December 2017

A message from the President Thank you for helping to make the 2017 Conference in Johannesburg such a great success! We had our largest attendance ever with over 250 registered attendees representing 41 gaming jurisdictions

from 33 countries and every continent. This achievement was a direct result of the hard work and efforts of all of those involved. Special thanks also to Mxolisi Zwane, Chair of the Gauteng Gambling Board (GGB) as well as Executive Director Steve Ngubeni and their staff for their committed financial, logistical and moral support. IAGR Secretariat Mariah Echele along with the on-site team led by Pam Ndaba of Project Brand together with the GGB staff, did a superb job coordinating the entire event. The conference could not have proceeded as smoothly as it did without their commitment, dedication and attention to detail. The conference program followed the theme ‘Recognizing tomorrow’s challenges by acting today’ with keynote speakers Dan Waugh, of Regulus Partners in the United Kingdom, and Gauteng Province Member of the Executive Council (MEC) Honourable Lebogang Maile opening the conference. Session topics keeping with this theme included regulating in a digital world, changes in the punter profile, the use of blockchain technology, Esports and responsible gambling. We also tried something new – an open microphone, member-driven issue and discussion session which was moderated by Birgitte Sand. The session was well received and we hope to include it again during next year’s conference.

Social activities and networking Of course, social activities along with the attendant networking opportunities, are also an important component of the conference which began with the Sunday IAGR Annual Golf Tournament and ended with the Thursday evening Farewell Dinner. The Gala Dinner on Wednesday, with the re-creation of the Vilakazi Street Market, was a memorable

Recreation of the Vilakazi Street Market

event which provided our attendees the opportunity to appreciate the look and feel of the market along with the opportunity to support local vendors and craftsmen. The entertainment along with the dancers also provided a touch of local flavour.

Contributions from GLI and IMGL I would again like to recognize and thank James Maida, President of Gaming Laboratories International (GLI), and his staff for arranging the pre-conference Regulators’ Seminar and providing it as a value-added benefit for conference attendees. As well, International Masters of Gaming Law (IMGL) members Wayne Lurie and Garron Whitesman deserve our thanks for arranging the program and speakers for

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the half-day IMGL Masterclass session. The support of both GLI and IMGL was greatly appreciated.

Trustees update At the Annual General Meeting it was announced that the following Trustees were re-elected to the Board for their final term of office: Susan Hensel (USA), Bheki Mlambo (South Africa), Fortune Sekgaphane (South Africa) and Jerry See (Singapore). I applaud them for their continued commitment and dedication to IAGR. Trude Felde (Norway) was elected by the Board to assume the role of Vice-President. Bruce Molnar (USA) and Cedrick Chiloane (South Africa) will remain as Treasurer and Secretary respectively. In accordance with the By-Laws, my term as President was extended for the coming year as former IAGR Vice-President and Trustee, Nick Tofiluk, resigned from the IAGR Board due to a change in employment. As Vice-President, Nick was instrumental in developing the theme and agenda for the successful Johannesburg conference. Nick worked tirelessly on behalf of IAGR and his insight and input will be truly missed.

Call to action! During the coming year, I hope to see more jurisdictional and ordinary members actively involved in our organization. I ask our

members to provide suggestions for conference agenda topics, volunteer as conference speakers or moderators, suggest webinars, submit articles

for our newsletters, and use the website and members’ portal for seeking information and sharing ideas with fellow regulators. I encourage all members to approach me or any other member of the Board of Trustees

with your ideas, suggestions, recommendations and even concerns or complaints which will help us better serve you and fulfill our mandate. In addition, the IAGR Board has several Trustees who are currently serving their second and final three-year terms. If you are interested in contributing your energy and vision to the leadership of IAGR and are willing to guide the association into the future, please consider responding to the next Call for Nominations prior to the next annual meeting in 2018.

Next year’s Conference Our 2018 Conference will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark at the

Hotel Scandic Copenhagen from September 17-20. Vice-President Trude Felde and former IAGR President Birgitte Sand will serve as Conference Committee Co-Chairs and will be seeking

Hotel Scandic Copenhagen

your input and suggestions very shortly. I look forward to seeing all of you there! Dale Fuga IAGR President

IAGR Conference 2017 – Johannesburg, South Africa IAGR’s Annual Conference, which took place October 16-19 in Johannesburg, has been declared a huge success by IAGR Board of Trustees and delegates alike. Dale Fuga, IAGR President and Chief Operating Officer – Liquor and Gaming Authority of Manitoba said: ‘The Conference attracted over 250 delegates. I should like to place on record my thanks for the amazing support we received from The Gauteng Gambling Board and the warm welcome we received from the people of Johannesburg.’ ‘Our program was intended to challenge and generate discussion within the overall theme “Recognizing tomorrow’s challenges by acting today”. Feedback suggests that we met this goal.’

