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when conducting such cases takes a lot of time and energy. We support law enforcement agencies and provide information as best we can as the regulated gaming industry. SP: You have substantial experience in this industry as a legal practitioner and now with AGEM. When you look back, how have you seen Responsible Gaming evolve in the gaming machine sector? DD: I think a good place to start is the record we have as an industry for being responsible partners in gaming to the point where we’re no longer automatically viewed as a problem when we talk about Responsible Gambling. There’s a much more widely-held view, supported by research, that we provide a legitimate adult leisure activity, with certain safeguards and protections, that people can enjoy responsibly rather than it being seen as a public harm that needs to be immediately addressed. I think that’s progress and shows we’ve done a good job over the last couple of decades. It also shows we care about Responsible Gaming as an industry. We have funded academic and scientific research to inform views in an objective fashion, rather than relying on anecdotes, to better understand the issues surrounding problem gambling and better facilitate the activity in a responsible way. RG has been a major focus of AGEM over the years. We have a dedicated Responsible Gaming Director in Connie Jones and AGEM dedicates 20 percent of our annual budget to RG initiatives. So we have put our money where our mouth is and we don’t hide from the issues of responsible gambling. Our industry wants to be part of the solution and we support measures to keep people participating safely and responsibly. SP: We have seen approaches to RG change, especially in Europe. Gambling used to be a consumer choice with easily available and honest product information. I am reminded of the Reno Model developed two decades ago by Blaszczynski, Ladouceur and Shaffer that described a shared responsibility. Now the onus is on operators to be responsible, at least in Europe, rather than for consumers to take responsibility, too. I get the impression it’s different in North America, but I’d be interested in your perspective. DD: I think we are still closer to your original model in
North America. People know the rules, there are safeguards in place, and some off ramps if they need them with support and resources. What’s also happened is that regulated gaming has become much more critical to public policy and revenues as it has grown. It supports education and infrastructure with billions of dollars when you look at the overall impact of our industry. So, the emphasis is less on preventing people from taking part, and more on providing ways for them to do so responsibly. That’s where the size and the scale of that unregulated black market is an issue we can all point to. By making it more difficult for people to take part in this authorized, regulated activity, we’re pushing them into the unregulated market where there are no protections. At the same time, there’s no public benefit because that activity is not contributing to the public treasury. SP: Over the last few years the focus has increasingly been on iGaming. This has been the growth sector. How relevant are slots still to the industry and how can the supply side to the industry help the broader industry achieve its goals? DD: For AGEM, this is one of our key messages. The supplier side of the industry is growing and we’re providing many thousands of high-quality technology jobs around the globe. So, when the broader industry tries to talk to governments or to the public, don’t forget about us. We are a growing segment that makes a significant economic contribution wherever we are around the globe. Our supplier members are additive and complementary to all the things that you’re doing out there. AGEM recently conducted an economic impact study for the global gaming equipment supply industry. Our data show that the industry has bounced back from a low during COVID so we are almost on a par with pre-pandemic numbers. We have a combined direct economic impact of close to US$23 billion and account for over 77,000 jobs and that’s before the indirect effects are accounted for. That shows there’s real economic impact from the supplier side of the industry. So that’s what I think the message of the next couple of years will be. It’s not just the public-facing operations: benefits come from the B2B participants too. That’s where we make a contribution and provide more support to our communities. We think that’s a good story and we want to keep telling it.
IMGL MAGAZINE | JUNE 2025
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