Lewis Pek Editor
Comment
December 2020
As the pandemic continues to carve a path of destruction across all walks of life, and while the health traumas, isolation, destruction of businesses spread through the news like the virus itself, one distinctly worrying trend specific to the gaming industry is building momentum. We are seeing across the world a hastening of government decision-making based on anecdotal ‘gut-feelings,’ which bear little to no scrutiny. The clarity with which studies and reviews formerly analysed the facts and gathered statistics has been jettisoned during this period of anxiety and tension. Policy-makers are foregoing rational decisions for knee-jerk popularism.
Examples of this are dotted throughout this month’s issue, but we’re also hearing from the industry through social media, suggesting that measures brought in to curb advertising, restrict online deposits, close casinos and arcades while allowing other retailers to open, are accelerating in every market. Casinos in Scotland are shut while other entertainment venues are left open - in Croatia every other form of entertainment is allowed, expect gaming. Land-based locations are being singled- out and penalised without any evidence of transmission of the virus and despite the most stringent health and safety protocols being in place.
MEASURES BROUGHT IN TO CURB ADVERTISING, RESTRICT DEPOSITS AND CLOSE CASINOS ARE ACCELERATING IN EVERY MARKET.
Gaming is being systematically targeted by governments with an agenda to hurt the industry. In Sweden, measures were brought in to curb online gaming in the summer, as the government believed that problem gambling would soar in the pandemic. It’s a perfect example of anecdotal decision-making as the opposite has been the case, and yet the government has extended the measures, without evidence, until summer 2021 - despite knowing that the statistics show this is unjustified.
Wide brush policies without due process are being rolled over the gambling industry without oversight, decimating the industry without cause or justification. The gambling industry has long been persecuted by weak governments, but during a period of crisis, as we give governments more powers over society than ever before, they are wielding this power mercilessly over the gaming industry and using this period to make unjustified claims without empirical evidence.
Governments are using the pandemic to put out a non-existant fire without challenge or scrutiny as we’ve abdicated away the power to make these deleterious decisions on our behalf. Prejudice, political point scoring and predatory opportunism is now the norm and this victimisation of the industry as a governmental behaviour-pattern looks set to continue into 2021.
EDITORIAL
G3 Magazine Editor Lewis Pek
lewis@gamingpublishing.co.uk +44 (0) 1942 879291
G3Newswire Editor Phil Martin
phil@gamingpublishing.co.uk +44 (0)7801 967714
Features Editor Karen Southall
karensouthall@gmail.com
International Reporter James Marrison Staff Reporter William Bolton
william@gamingpublishing.com Contributors
Harry Barnick, Lee Drabwell, Martin Carlesund, Mark Taffler,
Jeton Kodia, Sylvain Boniver, Javier Franco, Adam Greenblatt
P4 NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA ADVERTISING
Commercial Director John Slattery
john@gamingpublishing.co.uk +44 (0)7917 166471
Business Development Manager James Slattery
james@gamingpublishing.co.uk +44 (0)7814227219
Advertising Executive Alison Dronfield
alison@gamingpublishing.co.uk +44 (0)1204 410771
PRODUCTION
Senior Designer Gareth Irwin
Production Manager Paul Jolleys
Subscriptions Manager Jennifer Pek
Commercial Administrator Lisa Nichols
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