Monday, 16 October Attendees enjoyed four days of informative and stimulating debate. The Conference began on Monday, 16 October, with an optional regulators’ seminar, organised by Gaming Laboratories International (GLI). An Opening Reception in the evening, where Dale Fuga and Mr Mxolisi Zwane, Chairperson, Gauteng Gambling Board formally welcomed delegates, provided delegates the perfect opportunity to catch up with old acquaintances and meet new colleagues. Tuesday, 17 October Dan Waugh, a Partner at Regulus Partners set the scene with his thought-provoking keynote session on “Avoiding boom and bust in gambling regulation”.

Day two also featured a keynote address from the Honourable Mr Lebogang Maile, Gauteng Province MEC for Economic Development, Agriculture, Environment and Rural Development.

Hon MEC Mr Lebogang Maile

One of his key messages was that the gambling industry had a significant role to play in promoting responsible gambling. He also recognised the important role that IAGR plays in networking, and sharing information on gaming developments and regulation. Day two continued with an insight into the changing gambling regulatory landscape in Africa, how PR can be used as a regulatory tool, an informative session on Blockchain and the difficulties of regulating the digital market, and – a first for IAGR – an open microphone session for IAGR members to share common issues. The day concluded with the IAGR Annual Business Meeting (see page 5).

Wednesday, 18 October Day three featured presentation and panel sessions with gambling harm and responsible gambling providing an overarching theme. A session on measuring and reporting gambling harm was followed by panellists debating responsible gambling policy and

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interventions with the next session tackling the issue of creating revenue within a responsible gambling environment. Sessions on eSports and associated regulatory challenges were followed by a session on Anti-money laundering (AML). The main presentations of the day concluded with a session on how to establish gambling policies in order to avoid harm for the poorest. The formal part of the day’s program concluded with updates for IAGR members on the work of IAGR Sub-Committees. But the day was not yet over! A particular highlight of the Conference was the IAGR Gala Dinner. Delegates were driven by coach to Sun International’s Time Square, Menlyn, Pretoria. The re-creation of the Vilakazi Street Market gave attendees the opportunity to appreciate the look and feel of the market along with the opportunity to support local vendors and craftsmen. The entertainment featuring musicians and local dancers

African musician – providing IAGR delegates with an authentic African experience

also added to the ambiance. Those with sufficient stores of energy enjoyed an after-dinner drinks social at the Altitude Restaurant in the Times Square Casino. An enjoyable time was had by all!

Thursday, 19 October But there was no let-up on Day 4 with the International Masters of Gaming Law (IMGL) staging two Masterclasses: the first was on the regulation of online gaming; the second on betting on lotteries and secondary lotteries. The conference concluded with a wonderful afternoon tour that took delegates to the Lion

Johannesburg’s Lion Park

Park and Apartheid Museum. The Lion Park provided delegates with unique opportunity to see Africa’s majestic lions, from cute cubs to magnificent white lions. The Apartheid Museum complex is dedicated to illustrating apartheid and the 20th century history of South Africa. The closing dinner was at the Back O’ The Moon Restaurant at Gold Reef City – an opportunity to reflect on a very successful, informative and entertaining week – and to bid farewell to the host city, Johannesburg.

Thank you Johannesburg!

The sun shone for our golfers No Conference write-up would be complete without making reference to the annual IAGR Golf Tournament!

Members and organizers of the IAGR Golf Tournament

On Sunday, October 15, an intrepid band of 40 golfers (13 regulators and 27 industry representatives) made their way to the beautiful Glendower Golf Club, which is currently home to the South Africa Open. Their mission: to take part in the annual IAGR Regulators Golf Tournament. Tournament President Atle Hamar shared the results at the IAGR Annual Business Meeting on Tuesday, October 17, commenting that this was the largest tournament that IAGR had ever hosted: Individual Stableford 1st - Mr Kenny Dichabe – Free State Gambling and Liquor Authority 2nd - Mr Steve Hall – Gauteng Gambling Board 3rd – Mr Byron San Pedro – Cagayan Economic Zone Authority Congratulations to Kenny Dichabe!

And if one Tournament was not enough, the organisers organised a second competition:

Team – 4 ball alliance with 2 score to count Results:

NAME NAME NAME NAME

Rossouw Scott Moodley Pather

Dolamo Goodgall Cilliers Mathonsi

Roux Singh Els Meyer

Dale Fuga, IAGR President said: ‘I should like to thank all those who made our golfing day such a great success. There is no doubt that Kenny was a deserved winner.’

