A Message from the President, Susan Hensel

Transcription

1 SEPTEMBER 2013 EDITION Leading the World in Gaming Regulation A Message from the President, Susan Hensel With my second term as IAGR President set to expire in October, I wanted to thank you, the membership, for the opportunity to have served as your leader. Together we, along with Vice President Lau Peet Meng and a talented Board of Trustees, have accomplished a lot. We have: Fully transitioned to a viable independent, non profit association supported by accounting, tax and legal professionals. Heightened IAGR s visibility as an important contributor to improving gaming regulation through increased participation at international conferences and articles featured in International Masters of Gaming Law magazines and other publications. Appointed sub committees to advance projects meaningful to bettering gaming regulation: Multi jurisdictional Business Form Development (see page 5) Knowledge Sharing (see page 4) Gaming Statistics (see page 5) Communications Membership Hired a Secretariat to handle day to day association operations. Created a new website with enhanced functionality, including videos. Launched of a new members only Portal. Achieved record membership with 54 jurisdictions now members. Organized a successful conference in Singapore and what is shaping up to be an excellent event in Oslo. Established a social media presence with IAGR now on LinkedIn & Twitter. Developed of a professional logo and tagline IAGR Leading the World in Gaming Regulation. Introduced a professionally produced IAGR promotional video (available at if you haven t seen it). Entered into strategic relationships with other regulatory associations and industry groups. President Susan Hensel at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore It has been a pleasure to work for you and with you on these and other efforts. IAGR is well positioned for the next steps in its evolution and will be in good hands as Lau Peet Meng, Chief Executive, Singapore Casino Regulatory Authority takes over the helm in October. Thank you for the honor of allowing me to serve as your President. What s on Your Mind? We Want to Know! We welcome any contributions to the newsletter. If you are interested in contributing an article of offer any suggestions, please IAGR Secretary Trude Felde at tfe@lotteritilsynet.no. In addition, we spoke of enhancing association benefits to IAGR members during I would like to thank those of you who shared your thoughts with me. Again, your suggestions to improve member services are always welcome and appreciated.

2 EU ACTION PLAN Online Gambling By Harrie Temmink, Deputy Head of Unit; European Commission practices in the area of gambling services, including its international dimension. Provide better protection of consumers and citizens On 23 October 2012 the European Commission presented an action plan proposing a series of initiatives to ensure that online gambling services in the EU go hand in hand with measures to protect public policy interests 1. The aim is to clarify the regulation on online gambling, encourage cooperation between Member States, ensure an adequate level of consumer protection throughout the EU, prevent fraud and money laundering, and foster the fight against match fixing. This contribution takes stock of the achievements so far. Throughout the EU, Member States concur on the objective of protecting citizens although they differ in terms of the regulatory and technical approaches. Appropriate action is needed to draw consumers away from unregulated and potentially harmful offers and to protect minors as well as other vulnerable groups from accessing gambling facilities. The European Commission is preparing a common set of (non binding) EU principles including registration of players, age verification, identification controls, reality checks, protection of player funds etc. as well as responsible advertising 3. The adoption of these principles is foreseen for the first quarter of In addition, more research is being conducted about the causes of gambling related problems 4. Online gambling services are on the rise in the EU. There are currently about 7 million users gambling online, responsible for an expected 13 billion in annual revenues by The 28 Member States face societal, regulatory and technical challenges which often have a cross border dimension. Yet, the national regulatory frameworks in the EU differ considerably. There is also a significant number of gambling websites without any form of control, often operating from outside the EU. These sites expose EU consumers to risks such as fraud and money laundering. A key objective of the European Commission s initiatives is to protect consumers of gambling services within the EU through adequate regulatory measures. A European framework for online gambling should contribute to making authorised gambling opportunities more easily recognised and more attractive so that consumers are dissuaded from using unregulated websites. The Commission has therefore proposed a comprehensive set of initiatives and works together with the Member States as well as with other interested parties to realise the public policy objectives. Improve administrative cooperation The Commission encourages Member States to have independent gambling regulators which should communicate smoothly with other public authorities. In December 2012, as a first step towards the creation of a network for administrative cooperation between Member States, the Commission set up an Expert Group on Gambling Services. The Group is composed of representatives of the Member States authorities regulating gambling services and meets on a regular basis 2. Its main tasks are to advise the Commission on policy initiatives and to bring about an exchange of information and good. Harrie Temmink (Deputy Head of Unit, European Commission, Directorate General Internal Market and Services, Brussels) Prevent fraud and money laundering The Commission, Member States and industry are working together to tackle problems in the area of identity theft, bank card fraud and money laundering. In February 2013 the Commission proposed an extension of the Anti Money Laundering Directive to cover all forms of gambling, instead of the current EU legislation which makes only casino games subject to the money laundering requirements of the Directive 5. The Commission is also exploring the possibility of introducing an EU standard for online gambling equipment, including gambling software.

