13 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • MARCH/APRIL 2022 Automated Campaign Management Omni-Channel Lottery Tools Real Time Data & Extensive APIs Lottery • Casino Sports • Bingo Poker Personalized Experience for Retail Web & Mobile Digital Partner for Lotteries www.bedegaming.com Management 360o Player Account The thing is – sustainable design does not need to cost more. Just as commitment to quality may appear at first to increase costs, but the net long-term effect of doing things right is a reduction in costs as well as an increase in value to the consumer and sustainability for the benefit of all. And the next generations of consumer are more sophisticated when it comes to discerning authenticity. There is no alternative than to live and breathe your dedication to sustainability. Of course, it needs to be thoughtfully integrated into the brand and even marketing communications. But generation Z and beyond are very unreceptive to anything that does not ring true. And their source of information and guidance is not messaging from the brand, it’s communication with each other, which flows in non-stop unfiltered torrents on social media. So there is no alternative to making it real. Lastly, while we do want to do the research and base decisions on evidence and data, we also need to realize that we will never have the whole picture. Decisions are always made with incomplete information. Industry leaders must have the vision and fortitude to make those decisions and forge ahead with confidence. It occurs to me, though, that we should emphasize that everyone is in a position to lead, to take ownership of their own actions and ability to effect change and positive results. You don’t need to be the loudest person in the room to be an effective leader. We are all working together on this, engaged in the business of making the world be a better place. Over the last twenty-plus years, the EU Commission has chipped away at the authority of member states to decide how they’re going to regulate gambling and lottery. Recently though, have they become more respectful of member states’ rights to decide the best regulatory framework for their own country? R. Dernovšek: I believe European Court of Justice (ECJ) has taken fewer “infringement” cases in which operators claim the government regulations are in violation of EU laws. The subsidiarity principle (i.e. authority to determine some matters of policy, like regulations of gambling and lottery, should reside with the memberstate, not with the EU) is the position of the EU Commission and the ECJ. There needs to be a consistent application of the laws and regulations and they do need to comply with EU laws. But member-states are entitled to a high degree of autonomy to ensure that regulations are consistent with their own gaming culture, public policy objectives, and preservation of Public Order. The balance between that and the principles of free-market competition and open borders was leaning too much the other way over the last twenty years and we hope it is leaning back in the direction of respecting the authority of member-states to determine the regulatory policy that is best for their citizens. Member-states have the right to manage the social costs of gambling and lottery and the manner in which the profits are channeled to help society as opposed to enriching private shareholders. The political and economic cultures of the EU are extremely diverse and should not be expected to all operate in the same way. The Slovenia gaming culture and market-place is nothing like that of the U.K or Denmark. Lottery or sports betting or gambling is not “just business” and shouldn’t be treated as such. It’s an economic activity with a particular nature, that should put people first and at the same time provide means for public good. RG, CSR, and integrity are the highest values for members of the EL and WLA. A member state should reserve the right Continued on page 55
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