IAGR 2017 Annual Business Meeting Report

IAGR held its seventh Annual Business Meeting on Tuesday, October 17, 2017 at the Emperors Palace Convention Center in Johannesburg, South Africa. President Dale Fuga welcomed two new Trustees who were elected to the Board in April 2017: Paul Newson, Liquor & Gaming New South Wales (Australia) and Audrey Robinson, Casino Gaming Commission (Jamaica). In addition, he recognized four Trustees who were elected to a second and final term of service: Susan Hensel, Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (USA); Bheki Mlambo, Mpumalanga Gambling Board (South Africa); Jerry See, Casino Regulatory Authority (Singapore) and Fortune Sekgaphane, North West Gambling Board (South Africa).

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Dale Fuga highlighted the following notable achievements since the previous Annual Business meeting:

• Membership: IAGR currently has 69 Jurisdictional members and 393 individual members as of October 2017. As well, the Johannesburg Conference was recognized as being the highest attended IAGR Conference since its formation as an independent organization in 2011 with over 250 total attendees.

• Milestones: The IAGR Board of Trustees experienced a busy year with three meetings (at the London ICE event, at the London GREF event and in Johannesburg) and three teleconferences since the last Annual Members Meeting. For the first time, the Board has been working simultaneously on three Annual Conferences for the years 2017-2019 to advance the planning cycle for each year's event. IAGR committed to a new Communications position to develop a communications strategy and to formalize the organization's communications via various media such as newsletters, Twitter, webinars, website and other methods. The Board conducted Member surveys to collect feedback on member satisfaction and communications. The Board is also working to develop a policy paper on sponsorships with a sensitivity to the concerns raised at the Lima 2015 Annual Members Meeting.

Financial Report

The Treasurer and the Secretariat presented the financial report with the following highlights:

• confirmation that the Annual Review was completed for the 2016 financial year

and resulted in a positive report with no modifications;

• confirmation that IAGR continues to maintain a strong cash position with significant reserves;

• graphic charts presenting the growth of membership and conferences (both numbers/attendance and revenues for each) since inception;

• an overview of the net results of operations since independence in 2011, and

• a chart for 2017 year-to-date detailing the percentage breakdown of revenues (i.e. membership dues, conference revenues, other) and the percentage breakdown of the organization's expenditures (i.e. conference production, member communications and promotion, overhead).

The annual review report was officially accepted by the Members as per the Bylaws. In addition, the Members were reminded of the three-year commitment to the current CPA firm for professional services to perform the Annual Review and tax forms. With the expiration of the initial three-year contract, a new three-year proposal with a modest price increase was presented for Member approval during the meeting. The Membership approved the new contract in recognition that this arrangement allows IAGR to better manage the costs for these services.

Sub-Committee/Working Group updates

Communications: Chair Nick Tofiluk and IAGR Communications lead Cyrrhian Goldstein shared key activities undertaken by the Sub-Committee over the past year which included:

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• New Communications Position: IAGR created a new position dedicated to a professional focus on communications and development of a communications strategy to serve the organization long-term.

• Webinars: IAGR organized a webinar in June 2017. Members may find the webinars archived on the IAGR website under Membership /Webinars. The Sub-Committee typically aims to produce two webinars each year. IAGR Members are invited to send in suggestions for specific topics or content as well as offer to lead the web-based events.

• Newsletters: IAGR produced three newsletters for the year and continued to provide a Spanish translation for each edition. Members are invited to submit articles, best practices or other news content to share with fellow regulators by contacting Cyrrhian Goldstein directly. All Member newsletters are archived on the IAGR website under About / Newsletter and in the Members' Portal.

▪ Website: The 2016 launch of the new website has resulted in a well-organized public face of IAGR and its operation. New tools have been added to track usage for analytical purposes so that IAGR may identify areas of interest. As well, Cyrrhian is now maintaining the Industry News section with up-to-date articles of interest to the regulatory community.

Membership: Dale Fuga reported on behalf of Chair Jerry See that IAGR Membership as of October 2017 included 69 Jurisdictions with 393 total Members. Two (2) new Jurisdictions joined in 2017 (Åland Islands and Liberia) with two (2) former Jurisdictional Members re-activating their membership. A formal Membership satisfaction survey conducted during the year indicated a high level of satisfaction with the Annual Conference, webinars and newsletters. Members indicated their interest in trying to foster more international collaboration and to connect more on topics including AML, online gambling and responsible gambling. Multi-Jurisdictional Business Form: Trustee Mabutho Zwane reported for Chair Fortune Sekgaphane that the objectives for the year were to promote and explore the usage of the form by Members. An annual publicity email was sent to all Members to encourage more jurisdictions to use the form. A survey will be circulated to members after the conference to collect additional feedback to make improvements to the documents. Those Jurisdictions who have adopted the form encourage fellow regulators to consider including the MJBF as an alternate to applicants. In addition, the MJBF Sub-Committee invites feedback from Members to identify the challenges that prevent some Jurisdictions from implementing the form. Further information and links to the forms may be found on the IAGR website under Membership / Multi-jurisdictional form.

