Industry experts have lamented the potential consequences of a paperwork blunder that alleged illegal offshore operations for a major UK operator.
Speaking during the SBC Player Protection Digital Day, the panel were reacting to a news story from The Guardian reported earlier this week, in which an unnamed company inadvertently disclosed documents to the regulator that indicated it had been directing VIP customers to offshore operators.
At a time when many in the industry believe that they are getting squeezed by ever-tightening regulations, such alleged misconduct is a clear “own goal”, said Peter Marcus, CEO of Savvy Hill Marketing and formerly of Entain and Betfair.
“It’s Christmas come early to some of these Labour politicians in the UK who are trying to ban gambling or put a 50% tax on it,” he said.
Simon Westbury, Strategic Advisor for 1xBet, also questioned the logic of some within the industry that are adopting practices that prioritise short-term financial results over the long-term health of the industry as a whole.
He used the example of a recently announced partnership between the hugely controversial online figure Andrew Tate and the crypto gambling site Duel.com.
“It gets some column inches, but is that what we really want as an industry?” he said. “Unfortunately, I think we’ve seen as the industry’s evolved, people were in this for the betterment of the industry, but now some people view it as a short-term solution to make as they can and two fingers up to the rest of you.”
Just as Marcus before him, Westbury was quick to emphasise the role of governments in ultimately shaping the industry.
“Politics drives the regulation for the regulators to apply,” he warned. “So we do really need to grow up, behave ourselves and engage better as an industry to try and change that perception because perception is everything.”
‘Talent issues in regulators’
The conversation also examined the relationship between regulators and operators. While in the past, many have viewed it as an adversarial situation, it’s becoming clear that a more symbiotic relationship needs to flourish.
A transition is essential should this relationship evolve, with the need for the industry to switch from the poacher to gamekeeper.
“One thing that’s always frustrated me is that in almost every other regulator, you have people from the industry,” added Marcus.
“I would beg the industry globally and the regulators to start paying more and bringing people from the industry over. If that happens, what you’re going to have is a better understanding on both sides. They’d be able to educate the authorities on how the industry really works. Because some of the regulations that come out around the world are unusable.”
