EDITORIAL
The IMGL Magazine reaches from BRICs to clicks, from A.I. to A.M.L.
B
SIMON PLANZER PHD , Editor in Chief IMGL MAGAZINE
RICs was an acronym coined in the early 2000s identifying Brazil, Russia, India and China as the four rising global
2024 could well be, by contrast, the year of breakthrough and where things change. Brazil’s multi-layered system of government finally coalesced around Law No. 14,790/23 which brings both sports betting and casino gaming within the country’s legal and, crucially, tax frameworks. The unregulated market in the most populous Latin-American country was estimated at around US$25 billion in 2022 making it one of the biggest commercial stories outside the US in recent years. Whilst the details are yet to be ironed out, it is already clear that international operators are pointing their compasses towards Latin America. Within these pages we have details and an initial analysis of both the law and the opportunities it brings. India’s doors may not have been opened yet quite as dramatically but we have kept covering several important developments in the past few years. The powers of state-wide authorities to impose religious or culturally based restrictions on gambling have been challenged in the country’s parliament and courts. The result has been a
economic powers and representing large parts of the global population. In the intervening 20+ years all four have risen up the GDP ranking (with only Russia being left being and sitting outside the top-10). From the perspective of the regulated gambling industry, however, it has not been the same success story. No matter how fast these economies have grown, none of them has represented a significant opportunity for expansion by international operators into regulated markets. China continues to maintain its ban on onshore gambling and has used its economic and political power under President Xi to curtail offshore gambling activities in the surrounding region. Russia has been off limits to most foreign investors for obvious reasons in the last couple of years and even before launching its war on Ukraine, was not a hotspot of foreign investment.
For the other two BRICs, Brazil and India,
Contents 6
Brazil scores a winning goal with sports betting & igaming regulations France opens market for games based on monetizable digital assets
13 18 22 26 32 38 41 45 50 54 58
Artificial Intelligence in the Gaming Industry
Void In Quebec: Sweepstakes Contests in La Belle Province
Preparing for India’s new data protection law
Full revamp of Argentina’s AML/CFT regulations applicable to the gambling sector
Unregulated Skill Gaming – Is it time for regulation? How do virtuals with AI technology get licensed? Time for Africa? Regulator’s big beasts visit Botswana
The case for legalized gambling: how legal, regulated sports betting benefits society
The domino effect of regulation
IMGL’s spring conference in Tampa Bay will banish the winter blues
IMGL MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2023 IMGL MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2024
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