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Technical Standards: The Technical Standards Sub-Committee is currently working to revise the 2008 eGambling Guidelines that are currently published on the website. Due to the size of the document and work involved by the Sub-Committee Members, this project is being addressed by individual chapter analysis over a two-year period with a goal to deliver an updated Guideline at the 2018 Copenhagen Annual Members Meeting.

In addition, members were reminded of the work performed on the Multi-Jurisdictional Testing Framework document. The 2016 focus was on RNG testing while the 2017 focus has been on game standards. Members were invited to contact Mark D'Andrea (UK) with any questions. Mark was also scheduled to present a more detailed report during a Members-Only session on Wednesday of the Johannesburg Conference week. Members may find both documents in their current format on the website under Membership / Multi-Jurisdictional Testing Framework and Membership / e-gambling Guidelines. Governance & Audit: Dale Fuga reported on behalf of Chair Blair Cairncross that the IAGR Membership had approved various Bylaw amendments at the Sydney 2016 meeting. No new amendments were proposed in 2017. He also confirmed that the Board of Trustees had approved a leave of absence for Blair due to a secondment by his national government with his return expected around February 2018. Statistics: Chair Birgitte Sand reported that the re-launch of the Statistics Sub-Committee started very strong with 38

participants in the 2017 survey. She thanked the Member Jurisdictions who served on the Sub-Committee and expressed special gratitude to IAGR Member Michael Herborn for his extensive work on the initial survey. The survey will remain open for a while after the conference to allow additional inputs from Member Jurisdictions. A formal report will be presented at the 2018 Copenhagen Annual Members Meeting but Birgitte and Michael were scheduled to present selected details during a Members-Only session on the Wednesday of the Johannesburg Conference week.

Jurisdictional Members’ Approval

President Dale Fuga introduced the following topics which required official recognition or action by the voting members:

• Amendments to the Bylaws: Dale Fuga confirmed that no new amendments were proposed for 2017 so no action was required by Members.

• Appointment of Auditor/Accountant: The Members were reminded that they had approved a three-year contract with the current CPA firm at the Philadelphia 2014 meeting in order to control the cost of professional services for the Annual Review and completion of the annual US Federal tax reports. With the expiration of that contract, a new three (3) year proposal was presented by the same CPA firm, reflecting a modest price increase. With no

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comments or questions from the membership, the new contract proposal was approved and accepted.

• IAGR Financial Statement and Audit Report: The 2016 Annual Review Report was completed and distributed to the Membership in April and again in October 2017. No comments were raised during the meeting and the Annual Review report was approved and accepted.

• IAGR Election of Board of Trustees: President Fuga again confirmed the election results for the year and introduced the two new Trustees Ms Audrey Robinson, The Casino Gaming Commission (Jamaica) and Mr Paul Newson, Liquor & Gaming News South Wales (Australia). As well, Dale confirmed that, at the close of the election prior to the Annual Meeting, only four (4) nominations were received by the Trustees standing for re-election. In accordance with the Bylaws, since the number of nominees was equal to the number of vacancies, the Trustees were automatically confirmed. With no comments from the membership, the results of the elections during 2017 were accepted and approved.

• IAGR Office Holders for 2017/2018: President Fuga informed the Membership that Nick Tofiluk resigned from the IAGR Board of Trustees and IAGR Membership due to a change in employment. The Board of Trustees proposes that the current President be extended a further twelve (12) months. Thus, the slate of new Office Holders for 2017-2018 was presented to the Membership: Dale Fuga, President;

• Trude Felde, Vice President; Bruce Molnar, Treasurer. Dale informed the membership that the issue was a complicated matter that the Board of Trustees examined. The Governance & Audit Sub-Committee will conduct a review of the Bylaws to ensure that the guidelines address similar future situations regarding Officer succession.

Trustees update As referenced in the Annual Business Meeting report (above), following the IAGR Board’s call for nominations for four available positions, four existing Trustees sought re-election and were confirmed in office with effect from October 17, which was the date of the Annual Members Meeting in Johannesburg. Please join the Board of Trustees in congratulating our four Trustees who will continue in post, serving their second and final term.

Susan Hensel, Director of Licensing Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board USA

Susan Hensel is Director of Licensing for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board having previously serving as Acting Director and as a Special Assistant to the Board. Hensel oversees the licensing of the state’s casinos

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and other gaming related companies doing business in the state as well as the employees working in and supporting the gaming industry. Hensel is Past President of the International Association of Gaming Regulators having served in that position for two terms. She previously served as Vice-President and Secretary of the association. She also serves on the association’s Board of Trustees. Hensel is a member of the International Masters of Gaming Law and International Association of Gaming Advisors. Before joining the Gaming Board, Hensel worked on gaming implementation issues as a Special Assistant to the Pennsylvania Secretary of Revenue, who is an ex-officio member of the Board. Previously, Hensel served in executive level positions with Pennsylvania state government, including serving as an Assistant General Counsel in the Governor's Office of General Counsel. Before entering state government, Hensel was a television news reporter in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Hensel earned her J.D. degree from Widener University Law School in Harrisburg, where she graduated cum laude from the evening division and was on the staff of the Law Review. She earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Bheki Mlambo, Chief Executive Officer Mpumalanga Gambling Board South Africa

