The first free webinar of 2023 went under the name “Gambling advertising in a state of regulatory flux: what does it mean for the gambling brands? State of regulations. Dynamics, impact. What is next?”, hosted by industry top experts who unveiled thought provoking perspective. During the online discussion, Rossi McKee, Dr. Joerg Hofmann, Dr. Joseph F. Borg, Gemma Boore and James Illingworth all shared their thoughts and observations on the subject.

James Illingworth,  a Vice President of Sales EMEA at GLI Europe and a moderator of the event, kicked the panel off with the question “On the EU perspective of advertising do we see member states with the cross-border solution policy in the near future or are we talking individual regulations at the moment?”

Gemma Boore, Senior Associate with Harris Hagan, gave the UK perspective explaining that since the UK is not part of the EU anymore cannot be expected any kind of regulatory alignment with the measures taken in another jurisdictions but certainly there are trends. 

Rossi McKee, Founder, CT Gaming and Telematic Interactive Bulgaria AD, Honorary Chairman of AGIB, gave a very clear picture of the gambling dynamics in Bulgaria and helped the listeners understand the impact of the latest regulatory changes and how they will reflect the market. She explained in detail how the Bulgarian operators came together and concluded a memorandum, through which they limited their own advertising activity. McKee explained that this happened as a result of a mass spread of gambling advertising and intensive public activities. 

In the course of the discussion, Dr. Joerg Hofmann, Senior Partner at Melchers Law Firm, talked about the importance of each European country having adequate legislation that ensures that legal and illegal operators can be competitive, and he concluded that currently the German operators are not. He said: “Operators should learn from each other. The first message to be advertised is – I am a legal operator” and advised them to do some lobbying, provide information, and organize events.

The specialists talked about the best strategies and how the restrictions could work practically in favour of the operators. They answered different questions raised by the attendees, one of whom wanted to know what happens if a new operator enters a country with a total ban on gambling advertising, and how the company is supposed to promote its products using only legal means. Dr. Joseph F. Borg, Partner, Head of Innovative Technologies Advisory, answered that having a ban on advertising puts the new operator in unfair competition because he cannot compete with the old ones. At the end, he concluded: “The regulations are necessary, but we should find balanced ones that do not harm the business”.

The participants discussed very important subtopics like affiliates, trends, escalations of restrictions and possible directions and future challenges in terms of advertising law. 

It is the first in the series of webinars and accompanying events, part of the conference EEGS 2023, which will be held on November 22 – 23, at Inter Expo Center Sofia, Bulgaria. 

You can watch a recording of the Webinar on EEGS channel in YouTube here: https://bit.ly/3I3TNik