Q&A: Betsson Group general counsel on the increasing role that legal teams play within operators

Negotiating the tenuous and ever-changing regulatory waters of egaming can be a very difficult process for operators and legal professionals alike. It is perhaps an indication of the difficulty of this process that many of the big operators have huge departments dedicated to the understanding, dissemination and compliance of these changing standards.

Betsson Group is one such operator having to deal with a multitude of jurisdictional challenges arising from regulation. Its general counsel, Corinne Valletta, discusses the roles and responsibilities of this ever-increasing business area.

EGR Compliance: What are the typical duties of a chief legal counsel within an egaming firm?

Corinne Valletta (CV): The legal team at Betsson is divided into four different parts. There’s the legal affairs team, which is devoted to the traditional lawyer type of work, things such as contract reviews, attendance in court, litigation assistance, assistance in disputes, etc. Then you’ve got the compliance team, which is devoted primarily to licence management so their work focuses on obtaining new licences, maintaining them and ensuring that the business is always compliant. Then there is data privacy, which also falls under legal affairs and under my remit. And, finally, there is the regulatory affairs section that reviews and evaluates our regulatory risk, implements and manages policies and guidelines, builds relationships with relevant governing entities, and also conducts research on new markets. In my capacity as general counsel, I am the one that ultimately advises the CEO and the rest of the business of the decisions which need to be taken in any of these areas with the support of my team as needed.

EGR Compliance: Can you provide more detail on the methodology used by Betsson when approaching a new jurisdiction?

CV: It’s a very comprehensive exercise. It involves various parts of the company, ranging from operations to Betsson AB, our mother company based in Stockholm, as well as the board.

We will investigate how big the market is, what types of products there are, what potential there is and what regulation is in place. There will be a detailed regulatory analysis of that market, involving several members of the legal and compliance teams. We might even seek external counsel and advice from local firms who provide us with different considerations.

Overall, we’re looking at things from several perspectives, it is important to understand how to operate within the market and from a commercial side, for example, we look at what marketing opportunities and channels exist in the market, advertising costs, etc. Thorough business cases are built before being signed off.

EGR Compliance: How does Betsson approach regulatory infringements identified by regulators through its various subsidiaries?

CV: The compliance team is a support function to the rest of the business, and one of its main functions is to review and analyse all the different offerings in all markets, i.e. what the commercial teams and the operations teams are offering to customers. In case we miss something, we usually get directly notified by the relevant regulator as it’s the compliance team that acts as the go-between for the company and the regulator. Once we’re notified, we start an analysis so as to understand and see if we agree with the regulator’s assessment of the infringement. If we agree, we acknowledge the notification and start making the necessary changes as needed. If we don’t agree, we tell the regulator the basis of why we do not agree and work together to find a solution.

Corinne Valletta (centre) during a panel discussion at the first Women in Betsson (WiBE forum)

EGR Compliance: What is the cornerstone of Betsson’s approach to dealing with regulators?

CV: Openness. We make it a point to have an open and transparent relationship with regulators, and keep an open line of communication with them.  Not all regulators are the same so we adapt our approach accordingly but in general all regulators appreciate when operators are in regular dialogue with them in an open way. They sometimes even ask for our opinions so that they hear our side of things.

EGR Compliance: How important to the legal process of an egaming firm is it that regulations within are clear and transparent?

CV: Very important. If we don’t have clarity and transparency in regulations, operators might interpret it in different ways and it could eventually require much more resources if it ends up in a dispute between operators and regulators. For me, clear and transparent rules are the starting point for any regulation. It helps us guide the business properly and helps us understand what the legislator wanted to achieve in the first place. If that is clear, it will be much easier to guide the business through the regulatory guidelines.

For example you can see that in countries with clear regulation only a very small number of fines have been appealed for breaches to the regulation.

EGR Compliance: Does Betsson prefer to operate a proactive or reactive approach to dealing with regulatory issues. Which do you think is better for an operator and why?

CV: We always try to be proactive, wherever possible. For example, we recently had a case in one jurisdiction where we noticed that we were treating an issue in a particular way, and we later realised it was not the best way. So, in such instances we raise a report with the regulator ourselves to inform them and provide information on what we are doing to address it. As I said, it’s always better to be open and transparent with the regulator, because if it comes out at a later stage it would appear that we tried to hide it. I’m a firm believer that you cause more damage by ignoring problems rather than addressing them.

EGR Compliance: In your opinion, how can greater operator collaboration change the way that the wider industry interacts with regulators?

CV: For us collaboration comes from the networks we form, and the associations we join, which is definitely something we believe in very strongly. We form part of a number of these groups both locally in Malta and internationally, like the Nordic trade associations and EGBA. We think that these associations help in increasing the element of openness with regulators, and it also provides a forum where we can voice our opinions and learn from one another.