Q&A: Getting a Bede on changing regulations

Changes in regulations can be tough to absorb for operators, but for every negative change there are always positive ones that enable businesses to leverage their operations in other markets more effectively. Bede Gaming’s Ross Haselhurst discusses the impact of regulatory changes in some of the Bede’s key markets.

EGR Compliance: Is Bede concerned about the impact that proposed gambling advertising restrictions will have on the Spanish market?

Ross Haselhurst (RH): Regulation is a positive for the gaming industry. It delivers a level playing field for operators and provides both clarity and safety for consumers. Safety, security and compliance are areas we put great focus on and we work closely with our operator partners to help them to meet their obligations.

Spanish operators with land-based channels will need to leverage their assets to maintain customer engagement online with marketing being restricted, and Bede’s omni-channel technology is well-placed to help operators maintain and enhance their market position.

EGR Compliance: Has the reduction in Spanish online gambling taxation to 20% had a positive effect on Bede’s operations in Spain?

RH: Spain is a growth market for Bede, and this puts Spain at the top of the agenda for us regarding new opportunities. The regulator is suggesting that the Spanish market will grow by another 20%, and this tax reduction will lead to increased appetite for entry.

EGR Compliance: How does Bede as a supplier reinforce a responsible gambling agenda? What technological additions is Bede making to its product portfolio in this area?

RH: Responsible gambling is at the heart of how we conduct our business, and our commitment to highest levels of probity is central to our strategy at Bede Gaming. On a technical level, our platform partners benefit from cutting-edge gambling tools, complete with automated processes with real-time data capable of recognising when a player is displaying problem behaviour and empowering operators to act in the moment. There is always room for improvement and we have a dedicated responsible gambling team who champion best practice from concept to delivery of projects.

This year we made it our mission to become “The Safest Place to Play” and truly commit to the cause through striving to develop the highest standard of RG tools. At the beginning of November, in line with Responsible Gaming Week, we held a week-long series of RG awareness events and are theming this year’s Christmas hackathon around responsible gambling as well.  These initiatives help to continually promote responsible gambling practices amongst staff and therefore keeping it running through everything we do.

EGR Compliance: What impact has GDPR had on Bede’s business model?

RH: GDPR creates challenges for operators in their approaches to acquisition and retention, but we are well placed to help operators overcome those challenges because of the data-driven platform technology that we already have in place.  Anything that helps operators keep compliant, secure and responsible we actively pursue to push our technology to work better.  Together with our ISO 27001 certificate, we have robust processes in place to enable operators to fulfil our partners’ and our own requirements effectively. As such, we have not needed to alter our business practices dramatically since the introduction of GDPR.

EGR Compliance: How has the new Maltese gaming act changed the way that Bede does business?

RH: We’re very much at the beginning of our Maltese journey and looking forward to seeing the benefits of the new legislation. Malta is following the UKGC’s lead in tightening controls on Responsible Gambling and AML, and as Bede is a leading proponent in these fields we are well placed to support Malta Licenced operators.  We’ve been working closely with the MGA and local partners in support of this and we’re keen to open our platform capabilities and products to Maltese based operators.

From the perspective of compliance, while specific rules have changed slightly, adding further complexity to the regulatory landscape, we are deep in the process of securing a licence. As for our strategy, our platform and PLAY, Bede’s content aggregation solution, go hand-in-hand. PLAY provides operators with a rapid, one-time integration that opens the door to 3,000 games and a series of cutting-edge marketing tools.

This gives customers a taste of the robust technology, RG and marketing tooling that Bede can bring. Moving platform is perceived to be difficult, but we have a proven track record of managing those transitions successfully with tier one clients including Rank Group and Sun International.