Once again, GLI was one of the most-visited stands in SAGSE. How did you notice the visitors? In which services of your company they showed more interest?
First thanks for the recognition. Indeed, we are very thankful to our clients for visiting us and taking advantage of GLI’s expertise. Our booth was also a forum for our client operators and suppliers to meet and discover new business opportunities and we are happy that we were able to facilitate the opportunity for those conversations to take place. Additionally, our team of locally focused global experts was available to provide valuable insights about GLI’s various services. These include our best-in-class iGaming (online), land-based, sport betting, and security services ranging from testing, certification and auditing. SAGSE attendees visiting our booth could also learn of our many additional capabilities; such as field inspections, security audits, responsible gaming and anti-money laundering (AML), policy and technical standards consultation, and the professional training and education offerings provided by our renowned GLI University.
Our stand drew a wide variety of international visitors representing Latin America, Europe, North America, and other gaming sectors from around the world. This is not only evidence of GLI’s global reach as the world’s leading provider of testing, assessment, and certification services; but it also validates the growing importance of SAGSE as one of the world’s premier gaming and lottery trade conferences.
There was a special toast for GLI South America (GLI lab in Argentina) 10th year anniversary. I imagine it was a very special moment for all of you.
Yes, absolutely! Ten years ago, we recognized the importance of having the facilities and bandwidth to accommodate the needs of the rapidly expanding Argentinean gaming and lottery market. We assembled a team of highly qualified experts and began offering our unparalleled testing and certification services in our full-service lab strategically located in La Plata, Province of Buenos Aires. Thanks to our unmatched interoperability and communications protocol capabilities, we can provide suppliers access to not only jurisdictions throughout Latin America, but also throughout the world.
With our local presence in our Argentinean lab, we are able to support suppliers and operators in Argentina and throughout the region as they continue to move forward with confidence, knowing that we are ready to support their testing and certification needs; allowing for a fast and efficient entrance in the market, while at the same time helping to maintain the public trust.
GLI has almost 20 years in this region. How would you describe these 20 years in the region that is never easy to impose regulations and controls?
We feel that we have been a part of the evolution of gaming in the region. Twenty years ago, there were no jurisdictions where the compliance process was in place. As we look back over the past 20 years, today we can see how we have grown together with the industry. We have established very close working relationships with regulators and government bodies throughout the region, and we had been working with LatAm and Caribbean suppliers in their road to achieve the technical compliance process that helped them expand their business territories and achieve their growth objectives
As you noted, it is indeed a challenge to establish new compliance processes on such a geographically, socially, and culturally diverse area as Latin America. That is why our GLI global expertise is been always available. To help governments make informed decisions and establish process to guarantee the integrity and transparency of the industry, while also providing the tools for the industry to have a responsible and sustainable growth and success. It started with the GLI Standards Series which had play such a vital role and had been use as a reference by all the jurisdictions throughout the LatAm and Caribbean region. These widely accepted technical standards, created through a collaborative process with industry stakeholders, continues to provide regulators with the framework to establish their own effective regulations that can be customized to suit the specific needs of a particular jurisdiction without stifling technological innovation. Most notably, we recently released GLI-33, our Event Wagering Standard, which has already become a benchmark for jurisdictions to implement an effective sports-wagering compliance strategy in jurisdictions across the United States and around the world.
The past 20 years has seen remarkable changes in the Latin American, and Caribbean gaming/lottery industries. While the market is still evolving at a rapid pace, we are nonetheless seeing a more mature approach to governing this expanding gaming sector with the development of a more substantive and effective regulatory framework to help ensure the sustained prosperity of gaming and lottery enterprises throughout the region. While the regulatory approaches may differ somewhat from country to country, we are nonetheless seeing a greater level of collaboration and cooperation among various governmental, regulatory, and legislative bodies. We strongly believe that it is important to foster a climate of cooperation so that the various governmental and regulatory entities throughout Latin America can share best practices and work together to solve common regional issues. This spirit of collaboration and cooperation is a hallmark of our highly regarded Latin America and Caribbean Regulators Roundtables.
How do you see the process of legalization of this sleeping giant that is Brazil? What news do you receive from there?
As this dynamic country contemplates the implementation of a precedent-setting legal gaming framework, there remain many challenges. Much of the questions that surround the establishment of laws governing legalized gaming revolve around the upcoming October elections and the consequences of these elections as they pertain to the establishment of a new Brazilian government. However, we believe that the Brazilian legislators are nonetheless making great strides toward advancing gaming laws. We stand ready to assist the appropriate government and regulatory entities with providing a roadmap toward developing the appropriate regulatory and jurisdictional requirements for a successful implementation of gaming in Brazil.
Recently, at the Roundtable organized by GLI in Peru, did you have the presence of Brazilians, right?
Its been traditional the participation of Brazilian representatives a the Roundtable both from the lottery and the government regulatory bodies.
Many believe that if legalized, any corruption or unclear fact referred to gaming can destroy the credibility of the Brazilian public in this industry. Is that why regulations and controls are the keys to a concise opening?
Gaming regulations are enacted to protect the government, the players and all the parties involved in the industry. It starts with the establishment of a legal framework to clearly identify and approve those individuals via a thorough licensing process were background investigations must be performed. That is where everything starts. Modern gaming regulations will always address the AML provisions to reduce the risk of money laundering as well as responsible gambling to protect the players.
From the technical compliance side, we believe that technology plays a huge role in minimizing illicit activities as Brazil moves toward legalization. The technical standards that are an intrinsic part of the regulation will allow to guarantee the transparency and integrity of the industry, by making sure that the game is fair for the player and return percent to players is complied, that the government collects the due taxes, to reduce the risk of fraud and manipulation, as well as it provides the tools to add to the AML controls and responsible gambling for the public safety. For the online gaming and sports betting rules and regulations, thanks to the technical standards and the technology that are already available, is possible to verify critical player data, such as the player’s identity, age, or location. This eliminates the possibility of minors participating in gambling activities. Similarly, technology can also help to crosscheck a player’s identification against a credit card or other form of remote payment used during gameplay. This, in turn, can reduce credit card fraud and lower the risk of identity theft.
Ultimately, because there are many steps that a gambling operation must take to become compliant with stringent regulations, we can foresee lengthy periods of time that will occur as proper gaming regulations are enacted once the law is approved. To get there, Brazil’s nascent regulators can most certainly benefit from GLI’s global – and especially Latin American – regulatory experience. But they can also take advantage the many successful examples of progressive regulatory models from such neighboring countries as Colombia, Panama, Puerto Rico and Peru. These countries have established, effective technical requirements for gaming activity as well as efficient regulation for advanced technologies for landbase and in the case of Colombia, for iGaming and sports wagering. Understanding the challenges and mimicking the successes of these neighboring countries will be of great benefit to Brazilian regulators as they set out to develop their own set of comprehensive regulatory standards.
Do you have contact with sectors of Brazil that already work for the future market?
We have clients that are originary from Brazil. They work with us, the same way that many of our LatAm customers does, who seek for the certification as a voluntary process to add to their product the validation of the GLI Certified mark. This seal has a special meaning for the industry in our region, and our clients see it as a tool to compete with other brands and achieve their objectives of expansion to different jurisdictions. We are very thankful for the trust that LatAm suppliers and operators put on GLI, as we are building long term relationships where they allow us to be part of their path to expansion and success.
Source: Exclusive GMB