3 Online Gambling Action plan Continued... Eliminate match fixing Betting related match fixing is a specific type of fraud. The fight against match fixing requires concerted and coordinated efforts from public authorities, sports organisations and gambling operators. The Commission participates actively in the work of the Council of Europe on a Convention against the manipulation of sport results 6. In 2014 it will contribute to safeguarding the integrity of sports by adopting best practices in the prevention and combatting of betting related match fixing. Ensure compliance with EU law National rules in the Member States must respect EU law. The Court of Justice of the EU has confirmed that Member States may restrict the cross border supply of online gambling services on the basis of public policy objectives that they seek to protect (protection of consumers, preservation of public order etc.). However, they must demonstrate the suitability and necessity of the national restrictive measure in question, and the public interest objectives must be pursued in a genuine and consistent manner. The Commission has received numerous complaints and it has launched infringement cases against Member States. It is now accelerating the completion of its assessment of national provisions and it will soon take further concrete enforcement actions where necessary 7. 1 Communication Towards a comprehensive European framework for online gambling, COM (2012) 596 final. See gambling/communication/index_en.htm. An accompanying Staff Working Document provides more details on the proposed actions and includes an overview of the relevant case law of the European Court of Justice. 2 See group/index_en.htm (including minutes of the meetings held) For instance in the context of the EU co funded research project ALICE RAP alice rap.html 5 crime/index_en.htm#news 6 See convention match fixing_en.htm. 7 New developments on the compliance policy of the European Commission can be consulted under index_en.htm Mr. Harrie Temmink will attend The IAGR conference in Oslo on Tuesday 1 st of October as a speaker. The audience will be given an update on the implementation of the Action Plan which the European Commission presented on 23 October Issues to address include the compliance policy, administrative cooperation and enforcement of national laws, the protection of consumers and citizens, the prevention of fraud and money laundering, and safeguarding the integrity of sports and preventing match fixing.

4 Subcommittees Knowledge Sharing Join IAGR s newly established knowledge sharing groups By Birgitte Sand, member of the Board of Trustees and Chair of the Membership Subcommittee IAGR has grown considerably since the association incorporated in early 2011 and has as of August jurisdictional members and 105 ordinary members. To accommodate IAGR s growing membership base in respect of knowledge sharing, the Membership Subcommittee has established six knowledge sharing groups on IAGR s portal. Our vision is to increase knowledge sharing between IAGR s members and thus offer a year round forum in which gaming regulators, both senior and lower level staff, around the world can exchange views, expertise and discuss policy issues. In a sense, the knowledge sharing groups are a supplement to IAGR s annual conference, which has proven fruitful in terms of networking, learning and sharing experiences. The EU Expert group on gambling services, composed of Member State s authorities responsible for regulating gambling services, was set up by the European Commission to provide the Commission with advice and expertise on gambling services. The Expert group is an example of the kind of cross border cooperation which is valuable to keep abreast of international developments as well as facilitate coherence between local regulatory initiatives and on going developments at regional level. Our ambition is that IAGR s knowledge sharing groups will develop and grow to be a significant platform for IAGR s members. Once the groups have consolidated they are expected to share updates, reports, etc. on for example IAGR s LinkedIn group, website and newsletter. We also aim to establish special sessions and webinars for the knowledge sharing groups throughout the year and at the annual IAGR conference. We expect the knowledge sharing groups to grow to be one of the association s cornerstones for knowledge sharing on all levels and around the globe both between and within continents. This goes hand in hand with our mission to advance the effectiveness and efficiency of gaming regulation by providing a forum in which gaming regulators from around the world can meet, exchange views and information, and discuss policy issues I am convinced that IAGR is able to tie gaming regulators around the world together and by sharing our experiences and challenges we can make a difference and lead the world in gaming regulation. I would like to encourage all ordinary members to support the development of the knowledge sharing groups by joining one or more groups. All inputs and new ideas are most welcome and members may decide their own level of participation.

