Exclusive Interview with Massimo Menegalli – CEO of Golden Palace

Massimo Menegalli, CEO of Golden Palace, opened the doors of his office to us for an exclusive interview. At the helm of one of the most iconic brands in the Belgian gaming sector, he reflects on the company’s history, its evolution, and the challenges it faces. Innovation, security, responsible gaming: these are all key topics shaping Golden Palace’s strategy and demonstrating its desire to combine tradition and modernity. With a clear vision for the future, Massimo Menegalli shares his thoughts on the industry and his group’s ambitions.

Could you introduce yourself for Gambling Club readers who don’t yet know you? What led you to become CEO of Golden Palace? What are your passions about gambling and casino games?

Golden Palace is a family business that’s over 60 years old, so you could say I was born into gaming. For me, it was completely natural to continue.

When I was young, I spent part of my vacations shadowing certain technical service agents in Belgium and at sister companies in Italy. Troubleshooting machines and repairs—they weren’t the same machines as today, but I was already passionate about them.

I remember my father sending me to Las Vegas to learn English. I worked on an assembly line. He also sent me to learn Spanish in South America, working for the companies he sold machines to.

I’ve always been immersed in gambling, and when I was a student, I opened our first Class B casino. During the day, I went to class, and at night, I worked in my first establishment. For me, it was natural.

It was in the early 1990s that my sister, who was just graduating from business school, and I joined the company to continue the Golden Palace adventure. Thanks to the experience of my father, who was still young at the time, my sister’s management skills, and my talent for business, we began to expand and become a leading player in Belgium.

Today, my sister and I are co-CEOs, and we continue to grow our company and meet the challenges of the sector.

What is Golden Palace’s vision?

Our vision is to become a key player in leisure and entertainment. We place the customer at the heart of our concerns at all times, offering them not only games but also entertainment in the broadest sense. We specialize in leisure, casinos, restaurants, events, and more.

We are committed to offering all our customers the best possible experience, even if they don’t gamble. Gaming halls and casinos have become places for social interaction, and we want to support this. In France, we have restaurants and performance halls in our casinos. We also just bought a theater in Belgium above one of our gaming rooms. Of course, we’re always doing this responsibly and developing sustainably. Sustainable, not just in the sense of building passive buildings, as we’ve started to do. In fact, we’re going to have the world’s first passive casino, but we’re always keeping in mind a vision of the future, building our business in such a way that it’s sustainable over time. Not just for us, but also for our employees, our customers, and the causes we support.

How does Golden Palace stand out from the competition in Belgium and Europe?

We are mainly active in Belgium, where we have Class B establishments, and a few casinos in France. In Belgium, we have to differentiate ourselves. With current legislation, there are a maximum of 180 Class B establishments, all selling exactly the same product.

There are five types of games authorized in Belgium: blackjack, poker, racing games, dice games, and roulette. To offer them in gaming rooms, they must be approved, and given the complexity, there aren’t many foreign companies willing to approve games for Belgium. So, we all have the same games. Imagine selling shoes, and we don’t just sell shoes; we all sell the same shoes, in the same model and size.

We have chosen to differentiate ourselves by putting the customer at the center of everything; that’s how we stand out. And that starts with the construction of each establishment. We have a guiding principle, a common thread for each establishment, and we do our utmost to follow it.

For example, for 20 years, customer comfort has been one of our priorities. Comfort isn’t just about comfortable seats; it’s also about adequate ventilation, even though it’s not mandatory, optimal temperatures, and details like that, even if they require an investment. We’ve also analyzed ergonomics; our machines are lower than those of the competition because this prevents back pain for customers. This also allows us to have lower seats, so customers always have their feet on the ground.

Market and Regulation

How do you see the evolution of the casino market in Belgium?

The casino market in Belgium is stagnating and even declining. As soon as you try to innovate even a little, it’s blocked by regulations. But not just casinos, because there are several activities related to gambling in addition to casinos: gaming in cafes, sports betting, betting in bookstores, and also gaming rooms.

There’s always a sector that does a little better than another, that attracts customers from one or the other. We compete a little, but we’re stagnating because of current regulations and people’s mentalities.

The mentality isn’t the same between the north and the south, but it’s still stagnating, and online gambling is growing less quickly than in other countries. Because there’s a big problem in Belgium: regulations that push players out of the pipeline and into a legal sector, a legal sector that protects players, creates jobs, creates taxation, and fosters technological development. Because even though the online sector continues to grow, we’ve gone from a pipeline of about 75% to 40%. So, 60% of online gamblers play on an illegal site.

What is your opinion on the current gambling regulations in Belgium? Is it too strict or necessary?

As I said, the current regulations are inadequate. Instead of protecting players, they are busy pushing them towards illegal casinos. Too many restrictions are not healthy. Like many other activities, gambling can lead to addiction. For GP, gambling is a pleasure and must remain so. To achieve this, rules are needed, which must be created in collaboration with the various stakeholders, including gaming professionals.

The gaming sector in Belgium must evolve, but so must the regulations. If the sector is doomed, what will we do? Only illegal online casinos and underground casinos will remain. Or players will go and play outside our borders because Belgium is small, but even easier; there are no borders on the internet. You don’t even need to change your IP address; illegal sites are freely available online! This is also evident in affiliate sites, where more and more of them offer illegal sites. Because illegal operators are not subject to any regulations, they continue to do whatever they want.

