Looking forward to new challenges

PAUL BURNS:

LOOKING FORWARD TO NEW CHALLENGES

BY PAUL BURNS, PRESIDENT AND CEO, CANADIAN GAMING ASSOCIATION

The Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) is having a busier than normal year. In addition to all our advocacy work, which I’ll touch on shortly, we also completed the sale of the Canadian Gaming Summit and Canadian Gaming Business Magazine to SBC. We’re thrilled to be the ‘Official Partner’ of the 2023 Summit (back in Toronto!) and we will continue to support SBC however we can.

Our membership has grown exponentially this year and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at G2E in October. In the meantime, the CGA’s Board of Directors has initiated a process to create a new strategic plan for the Association.

Our previous plan, ‘CGA 2.0’, was launched in 2018 and served us well through a very challenging time. Now we have a large membership base representing the top operators and suppliers in the global gaming industry, and we need to update our roadmap. Members are currently being invited to complete a survey or participate in a focus group to help shape our direction.

Turning to our advocacy efforts specific to the launch of Ontario’s igaming market, as with any new market, growing pains are to be expected. On behalf of our igaming operator and supplier members who have business in Ontario, we have been liaising directly with both the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and iGaming Ontario (iGO) to provide feedback on issues and seek clarification on standards.

An example is affiliate marketing. Operators are responsible for their suppliers, including affiliates, which aren’t individually licensed by the AGCO. Since the market launch on April 4, affiliate compliance has been an ongoing issue and the work to identify non-compliance is labor-intensive and time-consuming for operators. The CGA reached out to the AGCO and asked them to engage with the industry to identify a more tenable solution for everyone and the AGCO has agreed to our request.

Focusing on AML, Canada’s Proceeds of Crime Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism Act (PCMLFTA) requires the act to be reviewed every five years. The CGA’s Regulatory Innovation Committee launched its first sub-committee last winter in anticipation of this window opening to provide recommendations to modernize the PCMLFTA, as many of the provisions related to the gaming industry require revision. The sub-committee will provide feedback for consultation and is also working on a white paper to discuss how the industry’s adoption of emerging technology (cryptocurrencies, geolocation, cashless wagering) can strengthen the industry’s efforts to combat money laundering.

And finally, retail sportsbooks. It's been just over one year since Bill C-218 – the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act – was proclaimed into law and there are still no retail sportsbooks operating in Canada. It is disappointing that the provinces have not prioritized giving land-based casino operators the opportunity to build their businesses back to pre-Covid levels.

There’s no shortage of work for the Association, and I’d like to thank our Board and our members for their support. Lastly, my sincere thanks to SBC for inducting me into its Sports Betting Hall of Fame in July – I am honoured to be included with so many distinguished industry representatives.