Iagr 2018: Amble (Ngfa), 'Payment blocking to stop illegal gaming'

Copenhagen - Some countries have introduced the system of blocking payments to gaming companies not authorized to operate in that specific state, to fight against illegal gaming in internet.

This measure has been the subject of much debate in the past, having also been indicated among the recommendations emerged from the study of the sector operated by the European Commission through the White Paper on online gaming. But great skepticism has always prevailed (for example, even in Italy, which has never adopted a similar measure), because of the enormous effort that is required by a management of this type because of the difficulty of chasing illegal gaming websites and identify the accounts on which they rely to operate. But the subject is very current and not behind us. And, not by chance, it is discussed at the Iagr Conference in Copenhagen. In particular, Silije Saegrov Amble of the Norwegian Gaming and Foundation Authority, explains strengths and weaknesses of this tool to fight illegal activities, explaining the Norwegian experience and highlighting the peculiarities of this measure. According to the Norwegian, "it is a dual purpose measure, aiming to protect the market and the consumers" and "one of the many different and additional tools to improve the effectiveness of the regulators' action and that they can complement each other". However, stressing that it is "a useful tool for each jurisdiction, regardless of regulation, because we all have a brand to protect". Furthermore, "new companies need to consciounsly think if they want to offer their online games in Norway". Nevertheless, there are practical and objective difficulties faced by regulators in adopting a solution of this kind, which are highlighted by Amble. However, despite these critical factors, the blocking of payments can be considered a success measure, for various reasons: "First of all, because it allows you to know the market and the way in which gambling and payment work in practice: and this is certainly a requirement for success in regulating the market ". Furthermore, we can "raise awareness of what may be the consequences of illegal gaming". "Gaming companies that decide to follow the regulation are able to do so", while "providers of payment services may have a legal activity in a non-gambling sector in the same jurisdiction and blocking payments will be a success when it is able to bypass some tricks from illegal companies". Among the "weaknesses" that are identified in the adoption of this measure: "many gaming companies and providers of payment services still deal with gaming transactions in the jurisdiction where they were excluded. In addition, the regulation must be closely followed by the gaming Authority to be effective: it is always necessary to constantly provide resources for a period of time and to ensure that we have updated information on the numbers of bank accounts used for gambling by operators without a license, in order to stop payment transactions, and this requires a great waste of resources". Among the findings reached in the panel, it is suggested to adopt "a tool for each type of jurisdiction, because everyone has a market to protect: to deepen the knowledge of the market on payment transactions, to focus on information and on dialogue on regulation and its consequences". In fact, despite the operational difficulties, the Norwegian regulator plans to block the transitions against all illegal gambling sites operating in Norway by 2020.