GREF targets affiliates following annual conference
European regulators pledge to investigate whether affiliates comply with gambling legislation
The Gaming Regulators European Forum (GREF) has announced it will look to examine the role of affiliates in the online gambling industry over the coming year.
The association held its annual conference in Riga last week, and following several days of discussions has pledged to develop “a common understanding of the role of affiliates”. It will put special emphasis on “ensuring that their activities and interaction with customers is appropriate, affords proper levels of protection and is in line with national licensing objectives”.
GREF will also look to develop a system to facilitate knowledge sharing between jurisdictions, and spearhead an initiative to provide improved training for new and existing staff of regulatory bodies. It will work on generating more data and statistics on each members’ jurisdiction in order “to provide evidence-based policy development” and set standards for best practice.
Swedish Lotteriinspektionen general director and GREF chair HÃ¥kan Hallstedt described the conference as “a great success” in discussing “matters of mutual concern”.
Aside from the key points of action, the 22 jurisdictions present also debated the impact of cross-border crime and growth of social gaming. “[These are] issues that sit at the heart of regulation, whatever our national position might be,” Hallstedt said.