The SBC Gaming Regulation and Compliance Forum gazed into the crystal ball this week, providing a closer analysis of what the future holds for igaming regulation, while urging operators to take a leadership role when it comes to social responsibility.
Moderated by James Kilsby, Chief Analyst at VIXIO, the panel entitled ‘Regulation 2030: Anticipating Future Compliance Challenges’ emphasised the importance of collaboration as the framework around social responsibility evolves and the potential for federal intervention increases.
Painting a picture of her ideal outcome for the industry Cathy Judd-Stein, the Former Chair of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, emphasised her optimism that regulators will embrace further collaboration with operators as ambitions to eradicate the threat of the black and grey market are realised.
Louis Rogacki, Assistant Attorney General, New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, echoed this sentiment as he urged operators to be more forthcoming with solutions when it comes to RG and tackling the black market.
He said: “Regulators shouldn’t always have to go to the industry to provide them best practices, they should be coming to regulators. If the industry doesn’t heed the warnings it will lead to federal intervention, which is not a good scenario for the regulated industry.”
Judd-Stein added that the base built is a strong one as solid connections have already been formed, while specifically referencing Massachusetts for praise as a region that has taken a strong lead in terms of advertising regulations. Building on this, she told the audience that they have regulation pending to provide broader prohibitions when it comes to gambling advertising.
That being said, she detailed that federal intervention may well play a vital role in terms of the detection and tackling of unlicensed operators, stating that the industry shouldn’t be hesitant to ask for support when it comes to this eradication of the black market.
Cole Wogoman, Senior Manager, Government Relations and League Partnerships, National Council on Problem Gambling, stated his belief that federal intervention is highly likely and downplayed the sentiment that it would definitely be a bad outcome.
A national standard in terms of RG is an avenue that Wogoman believes could be fruitful in improving the approach of RG. However, he highlighted that it wouldn’t have to be federal or come from congress.
Providing further analysis of the market, he emphasised that ‘culture matters’, and the type of stringent affordability checks being implemented in the UK simply wouldn’t translate successfully to a US audience.
Rogacki also agreed that attempts to bring UK-style affordability checks to the US markets would be futile in the bid to build the most impactful regulatory framework.
Nonetheless, the scrutiny being placed under many new entrants to the market is too significant of an obstacle according to Behnam Dayanim, Partner, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, who revealed that some of the most talented people are being discouraged from entering the igaming space.
He told the panel that ‘regulators should step back and take a look at what they don’t need to regulate’, as he urged the need for evolution when it comes to the regulatory strategy being undertaken in the market.
