BAGO conference emphasizes: collaboration, technology and combating illegal operators
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21 Nov 2024 •
Reading time: 3 minutes From 18 to 24 November 2024, Safer Gambling Week took place across Europe. This week focuses on promoting responsible gambling and protecting players. In Belgium, the BAGO conference in Brussels paid extra attention to these topics last night.
Experts and industry representatives discussed the role of technology and collaboration in making gambling safer. The conference attracted a lot of interest and provided valuable insights.
Tom De Clercq presents BAGO’s care covenant
The conference started with a presentation by Tom De Clercq, chairman of BAGO, who introduced the new care covenant. This covenant emphasizes the responsibility of operators to protect players. De Clercq managed to hold the attention of the attendees and set the tone for a conference focused on responsibility and innovation.
Illegal casinos continue to pose a risk in Belgium
During his presentation, Sam Richardson (NEPA) showed that illegal casinos are still a major problem in Belgium. Shocking figures showed that many players turn to the black market rather than to legal providers. This not only entails financial risks, but also a lack of protection for vulnerable players.
Operators must do more to protect players
Professor Xavier Noël (ULB) stressed that operators must take more responsibility to protect players. He pointed out that current measures are often not enough and that operators must be more proactive in recognising and tackling problematic gambling behaviour.
Technology can detect gambling addiction at an early stage
Paula Murphy (Mindway AI) presented innovative solutions for player protection. She showed how technology, such as artificial intelligence, can detect addictive behaviour at an early stage. However, she also indicated that many operators do not have the right staff to respond adequately to signals. Murphy explained how Mindway’s technology is becoming increasingly smart and better able to predict risks.
Collaboration is key to better protection
Magali Clavie, chair of the Gaming Commission, called for more collaboration between all parties involved. She highlighted that the commission is severely understaffed. For example, in Belgium there is only one person responsible for investigating illegal operators, while the Netherlands has thirty people for this. Clavie also expressed concerns about the impact of the upcoming change of government on regulation.
Debate on gambling among young people sparks discussion
A panel discussion between David Ketteridge (Reset.be) and Vasiliki Panousi (EGBA) on gambling among young people led to heated discussions. Ketteridge compared gambling addiction to cocaine addiction and pointed out the serious problems that young people aged 19 to 24 face. Jean-Christophe Choffray of Gaming1 called this comparison a bit exaggerated, but the discussion raised important questions about how young people can be better protected. Panousi stressed the importance of restricting access to mobile devices, as she believes the line between gaming and gambling is very thin.
Gaming1 and its player protection program
Jean-Christophe Choffray of Gaming1 gave an insight into how Gaming1’s player protection program (ROBIN) works. This was developed in collaboration with Professor Xavier Noël. Choffray directly addressed the KSC to do more about illegal parties such as Stake. Even though these are blacked out in Belgium, Choffray showed that they have ways to circumvent this. Such as constantly changing web addresses that continue to refer players to the illegal offer.