Mr. Mlambo holds a Master’s degree in Business Leadership (MBL) from the University of South Africa (UNISA). He joined

the Mpumalanga Gambling Board in 1998, and has served in different capacities, including that of Investigations and Compliance Officer, head of Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 2008. He is currently a Member of IAGR’s Board of Trustees. He served as Vice President of the Association in 2015 and as President in 2016.

Jerry See, Chief Executive Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) Singapore

Jerry See is the Chief Executive of the Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) of Singapore, the agency responsible for the regulation of casinos in Singapore. He was on the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) Board of Trustees from 2014 – 2017, where he chaired the Multi-Jurisdictional Business Form Sub-committee from 2014 – early 2017, and then later assumed position as Chair of the Membership Sub-committee in 2017. Jerry is a career police officer who had held key appointments such as the Commander of the Police Coast Guard, Training Command and Director of Manpower in the Singapore Police Force. He was seconded as the Chief Executive of the Home Team Academy before taking on his current appointment.

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Fortune Sekgaphane Chief Executive Officer North West Gambling Board South Africa

In November 2007, the North West Gambling Board (South Africa) appointed Mr Fortune Sekgaphane to the position of Chief Executive Officer, effective from January 2008. Mr Sekgaphane studied law at the University of the North West (South Africa). He was employed as a Legal Officer in 1991 by the Consumer Council in the North West Province (South Africa). He left the Consumer Council of the North West in November 1996, as a Manager for the Education Department. He commenced employment with the Mpumalanga Gambling Board (South Africa) in 1997, where he served at various levels over a period of ten (10) years. He was appointed the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Mpumalanga Gambling Board in January 2003 and was subsequently appointed permanently to the same position in January 2004. During that period, he led a team which introduced Limited Payout Machines for the first time in South Africa. He served the Mpumalanga Gambling Board for a period of five (5) years, as a Chief Executive Officer with remarkable results, until his resignation in November 2007. He was appointed the Chairperson of the

Illegal Gambling and Technology Committee

of the Gaming Regulators of Africa Forum in

Mangoshi (Malawi) in 2007 and in Nairobi

(Kenya) in 2008, and has since been re-

appointed to the same position in Limpopo

(South Africa) in 2014. He presented papers

and participated in panel discussions at

various international conferences, including a

paper on Illegal Gambling and Distribution of

Gambling Machines in Africa (Nairobi, Kenya

in July 2008 and Manzini, Swaziland in August

2009) and amongst others, a panel discussion

in Rome (Italy) on Social Responsibility in the

gambling industry. He was elected to the IAGR

Board of Trustees in October 2014, in

Philadelphia.

The full list of Trustees is:

• Dale Fuga, Chief Operating Officer, Liquor and Gaming Authority of Manitoba (Canada) [President]

• Trude Felde, Senior Advisor, The Norwegian Gaming and Foundation Authority [Vice-President]

• Bruce Molnar, Chairman, Pokagon Band Gaming Commission (United States) [Treasurer]

• Blair Cairncross, Executive Director, New Zealand Gambling Commission

• Susan Hensel, Director of Licensing,

Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board

[United States]

• Bheki Mlambo, Chief Executive Officer,

Mpumalanga Gambling Board (South

Africa)

• Paul Newson, Deputy Secretary, Liquor,

Gaming & Emergency Management, New

South Wales Department of Justice

(Australia)

• David Rebuck, Director, New Jersey

Division of Gaming Enforcement (United

States)

• Audrey Robinson, Chief Executive Officer

(Acting) & General Counsel, Casino

Gaming Commission (Jamaica)

• Birgitte Sand, Director, Danish Gambling

Authority

• Jerry See, Chief Executive, Casino

Regulatory Authority of Singapore

• Fortune Sekgaphane, Chief Executive

Officer, North West Gambling Board

(South Africa)

• Mabutho Zwane, Chief Executive Officer,

Eastern Cape Gambling and Betting

Board (South Africa)

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At the Annual Business

meeting we also said

farewell to long-serving

Trustee and Vice-President,

Nick Tofiluk, formerly

Executive Director of

Regulatory Operations, at the UK Gambling

Commission.

Dale Fuga, President, paid tribute to Nick,

commenting: ‘IAGR is indebted to Nick for his

hard work and commitment to IAGR over the

years. I should like to thank him in particular

for his contribution to this year’s conference

program, where he worked alongside

immediate Past President and IAGR Patron

Bheki Mlambo in putting together a

stimulating and successful schedule whilst at

the same time chairing the Communications

Sub-Committee. I am sure IAGR members will

wish to join the Board of Trustees in wishing

Nick well in his new role.’

