From March 22 to 24, 2023, the international seminar ‘Responsible Gaming: A Transformative Connection’ was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, organized by the World Lottery Association (WLA) and the Ibero-American Corporation of State Lotteries and Bets (Cibelae); with the collaboration of Loterias Caixa as host.
The objective of the event is to share experiences and good practices among associations, lotteries and providers on corporate social responsibility and responsible gaming. In addition, it seeks to promote responsible gambling certification as a tool to improve the management and reputation of lotteries.
The importance of a responsible gambling certification
In welcoming the event, WLA President Rebecca Paul; the president of Cibelae, Javier Milián; and the vice president of Caixa, Edilson Carrogi Ribeiro Vianna; They highlighted the importance of collaboration between associations and lotteries to share good practices in corporate social responsibility and responsible gaming.
Next, in the CEO discussion panel on Responsible Gaming Certification: evolution, advantages and future, the speakers gave their points of view on the importance of lotteries building their strategies and business plans with the principles of Corporate Social Responsibility and, therefore, Responsible Gaming. Participating in this segment were Rebecca Paul (President of the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation , Director of the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries – NASPL , representing the WLA), Stepháne Pallez (CEO of La Française des Jeux – FDJ , representing European Lotteries), Younes El Mechrafi (CEO of Marocaine des Jeux – MDJ , representing the Association of African Lotteries – ALA) and Edilson Carrogi Ribeiro Vianna (vice president of Caixa, representing Cibelae). The panel was moderated by Lynne Roiter, WLA Secretary General.
The level 4 certification in Responsible Gaming is the highest granted by the European Lotteries to lotteries that comply with quality standards and good practices in this area. Younes El Mechrafi explained how La Marocaine des Jeux achieved this recognition in 2012, after a process of internal and external transformation. According to El Mechrafi, the key was to understand that Responsible Gaming is not a threat to business, but an opportunity to improve the reputation and trust of customers and society. To do this, they had the support and advice of the European Lotteries, which helped them implement the necessary measures to guarantee a safe, ethical and sustainable game.
For her part, Stepháne Pallez explained that at La Française des Jeux they have included corporate social responsibility and responsible gambling in their statutes. Your providers must follow these policies. In this way, the French lottery not only improves its competitiveness and added value, but also builds the loyalty of its interest groups and reduces the risks associated with gambling. Pallez also indicated that for European Lotteries it is so essential to comply with the Responsible Gaming policies that it only admits certified members.
Edilson Carrogi Ribeiro Vianna presented Loterias Caixa 's strategy to promote responsible gambling among its customers and society in general. According to Vianna, responsible gambling is a commitment of all the players involved in the sector: the lottery, the points of sale, the suppliers, the strategic partners and the public opinion. To this end, Loterias Caixa has developed internal and external actions aimed at different audiences, in order to inform about the risks and benefits of gambling.
Among the actions highlighted by the vice president of the largest lottery in Brazil is the Responsible Gaming Week, an initiative that seeks to raise awareness among bettors about good gaming practices and offer them tools to prevent and treat potential problems. The last edition included educational, cultural and social activities throughout the country, as well as a communication campaign in digital and traditional media.
Finally, the president of the WLA, Rebecca Paul, presented key points for lotteries to develop and implement responsible gaming programs that serve as a guarantee of trust and transparency for the commercialization of products. Among these points are: providing information about the risks and benefits of gambling, setting time and money limits for players, offering self-exclusion options and free assistance, working in conjunction with specialized organizations and regulatory authorities, and certifying their practices according to standards international.
Presentation of the Responsible Gaming and Corporate Social Responsibility Commission of Cibelae
The Cibelae Technical Committee for Corporate Social Responsibility and Responsible Gaming spoke about its objectives and projects carried out, including the documents 'Guide for the development of Responsible Gaming programs' and ' Basic Elements of Social Responsibility'. The presentation was given by Diana Fusco (IJAN – ALEA) and Sandra Conde (La Banca), coordinator and member of the commission, respectively.
Diana Fusco highlighted the transformation of social responsibility and its relevance for the sustainability of the game. For her part, Sandra Conde focused on the development of Responsible Gaming programs and on the WLA certification levels, placing special emphasis on the importance of working on programs for remote channels.
WLA Certification in Responsible Gaming: experiences of some Ibero-American lotteries
During the Ibero-American lottery panel, the certification processes of four organizations were presented: the Concepción Lottery (Chile), the ONCE (Spain) -which has been certified five times with the highest level of certification in Responsible Gaming by the European Lotteries and validated by WLA-, the Lottery of Córdoba (Argentina) and La Banca (Uruguay), both with WLA Level 4 in Responsible Gaming.
Women's leadership in lotteries
During the panel of the Women in Lotteries Leadership (WILL) initiative, prominent figures such as Rebecca Paul, Lynne Roiter, Stepháne Pallez, Esmeralda Britton and Younés El Mechrafi -representative of the WILL program for African lotteries- shared their experiences and visions on leadership female in the sector.
In particular, Esmeralda Britton, president of the Costa Rican Social Protection Board, presented the recent actions that have been carried out in Latin America since she was appointed regional representative of the WILL program. These initiatives include her participation in the III Women's Meeting in San Martín de los Andes (Neuquén, Argentina), the creation of a WhatsApp group with more than 100 members for women in the region, her participation in the IJAN (Neuquén, Argentina) for International Women's Day and her participation in a successful webinar organized by WILL Latam and Cibelae on March 15.
Prevention of manipulation of results in sporting events
Friday's day began with a presentation by the executive director of the WLA and general secretary of United Lotteries Integrity in Sports (ULIS), Luca Esposito, who presented the services offered to its members to prevent bet rigging and early detection suspicious events. Espósito highlighted the importance of collaboration between members, official bodies, international sports organizations and international police to achieve this goal.
Emerging trends in marketing and communication
The panel on Marketing: new betting trends, moderated by the executive director of Cibelae, Rodrigo Cigliutti, included the participation of Claudia Alarcón (National Lottery of Mexico), who presented the marketing strategies focused on attracting a young audience. Given that the average age of clients is around 57 years, Alarcón highlighted the need to segment advertising according to the portfolio and the area of ??the country.
For his part, Alfonso Galiano (La Once, Spain) mentioned the difficulties they currently face due to regulations imposed by the Spanish government, which prohibit them from using social media to promote and disseminate their products.
Source: CIBELAE
