Jdigital criticises Adelson egaming claims
Spanish egaming industry group claims no study supports arguments put forward by Las Vegas Sands CEO
There is “no data to support” Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson’s claims about the egaming industry, according to Spanish industry group Jdigital.
Spain’s egaming market has shown a decline in gross gaming revenue in the first quarter of 2013, and Jdigital believes Spanish authorities know “the need to continue the improvement of the sector”, spokesman Ferrer told eGaming Review.
“It should be a priority to solve some elements, among others; a review of the overall tax burden on operators as well as players’ taxation, the implementation of international liquidity and a faster system to offer new games,” he said.
However Adelson’s recent column in Forbes magazine saw the land-based casino mogul describe the potential US egaming market as “a societal train wreck waiting to happen” and called upon Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to “limit” the country’s egaming market, according to Spanish newspaper El Confidencial.
“[The] possibility of underage children finding ways to place online wagers and the possibility of people betting under the influence of drugs or being coerced are all scenarios that can happen when the person is only monitored by their own computer screen,” Adelson said.
However Jdigital, whose members include Betfair, Paf and Spielo G2, has questioned the validity of the claims, with Ferrer saying “Jdigital does not know any report or study which supports these affirmations”.
“It is important to consider that the Spanish Regulator and the current digital gaming regulations are very strict in relation to the access of underage and vulnerable players to gaming activities. The Spanish procedures and requirements in this sense a model for other jurisdictions,” Ferrer told eGR.
“At the same time, the Regulator is working together with the licensed operators and other organizations (Universities, responsible gaming associations, Health ministry”¦) to develop and put in place proper responsible gaming policies and practices in order to protect risk groups. The prevention of these groups and the responsibly gaming is a priority for the licensed egaming operators in Spain.,” he added.
Ferrer told eGR that while Jdigital does not have specific information about Adelson’s intentions, “the influence of a particular actor should not change the direction of an interesting and profitable ecommerce market,” particularly if Adelson’s attitude to the dot.es market is as extreme as his ambitions for the US.
“The idea of regulations repealed sounds completely unreal in a country like Spain, it would have a huge economic impact and a negative effect on the Spanish image due to the legal uncertain would generate,” Ferrer said.