Trude Felde, Senior

Advisor, The Norwegian

Gaming & Foundation

Authority, was nominated

as Vice-President, following

Nick’s departure from the Board.

Conference Presentations IAGR has obtained permission to publish certain presentations from the Johannesburg 2017 Conference. Those presentations approved for public access are located on the Conference Program webpage for a limited time. IAGR Members will also find these same files as well as additional files noted as

MEMBER ONLY in the Members’ Portal under IAGR: Annual Conferences.

Photos from the Johannesburg conference are also available. Please find the link to our Flickr photo sharing albums on the IAGR website under About/Gallery.

Join a Sub-Committee

The IAGR Sub-Committees are currently working on their 2018 agendas to continue the IAGR mission to foster cooperation and communication among our members. Members are invited to join any of the Sub-Committees to contribute his or her experience and energy to this fine work. Please advise the Secretariat at iagr@iagr.org if you wish to join one of the Sub-Committees.

Communications Sub-Committee: aims to improve communications outside of the annual conference as a means of facilitating an exchange of information and ideas between regulators on an ongoing basis. Conference Sub-Committee: responsible for the planning of the 2018 conference Governance and Audit Sub-Committee: responsible for developing IAGR’s governance framework including a review of the membership structure, financial arrangements and the election process of Officer and Board of Trustee members. Membership Sub-Committee: responsible for coordinating membership outreach with new and existing members.

Multi Jurisdictional Business Form Sub-Committee: responsible for drafting and updating a Multi Jurisdictional Business Form that can be used by member jurisdictions or business applicants. Statistics Sub-Committee: responsible for the compilation of statistics as reference material.

Technical Standards Sub-Committee: responsible for drawing up international technical standards that will provide a regulator’s perspective on governance principles for defining, promulgating, maintaining and managing common technical standards for gaming equipment.

We are excited for the new energy that our members bring to IAGR and hope to tap into the broad range of experiences and ideas that you have to offer. Thank you in advance for your contributions!

Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen! Although memories of this year’s conference are still fresh in our minds, our thoughts are already turning to next year’s Annual Conference and Members’ Business Meeting. Copenhagen is the venue for next year’s Conference. It will be held between September 17 – 20 2018 at Hotel Scandic Copenhagen, Denmark. Make sure you have those dates in your diary!

The host jurisdiction, under the watchful eye of Trustee Birgitte Sand, Director of the

Danish Gambling Authority, is hard at work to ensure that the next IAGR conference is

as successful as the last. And the host jurisdiction is also keen to show off its beautiful City whose attractions include numerous palaces and buildings built by kings and queens through the rich Danish history; Nyhavn, a pleasant and idyllic area with many bars and restaurants, and Tivoli Gardens, the world’s oldest amusement park – and much more. Keep an eye on our website over the coming months for any news – and be sure to book your place. We will also send you a direct mail shortly with a lot more details!

Photo credit: Christian Lindgren

Royal Life Guards marching in the King’s

Garden,Copenhagen

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Jurisdictional profiles IAGR members are invited to send in a

jurisdictional profile to be shared with fellow

regulators. During 2017, eight (8) jurisdictions

submitted new profiles to share recent

developments in their countries. Members

will find the profiles in the Members’ Portal.

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The profiles typically include the following:

• Designated Contact

• Website link (if available)

• Background Summary and/or Recent

Developments

Please send all jurisdictional profiles to

Secretariat Mariah Echele at iagr@iagr.org or

you may post them in the Jurisdictional Profile

section in the Portal directly.

Blockchain: White knight or white elephant

For those of us who struggle to define just exactly what Blockchain is to non-specialists, the following article, authored by Christina

Thakor-Rankin, Principal Consultant, 1710 Gaming, may be of help! Touted by many as the ‘new internet’ – a game changer and disrupter, blockchain promises to radically and irrevocably change the way in which we think about transactions and their application in all aspects of life, from the world of business and commerce to personal interactions with each other. To date the poster-boy and most publicly recognisable face of blockchain has been Bitcoin, which despite blotting its copy-book

by being the currency of choice for those trading and transacting in the murky underworld of the ‘dark-web’, appears to be coming back into favour again, albeit under the general umbrella of crypto-currency. This, coupled with the fact that financial institutes amongst other major sectors are actively exploring the application and benefits of blockchain, the launch of Ethereum, a blockchain platform which allows developers to create their own ‘smart contracts’, ‘trust-less’ crowd sales and create and issue their own crypto-currency (the equivalent of a digital money-tree) is keeping the blockchain discussion front of mind.

