EDITORIAL
Ways to tackle the black market and the values of research
T he patchwork quilt of European regulation is an industry bugbear blamed for high compliance costs and for boosting the black market. Harmonization may be on the horizon, but not in the way you expect. Our opening article makes a strong argument for bottom-up harmonization as the only practical answer. In the 1-on-1 interview featured in our last issue with the Chairman of the KSA, we noted that a successfully licensed gambling market has to address at least two dimensions. It must provide attractive gambling products to consumers as well as frustrate the activities of black market operators. These are the push and pull factors that lead people to gamble offshore and the offense and defense of effective regulation. Some argue they don’t want gambling in their jurisdiction, yet, this is an illusion. The accurate view is, as the UKGC’s Tim Miller argues in our interview in this issue, that they already have it. The questions are only, is it regulated, are consumers protected and do you get the tax revenues? As we learn in this edition, Alberta is the latest
Canadian province to take the sound and pragmatic approach of legalizing and licensing gambling. Other jurisdictions, notably California and Texas, have not yet gone down this road, which may have well contributed to the rapid expansion of prediction markets. While this novel form of betting/trading has gained traction throughout the US, these two states seem to account for a lion’s share, at least for now. The situation of some US states permitting sports betting while others are much more restrictive will be tested this year with the arrival in North America of the FIFA World Cup. This is not just the biggest sporting event on the planet, it is also likely to be the biggest sports betting event ever. And accordingly, another article in this issue does a comprehensive job charting which sets of traveling fans will be able to bet legally on their teams, and which will not, depending on the cities where their games will be played. Many of those traveling to the World Cup will be unfamiliar with prediction markets. In the absence of a licensed alternative, they may well return home with new betting/ trading habits.
SIMON PLANZER PHD Editor in Chief IMGL MAGAZINE
Contents 6
The future of online gambling regulation in the EU: From fragmentation to functional governance 14 Winning by working together: one-on-one interview with UKGC's Tim Miller 20 Fighting the black market – the infinite game 26 Avoiding a flop: a dive into FIFA World Cup 2026 wagering 34 The evolution of Estonia's iGaming framework 40 Alberta’s emerging iGaming framework 46 Lootboxes, betting on e-sports & player claims before the ECJ & Austrian courts 52 Protecting the legal gaming ecosystem – one illegal market at a time 56 Spring 2026 Conference: level up your legal game in the nation’s capital
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IMGL MAGAZINE | JUNE 2025 IMGL MAGAZINE | MARCH 2026
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