“CasinoBeats Malta brings vital industry insight, knowledge sharing and networking opportunities directly to one of online gaming’s spiritual homelands”

The second edition of CasinoBeats Malta is a mere two months away, with a plethora of content split across a comprehensive agenda and complemented by unparalleled networking opportunities.

One key focus on day one (Wednesday 25 March) at the InterContinental Malta centres around ‘Regulation & Compliance,’ featuring numerous focus points such as ‘Affiliates: Navigating the Compliance Minefield,’ and ‘The Blockchain Challenge’ as well as nation specific discussions surrounding Sweden, Japan and the USA.

Chair of the track on the day is Martin Lycka, director of regulatory affairs at GVC Holdings and trustee of the GVC Foundation, who said of his role and CasinoBeats’ follow-up to 2019’s Maltese entry: “The inaugural edition of CasinoBeats Malta has been a great success. The event will grow further in stature this year as more than 1,500 senior-level attendees are expected to come to the beautiful island of Malta and take part in the conference and exhibition.

“Chairing the regulation and compliance track will give me a great opportunity to influence and steer the debate on, what I would suggest, is one of the main challenges the industry faces these days, namely a seemingly never ending influx of regulatory change in our industry.”

Adding: “I am looking forward to hearing from the industry experts about how they and their businesses intend to absorb the regulatory changes and challenges of late. I hope that one of the main takeaways will be that the industry can work even better together on finding ever more efficient and pragmatic answers to these questions. 

“At the same time events such as CasinoBeats Malta allow for networking in a relaxed environment, ideally positioned to catch up with industry friends and meet new people.”

“The industry has widely demonstrated its ability to absorb changes in an effective as well as innovative way”

Compliance & Regulation kicks off the day with a talking point entitled ‘Compliance – The Enemy of Innovation,’ featuring Ewa Kazmierska, COO at LV Bet, Pablo Espuela, COO of Luckia Entertainment, Anna Wallenstein, COO of Kwiff and Rupert Ecker, igaming consultant for Gaming Innovation Group with Jessica Moreno, principal at JMore Legal, on moderating duties.

Offering a brief insight into the discussion and addressing if the challenges of meeting regulatory requirements is stifling innovation, Lycka stated: “I would not call compliance an enemy of innovation; I believe the two can co-exist and thrive next to each other. Finding compliant solutions could actually be another opportunity for the industry to be innovative. In particular over the course of the last few years the industry has widely demonstrated its ability to absorb changes in an effective as well as innovative way. 

“The developments in the field of responsible gambling bear testament to it; a number of new exciting tools have been introduced to further enhance customers’ safety when playing on online gambling sites as well as in the betting shops that in most cases go beyond what is required by the applicable regulation.”

Concluding, Lycka moved on to address how difficult the challenges are that are posed by increasingly complex regulatory frameworks that are facing gambling businesses operating in regulated markets: “There is indeed more and more to take on-board; we are faced with issues of an ever increasing complexity and variety. 

“Despite that, or even perhaps for this very reason, we have found ways to address all these challenges by means of following robust compliance processes while taking advantage of the wealth of experience we have accumulated in this space. 

“It is actually quite fascinating to be part of an industry full of incredible professionals who work tirelessly towards ensuring that we stay on top of everything – you will get an opportunity to meet a number of them at CasinoBeats Malta 2020.”