So what is blockchain? For those who are not especially familiar with the concept, blockchain is: ‘a distributed ledger technology (or ‘DTL’) that keeps a permanent, tamper-proof list of records.’ Blockchain takes a ‘transaction’ or set of ‘transactions’ (this can be a payment, a set of contract clauses, any form of record, data or information), bundles them in a block and chains the blocks together using hashes (a reference key for the record). Each transaction block is timestamped and recorded chronologically, forming an immutable (unbreakable) chain. The records, or ‘blocks’ of information, are maintained by a peer-to-peer network – everyone in the network shares control of the information so there is no longer any need for a central controller. When changes are made to the information, or ledger, those changes are recorded across

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the blockchain. Information on the blockchain is not only shared but also continually reconciled as changes to the data are made. In simple terms blockchain provides a permanent, tamper-proof record of the entire life history of anything of value from its creation onwards. In the case of currencies this would be where it came from, who has owned it, who owns it and how much they have, whilst in the case of goods it would be a tamper-proof history of the entire supply change.

Environment of trust Having a full tamper-proof history of anything of value means that fraudsters cannot manipulate records or gain access to something which is not theirs without everyone knowing, for a transaction which cannot be validated by the peer to peer network will not be processed. It allows individuals who do not trust each other to be able to transact in an environment of trust.

The fact that everyone in the network has access to the records makes the need for a central database and administrator/ controller, or the ‘man-in-the middle’, both of which require end users to have a degree of trust, redundant, with the immediate benefits being efficiencies of process and reduction in costs, verifiable ‘public’ records which cannot be interfered with or corrupted reduction of error, and because there is no centralisation there is no single point of failure.

Challenges So, is blockchain all it is cracked up to be, and how long before it starts to play a part in our daily lives? The short answer is, maybe - but there are a few challenges to overcome first. Firstly, there is the question of trust. Whilst many may not be familiar with the concept of

blockchain, they are familiar with the stories about Bitcoin being used by criminals, terrorists, and those seeking ways to by-pass regulation such as Bitcoin gambling sites as it allows users to mask their true identities and operate at arms-length in a way which real cash does not. The blockchain and Bitcoin are not about trusting the person, they are about trusting the transaction.

Regulation Secondly, there is the question of regulation. End-users need the comfort of a protective framework, and somewhere to go when things do not go as planned. Currently blockchain appears to be a law unto itself – not unlike the internet when it first started. Even in the case of something as well established as the internet now is, the world is still navigating the challenges of protecting users and addressing criminality in a digital world without borders. Each negative experience brings a call for regulation of sorts - the most recent being the call for social media sites to do more in the fight against bullying and terror. Just as the on-going evolution of the internet will continue to bring new concerns and the need for rules to address those concerns, so the world can expect the same challenges and concerns with the evolution of emerging technologies such as blockchain. Other challenges which will need to be addressed relate to systems and transitioning between the present and the future. The evolution of the Internet of Things (IoT) has led to the development of universal protocols and operating systems which allow different technologies and devices to plug-in

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to each other, supporting a fully connected and end user experience.

15 At the start of its journey Blockchain is only at the start of its journey. There are still too many different blockchain platforms with no real governance or standard protocols which means that currently it is very difficult for one blockchain to plug-in to another blockchain, thus restricting its universal applicability. There is also the issue of how to transition from the technology of today to the technology of tomorrow, and the challenges of how blockchain might sit alongside, or be integrated into legacy systems. Many companies are still facing the challenges of upgrading old infrastructure and systems to bring them up to date with today’s world, let alone compatibility with a future technology which is not yet proven. Further, blockchain may claim to increase speed and add cost efficiencies by cutting out the middle-man and intermediaries but this is more conceptual principle than reality. Compare the performance of a sports betting platform on Grand National or World Cup final day, or an RNG driving a network jackpot which is offered by multiple individual operators to 100s of concurrent players to the time taken to process a blockchain transaction. David Gilbert of the IB Times states: ‘The average time it takes for a Bitcoin transaction to be verified is now 43 minutes, and some transactions remain unverified forever’. Within the world of betting and gambling, a bet that cannot be confirmed before the ‘off’, or a spin which takes minutes to result, or never results is simply not an option. Until blockchain systems can operate in real-time

the world of gambling, and others including payments where customers now expect instant authorisation and execution is some way off. The lack of a centralised ledger or database certainly reduces the cost of a central data repository, but replaces it with the cost of multiple ledgers. The cost of replicating a database several times over across a network, is significantly greater than one current central database.

