operators can improve their offerings and take advantage of the opportunities provided by technological progress and emerging markets.  

“Delegates in the Casino & Gaming Zone can also look forward to seeing many of the best innovations the industry has to offer, and to some very welcome networking opportunities, giving everyone a chance to make new connections in their target markets.”

Further details of the Casino & Gaming Zone at SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital, including the full agenda, speaker line-up and exhibitor list, are available from the event’s official website, where you can also find details of the Sports Betting, Payments & Compliance, Affiliate & Marketing, and Media & Partner zones. 

To join the 10,000 delegates from around the world at the must-attend global betting and gaming show on 8 – 11 September 2020, click here to register for free.

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