Why the industry must embrace compliance before it's too late

As we come towards the end of an eventful year, we can all take time to reflect on the past and look towards the future. The increase in political pressure and regulatory changes has touched all parts of the online gambling industry, and we see some regulatory turbulence across Europe right now.

The Belgian government will ban online casino advertising and limit bonus offers. Italy is considering an outright ban on gambling marketing and hefty fines for companies that fail to comply. Denmark is set to introduce a maximum cap on player bonus offers. The UK has made plenty of regulatory changes and hands out big fines on a regular basis. The list goes on, and as an industry, we need to be quick to adapt to these changes.

All members of the value chain are under the regulatory spotlight; suppliers need to avoid building games that might appeal to children, operators are receiving fines for AML, responsible gambling and compliance failures, and affiliates are under more pressure from their industry peers to do their part by following advertising rules. The industry needs to discover new ways of attracting customers and try new marketing techniques that centre around compliance, and I believe we are on the right track.

Embracing regulation is extremely important, and we can always do more to help protect the long-term sustainability of the industry. We should have been doing more well before the recent wave of restrictions, fines and compliance obligations as the changes strive to protect people from the adverse effects of gambling.

The rules, however, need to be much clearer in my opinion, and this is what we should be telling the regulators. We understand how to follow our own guidelines, but when someone else breaks the rules, the whole industry is tarnished the same brush and having clear guidelines ensures we can all follow the same rules on a level playing field with no excuses.

Taking responsibility

So what’s next? The companies that deliver quality products and services that tick all the right compliance boxes will be the winners in the regulated markets. Success in the US will be all about being creative and interpreting the rules to your advantage, as my gut feeling is that the US will be stricter than anything we have ever seen before. The Swedish market, in reality, has been open for fifteen years and the regulated transition should be smooth. The population is well aware of the industry that has flooded TV commercials featuring big brands with Swedish roots.

However, the government has also been watching the industry very carefully and made it very clear from the start that player protection is high on the agenda with a universal self-exclusion tool and limits on sign-up bonuses. We don’t know exactly how the new law will be enforced and operators are still strategising on how to work with bonus offers. But I am sure the regulator and the industry will find the right balance of law interpretation over time.

Companies in all areas of the value chain need to embrace compliance, promote responsible gambling and eliminate the threat of sanctions before it is too late. The companies taking this seriously will be the future winners, the ones that can turn a disadvantage into an advantage.

We have already witnessed new opportunities with dedicated compliance media outlets and conferences, operators hiring data scientists to flag signs of problem gambling and developers building tools to support responsible gambling. Constant change keeps the gaming industry vibrant, and I am looking forward to all the great things we can achieve in a more responsible ecosystem.

Raketech CEO Michael Holmberg