Usability Finally, there is the issue of usability. The internet, smartphones, augmented and virtual reality have or are starting to succeed because of their ease of use. Blockchain has some way to go before the user experience is as simple to use and as user friendly as the internet. And these are just the high-level obvious challenges based upon the world of technology as we know it today. What we have no real visibility on is how the technology which supports blockchain and upon which it has been developed may change, or how other emerging technology such as machine learning and AI (Artificial Intelligence - a machine imitating a human) might impact or influence blockchain. There are also non-technical challenges such as laws and regulations relating to crime and source of funds, and data protection and the right to erasure, the requirements of which seemingly could run contrary to the way in which blockchain currently works. Blockchain may well be the next ‘big thing’, or it may just be the sandbox which acts as a stepping stone to the next ‘big thing’ – only time will tell.

Meeting cross-border

challenges through

collaboration: an Australian

perspective

Australia’s online gambling laws were overhauled in 2017 to clarify which services are prohibited and to enhance the enforcement role of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). This article outlines the main legislative changes and how the ACMA is approaching the challenges of cross-border online gambling.

Screen capture from the ACMA’s video ‘Interactive gambling: Australia’s key rules’

The Interactive Gambling Act and its

policy objectives

The objective of Australia’s Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA) is to minimise harm to problem gamblers by limiting what interactive gambling services are available. It aims to reduce other social and financial impacts of offshore gambling, including threats to the integrity of sport and loss of revenue to Australian operators, sporting bodies and the government. The IGA prohibits online gambling services such as casino-style games, including poker, scratchies and live or ‘in-play’ betting.

Telephone betting services, online wagering services (except for in-play betting) and online lotteries are specifically excluded from the prohibition.

Reforms, penalties and disruptive

measures

The IGA amendments, which began on 13 September 2017, clarify what services are prohibited and strengthen the ACMA’s enforcement and disruption mechanisms. The amendments make it clear that:

• Certain online gambling services (as described above) are prohibited and cannot be provided or advertised in Australia.

• It’s illegal to provide online gambling services to Australians unless the person or company holds a licence under the law of an Australian state or territory.

• Third parties, such as agents or affiliates, may also be subject to civil penalties if they’re found to be in any way knowingly concerned in, or party to, a contravention of the IGA.

Penalties of up to A$7.9 million per day can apply to corporations that provide prohibited or unlicensed services, under a new civil penalty regime enforced by the ACMA. This complements the IGA’s existing criminal penalty provisions.

We also publish a register of Australian-licensed interactive wagering providers, so people know what services are legal in Australia.

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A number of other measures intended to disrupt or deter prohibited activities - outlined at prohibited activities have also been introduced, along with a video summarising the key reforms.

Collaboration is key

Our initial focus has been to raise awareness of the IGA reforms within the international online gambling industry. A key element has been to seek assistance from a number of regulators to inform operators licensed in those jurisdictions about the IGA changes, so

they can take the necessary steps to avoid contravening Australian law. While our engagement efforts are ongoing, and include other stakeholders like payment-processing companies, software providers and industry associations, we have greatly appreciated help from other regulators. We will continue to monitor longer term impact but, in some cases, there has been an immediate effect. For example, we saw a huge spike in traffic to our website following an e-bulletin from the UK Gambling Commission that included an article on IGA reforms. You will no doubt also be aware of widely reported correspondence from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement to its licensees. There are many practical and legal challenges in regulating a cross-border activity like online gambling. It’s clear that collaboration within the regulatory community is key. A cooperative approach will also promote a better understanding of current or emerging regulatory issues, provide opportunities to deal with the challenges of compliance and enforcement activities, and explore options to streamline regulatory activities.

The IAGR conference this year was an invaluable forum for promoting these relationships and conversations. We look forward to continuing these discussions. For further information about the changes in Australian interactive gambling law and regulation, or to discuss any of the issues raised in this article, please email Jeanette Knowler, Manager, Interactive Gambling Taskforce, at jeanette.knowler@acma.gov.au.

We want your news! We are keen to feature news from IAGR jurisdiction members on the IAGR website and in this newsletter. If you have something say, please email Cyrrhian Goldstein on media@iagr.org or ask your communications teams to add Cyrrhian to their news release mailing list at the same email address. The deadline for inclusion in our next newsletter is 1 March 2018.

News Round-up Here are just some of the headlines that have been making global news from across member jurisdictions and their governments over the past few months: Pennsylvania to become 4th state to allow online gambling UK Government launches consultation on changes to gaming machines Liquor & Gaming NSW publishes strategic plan Camilla Rosenberg to head up Swedish Gambling Authority Switzerland to allow land-based casinos to launch online gambling sites Michigan considers new online gambling bill Netherlands to bring in temporary gambling tax increase

Use the IAGR website to promote your message

Does your regulatory agency have a job opening? A request? Or proposal? Or another announcement? If so, send the item to the IAGR secretariat at iagr@iagr.org for posting to the News section on www.iagr.org. It won’t cost you a thing! Be sure to include in your listing any deadlines by which a response is needed.

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Season’s greetings!

The IAGR Board of Trustees wishes all IAGR members season’s

greetings and best wishes for a happy and healthy 2018!