The aim of “The future of online gambling” summit that took place at Portcullis House in Westminster, London, gathered by the All Party Betting & Gaming Group (APBGG) was to discuss the key matters concerning the i-gaming’s future.
The programme included speeches made by Richard Flint, CEO of Sky Betting & Gaming, Anthony Werkman, marketing and operations director for Betway, and Clive Hawkswood, CEO of the Remote Gambling Association, who first spoke of the online industry and then addressed some other issues in a Q & A time, which was hosted by Philip Davies, chairman of the APBGG.
One of the most challenging issue concerned maximum stakes available online regulation and the decision of whether or not reduce the stakes in certain games, similarly to the case of fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) in the land-based sector.
Richard Flint said: “It is a risk [heavier regulation], but policy making should be data-driven. The data to restrict FOBTs in the way it’s being talked about doesn’t seem to be there. But it is a risk, because in the industry, we’re not necessarily doing a great job of presenting a positive case and presenting facts.”
Clive Hawkswood added that: “ Things go wrong sometimes. If you look at those cases, individual errors were made. They held their hands up. You’ve got say: ‘Yeah, that is how we control you, and move on.’”
