EDITORIAL
Advertising: a tale of bans, evidence and education
W elcome to the 10th issue of the IMGL Magazine! It offers a broad spread of expert reading matter from around the world authored by subject matter experts from three continents. When launching the IMGL Magazine, we made it a priority to establish a global reach of both authors and readers. You will also find contributions that take a transnational perspective on topical matters, illustrating the relevance of recent developments in gaming beyond national or state borders such as the one by Executive Vice President Dunbar on virtual gambling, Portanier’s article on ESG or Portela de Carvalho’s contribution on influencer marketing. Transnational perspectives in gaming literature are much welcome. As legal professionals we started our career in a curriculum of national and state legal studies. Yet, gaming is a global industry and requires thought leaders to contemplate beyond geographical borders and constantly broaden their horizons. The themes of this issue also include marketing and more specifically advertising bans. We are all familiar with tales of markets opening up to regulated gaming or to a wider range of regulated gaming. Only to turn the engine of liberalization
into reverse with threats of advertising restrictions or outright bans. Weber’s article shows that Ontario is just the latest jurisdiction that seems to go down this road. The speed of the volte-face is now so rapid that there is barely time for new operators to establish themselves in the minds of consumers as legitimate and domestically regulated operators before being forced behind a curtain of marketing restrictions. I noted in an earlier issue of the IMGL Magazine that such restrictions may jeopardize a fundamental principle of competition policy: all legal market participants should enjoy a same level playing field. Yet, how is a new, small brand to gain market share if it is not permitted to exercise the right to commercial speech towards potential customers? Our Canadian colleague’s plea for the industry to pre-empt and break the unfortunate cycle is echoed elsewhere in this edition. Weber asks for the industry to devote more time and resource to gathering evidence and the same request is made by two colleagues in the UK. They advise industry representatives to take maximum advantage of the 12 to 18-months window for the presentation of data to the UK Gambling Commission. The consultation results have the potential of changing
SIMON PLANZER PHD, Editor in Chief IMGL MAGAZINE
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Ukraine: Seeds of Hope Despite the War Can ESG Turn Around Negative Opinions on the Gaming Industry? Virtual gambling: Update from the US Ap p e l late Courts Influencer M arketing in G ambling and G aming The Gambling Act White Paper: U pping the Ante for the UK Gambling Sector Athlete, Celebrity & Influencer Marketing in Ontario The Polish A pproach to the R egulation of R esponsible G ambling
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Indian Gaming Industry: Investment Destination 2023 Mergers and Acquisitions in the Spanish Gambling Market IMGL Autumn Conference Preview
IMGL MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2023 IMGL MAGAZINE | JULY 2023
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