At the International Association of Gaming Regulators conference, Tim Miller, executive director of the U.K. Gambling Commission, said the global growth of gambling “heightens old challenges and brings with it new risks as well.”
The industry is growing at a faster rate than regulators can handle, according to iGaming Business.
Based on gross gaming revenue, the U.K. market is a £14.1 billion (US$19.2 billion) industry yet the budget for those who regulate this industry is only £18 million per year.
“I’m not suggesting that a regulator needs to match the resources of the regulated, but we at least need to be properly equipped to keep pace with the speed at which the industry is innovating and evolving,” Miller said.
It is difficult for regulators to regulate a company in one place when it continues to branch out into other areas, Miller said. It’s also difficult to come up with a uniform approach when various jurisdictions have different tactics and rules.
“The answer to the risks and harms that come with internationalization lie in being even more open to the change and from embracing the opportunities that come with such an attitude,” Miller said.
In other IAGR news, the inaugural International Regulatory Awards honored Great Britain’s Gambling Commission and New South Wales’s Office of Responsible Gambling. The winners were announced September 15 at a gala in Boston during the conference, according to Asia Gaming Brief.
A committee comprised of IAGR Trustees and independent stakeholders chose the winners.
The Gambling Commission won for regulatory excellence for their wide-scale collaboration with the industry, leading to a fast track of consumer protection changes.
“The Regulatory Excellence award recognizes an outstanding contribution to gambling regulation,” explains Catherine Myers, IAGR Trustee and CEO of the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation in Australia.
The Office of Responsible Gambling’s sports betting campaign received the award for best regulatory campaign.
“The judges felt the campaign was a fresh, novel approach to addressing safer gaming. The nomination successfully demonstrated how it was effective, particularly as it was subject to a peer-review process to show how the campaign made use of data and customer insights.” Myers said.
