Events
IAGA SUMMIT San Francisco 2019
John Hagan, Managing Partner, Hagan Harris
John is the managing partner of specialist gambling law firm Harris Hagan and is widely recognised as one of the leading legal advisors to the gambling industry.
John is the chairman of the Industry Group for Responsible Gambling, which comprises of five UK based gambling associations, including the Remote Gambling Association and the Bingo Association. He is Vice President of the International Association of Gaming Advisors and a member of International Masters of Gaming Law. John is also the Deputy Chairman of GamCare, the leading problem gambling charity in the UK.
Do advertising restrictions promote responsible gaming?
Despite its ongoing efforts to encourage responsible gaming, the industry remains a target for negative press misrepresenting problem gambling, putting pressure on politicians and regulators to enact more aggressive consumer protection measures. As such, markets like Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom are applying serious restrictions on gambling advertising or, in some cases, a full prohibition. G3 speaks to IAGA session moderator, John Hagan, about whether these restrictions will have an impact on future US gambling regulations?
“If you look at the position in Italy, now that there is a prohibition on gambling advertising, it will be very difficult to reverse that decision for a long time. We all know there are no votes in gambling for politicians. In the present gambling regulatory climate worldwide, what politician is ever going to make a case to reverse a ban on advertising gambling?” John Hagan, Managing Partner, Hagan Harris
Are we heading for wide-spread worldwide ad bans on gambling firms?
You cannot generalise across all jurisdictions, since the culture relating to gambling, the evolution of gambling and the products available vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. It is therefore impossible to predict that what happens in one jurisdiction will happen in another. We have seen that jurisdictions are heading in different directions. Te UK, for example, has liberalised enormously in the last 15 years, but is now entering a period in which we are moving in the other direction, with authorities tightening rules on gambling.
Te US, on the other hand, is liberalising its sports betting market and moving in another direction entirely. What we can safely say is that the extent to which operators are able to offer gambling is on the agenda in all jurisdictions, though regulators and governments consider the question in the context of their own jurisdictions.
How useful are voluntary codes of conducts?
I think they are incredibly helpful. If the industry is always ahead of this argument and seeks to self- regulate, then it minimises the risk of advertising becoming an issue in their jurisdiction and minimises
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I think you need to establish a critical mass of support for any self-imposed restriction, but equally not wait for everyone to sign up to it. You also cannot be moving at the speed of the slowest or seeking to find the lowest common denominator. Such measures are
the risk of restrictions and prohibitions being imposed upon them. If the anti-gambling lobbyists, which exist in every jurisdiction, are allowed to take control of the agenda, it is much more likely to end badly for the industry.
Can code of conducts reverse bans?
It is a very important point to consider. If you look at the position in Italy, for example, now that there is a prohibition on gambling advertising, it will be very difficult to reverse that decision for a long time. We all know there are no votes in gambling for politicians. In the present gambling regulatory climate worldwide, what politician is ever going to make a case to reverse a ban on advertising gambling? So it is all the more important that the industry gets ahead of the argument and self-regulates to ensure that a ban is not implemented, because it could be in effect for a generation.
Do you need everyone to sign-up? Should this be legislated? What body polices this?
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