In your opinion, what should be done to more effectively combat illegal gambling sites?

To combat illegal casinos, we need to make legal casinos attractive enough, while obviously maintaining strict limits so they can compete with illegal sites. And, of course, let them regain their place in the market. Currently, the number one online casino in Belgium is Stake.com, which is an illegal casino.

But why do players prefer to go to Stake? Because illegal casinos are not subject to any restrictions; they are freer. There are no deposit limits, no winnings limits, even if it is sometimes difficult to withdraw winnings. The games are more exciting and faster. There is more choice, and therefore more fun.

We need to redirect players to legal casinos, casinos that are able to protect players and offer them the best gaming experience in a secure environment. This will help protect an important leisure sector, including jobs and taxes, and help develop technologies. All the major companies in the sector have begun developing new technologies.

In our country, for example, there are 81 different professions and over 600 employees. Supporting legal casinos also means supporting that. That’s why we want to be able to speak to the legislator and be heard. Because we know the sector very well, and we need to develop legislation adapted to player protection in cooperation with the gambling sector. We need to bring everyone together, including the associations that protect players, and hold a roundtable discussion to improve regulations. Intelligent regulation is how we can combat illegal gambling.

Technology and Innovation

What do you think of artificial intelligence? Do you think it could have an impact on the gaming industry in the near future? 

AI is a good thing; it’s already having a positive impact, yet we haven’t yet seen all the possibilities it has to offer.

In our company, in terms of pure work, there are positions we don’t renew because a large portion of the work is done by AI. Instead, we hire other profiles, younger people who already know how to use it. This is something we still need to develop internally, but we don’t work with AI to make it cheaper; we do it to remain competitive.

In the gaming sector, AI is a great help in detecting pathological gambling. It gives us an incredible boost in detecting sudden changes in a player’s behavior. This means we have better player protection and better customer service. It also helps us with money laundering. It allows us to automate many analytical tasks. For now we work with external AI services, but we also develop our AI internally, 100% adapted to our company and our players.

Customer Experience and Responsible Gaming

You’re the only online casino to offer “missions” to players. Are you satisfied with the results of this campaign? Are they appreciated by players?

Before answering this question, I’d like to clarify that this is gamification, which serves to immerse players in our casino. These missions don’t encourage gambling; there are no missions that require them to play, and they are accessible to all our players: newcomers, veterans, low-rollers, and high-rollers; they’re the same for everyone.

So the missions are like little challenges we invent for our players. For example, changing their password, verifying their personal information, etc. We regularly invent new ones. That’s the hardest part: coming up with new ideas.

For each mission completed, the player receives points. The goal of these points isn’t to encourage players to play more. We have a mini-shop with all sorts of promotional gadgets, and players love it. We’re very surprised because the number of players participating in these missions is increasing every day. Even without promotional gimmicks, they get caught up in the game and wander around the site to complete their mission. It’s part of the player experience, and it’s something we’d like to implement on a land-based level as well.

What does “responsible gaming” mean to you?

Responsible gaming means doing our job with respect. Remembering at all times that our activity can be addictive, because let’s face it, gaming can also be addictive. It means training, it means legislating properly, it means doing our job professionally.

Responsible gaming isn’t just about managing illnesses, but it’s also about respecting the laws, respecting the environment, and respecting everyone. Gaming is our business, and it comes with responsibilities. Golden Palace has more than 600 employees, and ensuring their future is also a responsibility. 

How does Golden Palace support players struggling with gambling addiction?

We’re not authorized to treat addicted players, but we can try to prevent them. And we must do this as early as possible. Our employees undergo training, and we’ve developed a protocol that includes, among other things, establishing a dialogue process with players.

In our gaming rooms, we don’t hesitate to invite players who show signs of frustration to take a break and go outside for a few minutes of fresh air. If necessary, we also explain how to obtain a temporary casino ban, by banning them from Golden Palace for a specified period of time, or by explaining how to apply for a total ban with the Gaming Commission. We also provide contact information for support centers. It’s important for us to detect and provide the best possible support to players who show signs of addiction.

Future and Outlook

Where do you see Golden Palace in five years? 

Regardless of the legislation, I would say we want to continue to grow because we are entrepreneurs at heart. We want to continue our diversification while always remaining in the entertainment and leisure sector.

We want sustainable expansion and we should have 5 or 6 casinos in France by then; currently, we have 2. And above all, we want to continue to innovate while respecting our values.

Bonus question: do you have a little exclusive or anything you’d like to share with Gambling Club readers?

I’m a bit caught off guard; I don’t really have anything exclusive to share, except that a new game is currently being developed and will soon be available at our Golden Palace and Oria online casinos.

I would like to ask your readers to remain loyal to Gambling Club, myself included. Because it’s important to have an online media outlet for communicating about gambling that can be critical. A free and independent media outlet that is fair, authentic, and exists to convey information objectively, without being tied to any particular opinion or casino.

Thank you very much, Mr. Menegalli, for this interview. Gambling Club wishes you every success with your new projects.