Paul Burns, CEO of the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA); and Karen Sierra-Hughes, vice president of Latin America and Caribbean at Gaming Laboratories International, were featured speakers on a panel highlighting successful launches of sports betting and online casinos.
Burns noted how Ontario launched online sports betting and online casino games early this month through close cooperation by a broad coalition of partners to make it happen.
“The CGA was there, but sports groups and communities were also there and they had stronger voices than the gaming industry’s,” Burns said, according to CDC Gaming Reports. “The Canadian Olympic Committee and sports clubs also took part in public hearings and were telling lawmakers ‘do this.’”
Sierra-Hughes lauded business-friendly regulations as fueling online gaming and sportsbooks Latin America. She said many countries in Latin America are assessing or are in the process of passing new iGaming regulations, but “lobbyists are not regulated and have political contacts and objectives,” reported CDC. She said Brazil had been “really interesting because it opened discussions at the Chamber (of Deputies) level” and GLI participated three times in discussions about online gaming and betting regulation, which provided a more qualitative and varied perspective that could be applied to numerous stakeholders.
“Public consultation is very helpful and provides valuable input and enables both the industry and regulators avoid mistakes by doing that.”
