Trade group the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has released a document designed to educate regulators and legislators on the best way to craft their gambling regulations.
The BGC’s “Online Gambling Regulation: International Precedent and Best Practice” guide calls for the freedom for licensed operators to advertise, the ability to offer a varied range of product verticals and for taxes to be calculated against gross gambling revenue.
The report, composed by professional services firm Alvarez and Marsal (A&M), assesses a wide range of regulatory approaches against five policy objectives, which it views as the ultimate standards by which to measure of any model of gambling regulation:
- High channelisation
- Consumer protection
- Preserving customer choice
- Keeping crime out of gambling
- Raising tax revenue
Over 100 jurisdictions now have their own gambling regulations, rising from just a handful at the dawn of the internet in the early 90s. Other significant markets, such as Brazil, are only now coming online with fully formed legislation and there is no shortage of regulatory churn in more mature jurisdictions.
The BGC report, which has been seen by Vixio GamblingCompliance but is not available publicly, draws on case studies from around the world and features anonymous quotes from senior European and North American regulators.
“The online gaming market is a complex landscape involving a huge range of potential regulatory choices and outcomes,” said BGC international director, Pierre Tournier.
“But for too long there has been a crucial evidence gap when those choices are considered by policymakers. Our ambition for this new guide is that it finally offers a solution to that problem.
“Drawing on the lessons from around the world, operators and policymakers can take a global view of the pitfalls and benefits of different approaches, and make better policy decisions as a result,” he said.
Although the report takes a detailed look at issues from payments to social responsibility, many of its conclusions will be familiar to anyone who has followed the stance of most trade bodies in any debate over gambling regulations in the past decade.
The guide suggests, for example, that monopoly or limited licensing models carry the risk of “driving customers to the unregulated market”, but raises no downsides in its assessment of open licensing.
Away from the less traditionally controversial areas of gambling regulation, its conclusions are more equivocal.
That includes a comparison of rules- and outcomes-based regulation, on which the report takes the view that neither approach is likely to have a meaningful effect on channelling players to the regulated market.
“Through effective regulation of this new growth sector, governments can achieve their core priorities of raising tax, boosting growth and jobs, while delivering high standards for player protection,” said Grainne Hurst, BGC chief executive.
“In the UK, we have seen that firsthand, where balanced regulations have created a sector which raises billions in tax and investment in the economy, while supporting tens of thousands of jobs.
“But the risk posed by the wrong regulatory balance can undermine that good work, and give a foothold to the growing unsafe, illegal gambling black market, which is an ever-present threat in the UK,” she said.
The BGC also announced on Thursday (October 10) that it had signed a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the American Gaming Association (AGA) and the European Casino Association (ECA).
The three trade bodies will collaborate “to address key issues facing the global gaming industry including illegal gambling, responsible gaming, innovation, and security” they said in a press release.
"This new partnership is a significant step forward in our collective efforts to advance the legal gaming industry and protect consumers around the globe," said AGA president and CEO, Bill Miller.
"By sharing our unique resources, we will expand our fight against illegal gambling to new fronts, work together to strengthen responsible gaming, and innovate around business best practices.”
The trio said they would undertake joint research projects and facilitate ways for their staff to share information.
“This partnership marks a new chapter in our shared vision to build a world-class, trusted and sustainable betting and gaming industry,” said the BGC’s Grainne Hurst.
“The ECA fully backs this initiative and supports the ongoing efforts to rigorously combat illegality within our industry, continuously strengthen player protections and security, and ensure the creation of an environment that fosters innovation and growth within the gaming community,” said the casino trade body’s chairman, Erwin van Lambaart.
The MoU’s first initiative will be a law enforcement roundtable, set to take place in January 2025.
The organisations said it would bring together industry, law enforcement and regulators to discuss the impact of illegal gambling on legal operators, consumer safety and the global financial system.
The AGA has made repeated calls for U.S. regulators to tackle illegal gambling, both land-based and online, in recent months.
In September, BGC and AGA member Entain released a report calling on UK and other governments to take more effective action to restrict the black market.