5 subcommittees IAGR INTRODUCES NEW STATISTICS SUBCOMMITTEE By Bheki Mlambo, Chair, Statistics Subcommittee BACKGROUND The intention with the establishment of the Statistics Committee is to create a platform for sharing information with a view to enable the IAGR member jurisdictions to make informed regulatory decisions and to learn from the experiences of the other member jurisdictions. This necessitated the creation of a form to be populated by the member jurisdictions to have key information and offers members a quick snapshot of each jurisdiction s detail. The intention is to link the Statistics link on the main IAGR website to respective jurisdictions stats page, then members can go directly to the jurisdiction they want for more details. The statistics form was approved by the IAGR board of trustees and certain member jurisdictions expressed interest to complete the form and these included The Nevada Gaming Control Board, The Danish Gaming Authority, Casino Regulatory Authority of Singapore, Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, etc. PROGRESS Some of the member jurisdictions who expressed interest in completing the statistics form submitted the information and there are still outstanding forms from other member jurisdictions to be submitted. The intention is that upon receiving all the completed forms, an analysis will be conducted of all the information submitted to establish firstly whether there is common understanding of the requested information. This will enable us to make an informed decision whether the forms need to be further improved or not. Once this has been done and the information is completed, we will then begin to figure out how it will have to be packaged, to make it meaningful to the IAGR membership. Depending on time and resources, we will consider if the information received could be put into a booklet of some sort. In addition to the booklet, the information will have to be put onto the IAGR website, in a meaningful way which might include the creation of an online database to collect information from member jurisdictions, at one accessible point and allowing for real time consolidation into statistical analyses reports. This can be enabled by multi user entry of information into the created field on the online web data site. The different solutions are still under consideration at this stage. Consider Adopting the Multi Jurisdictional Business Form By Lau Peet Meng, Chair, Multi Jurisdictional Business Form Subcommittee The Multi Jurisdictional Business Form (MJBF) subcommittee has been continuing its work on the latest version of the form. The form has been shared with the membership and with industry representatives to obtain feedback. Most recently, the MJBF subcommittee met to discuss comments from member jurisdictions, and from the industry as submitted by the American Gaming Association. The form is undergoing further refinement before being presented to members at the coming conference in Oslo. One of the key benefits of the form will be that it will help member jurisdictions that are currently using written submissions to move toward a PDF electronic submission which can be extracted for use by various jurisdictions. We are also exploring with the Great Britain Gambling Commission the creation of an online portal that will enable the form to be submitted online to relevant jurisdictions. We would like to encourage members to consider adopting the form at the coming conference.

6 Jurisdictional updates NEW VISIT LIMIT REGIME IN SINGAPORE Established in February 2012, the vision in creating the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) was for a modern, efficient, high performing and networked regulator which approaches its role with consistency, transparency and fairness in decision making. To perform this work the VCGLR has six functional units Licensing, Compliance, Legal Services, Strategy and Planning, Finance and Business Services, and People and Culture. In the first 12 months of operation, the focus was firmly on establishing the new organisation, setting strategic priorities, maintaining service delivery in a time of change, and implementing gaming and liquor industry reform. During this time the VCGLR reshaped the state s gaming industry in the most significant restructure seen in 20 years, where key responsibilities for owning and operating gaming machines were transferred from the duopoly of Tatts and Tabcorp to more than 500 venues. As part of this, every electronic gaming machine was connected to a state wide monitoring system to ensure integrity in gaming. Another key achievement was the completion and release of the VCGLR s major five year review of the state s sole casino Crown. The Casino Regulatory Authority of Singapore works closely with the Ministry of Social and Family Development to develop social safeguards to contain the harm that casino gambling can cause to minors, vulnerable persons and society at large. Key social safeguard measures include an entry levy system (whereby a Singapore resident would need to pay a S$100 levy to enter a casino for a 24 hour period, or purchase an annual levy at S$2,000) and exclusion system. The range of social safeguard measures was broadened in June this year with the introduction of a visit limit system, following a major review of the Casino Control Act. An individual or his family member can now apply to set a voluntary limit on the number of times that he can visit the casinos in a month, to help him to manage his gambling habits. The National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) may also impose a mandatory visit limit on an individual who has been assessed (on the basis of credit records, work situation and information from family members) to be financially vulnerable or at risk of problem gambling. new visit limit system complements the existing exclusion system, allowing for greater flexibility to calibrate the social safeguard measures to the needs and circumstance of the vulnerable or at risk individual. VCGLR oversees the cap on the number of gaming machines in Victoria. Up to 30,000 machines are allowed across the state up to 2,500 at the casino and up to 27,500 in other venues and these are underpinned by municipal, regional and venue based limits. There are more than 700 Keno outlets in the state and almost 800 wagering and betting agents. The VCGLR assesses and approves more than 3,000 minor gaming activities annually, such as bingo and trade promotions, as well as more than 3,200 gaming industry employee licence approvals. The focus for the second year is on building on these achievements and developing opportunities through innovation and integration. This work is progressing through developing a better integrated information and communications system, defining a consistent approach to risk based regulation, and working to reduce red tape and the burden on business. Integrating the work of the previous liquor and gambling regulators has proven to be a practical, efficient and common sense reform, and has created an efficient and dynamic independent regulator that ensures the integrity of the Victorian gambling and liquor industries and is committed to minimising harm.

7 Jur Upcoming events