IMGL Magazine: April 2022

The focus on regulation is led by Birgitte Sand, former Danish gambling regulator, with some advice based on experience and hindsight. Then we have a whistle-stop tour of the globe with regulatory updates from Ireland, Singapore, the Philippines and ending with a special report from the IMGL-sponsored World Regulatory Briefing.

Along the way we point the way to the likely impact of the UK’s Gambling Act Review which Regulus Partners’ Dan Waugh calls A Drama in Five Acts. He reports that each act is getting progressively darker before pointing the way to changing the narrative.

Editor Phil Savage’s first analysis of the war in Europe looks at the impact of western sanctions and the reaction of non-NATO countries to conclude that Russia’s “special military operation” is going to affect us all. The gaming industry in this important region has been decimated but Ukraine and Russia will not be the only ones to suffer. Confidence in an established European order has been shaken and restrictions on cross-border transactions are likely to hit those businesses which rely on trading remotely.

The biggest impact, though, is likely to be on inflation and a combination of rising costs and a stagnant economic outlook is a challenge that the gaming industry has not faced before.

Lightening the mood, somewhat, we look at the role of NFTs and other virtual digital assets in gaming with contributions from Mexico and India. Perhaps not the first places we might think of when it comes to the latest technology, there is evidence that Mexico is leap frogging into the digital age and that the explosion of igaming in India is fuelling increased confidence in the value of digital assets (as long as users stay the right side of the law).

Plenty for everyone so enjoy the issue!