Pulse


ITALY ONLINE SKS365


SKS365:


Greater protection for Italian players


G3 took the opportunity to sit down with Casino Beats Summit keynote speaker


Alexander Martin, CEO of SKS365, to discuss the future of an Italian gaming industry undergoing significant regulatory changes.


Italy's Ministry of the Economy and Finance is reported to have taken charge of a reorganisation plan to implement an overhaul of market safeguards. What's your take on:


a. a new central player registry. b. new ID verification measures.


c. 'territorial reorganisation', or the gradual reduction, of betting shops.


d. reduction in stake and win limits.


In general, we welcome the actions designed to provide greater protection for players. In our view, these are actions that, in addition to strengthening consumer protection, fully meet the needs of a market that is increasingly oriented towards integrated multi-channel. It is therefore important that technology also evolve to accompany this evolution and optimise the integration of online and retail offerings, in full respect of our consumers.


Regarding the new ID verification measures, we think they could give a further boost in the battle against money laundering, as they will allow the legal operators to make further controls and monitoring both in retail and online.


A potential reduction in supply needs to be addressed in an appropriate time horizon and should go hand in hand with the sustainability of the industry and be based on clear rules that allow us to plan with more certainty. At the same time, reducing the number of regulated shops could


potentially trigger the growth of non-regulated shops.


As a company, we are already at the forefront in the money laundering prevention since we established an independent Supervisory Board that works along with our legal, compliance and AML departments, overseeing our compliance efforts; therefore, we fully support all the measures that help us to fight the illegal activities that damage unnecessary the reputation at our sector.


About the "territorial issue” we recognise the


need for a shop reduction, but we are also aware of the necessity of a homogeneous and rational distribution of the gaming offer. As a company, we strongly believe in an approach that focuses on quality rather than quantity. In short, it's better to have a smaller number of shops, but all of them are highly qualified. Tis is the idea that has accompanied us over the last two years and that has led us to invest in the retail network in terms of shop design, product, technology, and security.


A potential further reduction in supply needs to be addressed in an appropriate time horizon and should go hand in hand with the sustainability of the industry and be based on clear and certain rules that allow us to plan with more certainty the business for the coming years. At the same time, reducing the number of regulated shops could potentially trigger the growth number of non-regulated shops by some operators.


Regarding the reduction of stakes and winnings which has already been introduced in other EU countries, we think it could increase public confidence in the industry. Te measure would certainly lead to a contraction in revenues in the short term, which we would consider acceptable if it were accompanied by an overall reform that would allow operators to plan their business.


NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA P121


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