Conference proceedings, Zurich 2023

the destination approach, they would get up leave their homes go to a casino, and gamble. They would actually play the traditional game of bingo and now no one does any more. They only indulge in electronic bingo terminals, although licenses are still licensed, they don’t partake in it. So we definitely see that shift in the near future. What does that mean for us as a regulator? A lot, because we’ve been invested in enforcement strategies where we also travel to a destination, we definitely would have to invest quite a bit in understanding technology, understanding systems upskilling in that respect, because there’s a lot of new technology that is introduced, the industry is innovating every day. And yes, we are watching the betting sector and its growth from 23%. Before COVID, a few years later, three years later, they hold 50% Share. We don’t know whether the land-based operators will get wiped out. So, in the near future, definitely there has to be some sort of recognition that technology is moving. And we as regulators have to upskill ourselves to keep up with the industry. MD: And for the three of you participating in this IMGL conference, what will be a takeaway from what you heard here. Are going to do something new? JR-E In Puerto Rico, we have to improve our approach towards Responsible Gaming. I think that we can do better, especially with the new gaming verticals as it is a positive thing that new gaming verticals are on offer. But we need to get ahead, we have to be proactive to try to prevent potential damage, instead of being reactive when it already happened. I think that one is a key thing that I get from this conference. The other one is that we can be better in terms of regulating the advertising of gaming, because advertising, if it’s well controlled, does not lead to compulsive gaming and other problems in society. But if it’s not control effectively, it can lead to that. So I think that our jurisdiction can do better and listening to Rene and to Caroline, I think that I have learned a few tricks now. CC: There’s definitely a lesson for us and South Africa from the advertising perspective and listening to the debates on advertising. Very, important. But another thing is listening to all the issues, you know, over the past two days. The one important thing is as a regulator, we have to go back and look at various aspects in the legislation that actually require review. because it may be stifling growth and innovation at this point. RJ: I must apologize because I was not here for a lot of the time but, one of the takeaways is the utmost importance of technology, AI and data. We do have a certain consciousness of that in the abstract and we’re working on it. But I think, as a regulator, we are government departments and we’re almost always late compared to the innovative power of the industry. And so that is, that is a main challenge, how to get that knowledge on board and use it for our enforcement and use it in our supervisory department. MD: Thanks Rene and with that, thank you all for making it through the final session.

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