WLA Deputy Executive Director, Lucile Goulard, moderated the session, starting with an explanation of the Panel's key role.
"The Independent Assessment Panel sits at the heart of the WLA Responsible Gaming Framework. Beyond certification, the Panel contributes valuable expertise and insight that help drive continuous improvement and best practices across the global lottery industry."
Goulard noted that the WLA had further strengthened the Panel, safeguarding its continuity and capacity, by broadening its expertise with the addition of two new members, Prof. Kahlil Simeon-Rose and Dr. Anke Quack, in 2025.
"The Panel's entire value to WLA rests on the fact that it is independent of the Association."
Introducing the IAP
International experts from the IAP, expanded on the challenges faced by the state-authorized lotteries and sports betting operators, and how best to ensure they deliver responsible, safe and entertaining player environments.
- Anne Pattberg, IAP Chair, Sustainability, Consumer Protection and ESG consultant.
For five years, Pattberg headed the sustainability department at Camelot Group, during which she Chaired the European Lotteries Working Group on Responsible Gaming, and was instrumental in the development of the WLA Responsible Gaming Framework and the EL Responsible Gaming Standard. For over a decade she has run her own consulting company, offering services for sustainability strategy, supply chain management, and non-financial reporting.
- Dr. Jeff Derevensky, Professor Emeritus & Director of Clinical Training, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Canada.
Dr. Derevensky is Director of the McGill University Youth Gambling Research and Treatment Clinic and the International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviors. His team has helped governments establish research priorities and been instrumental in the development of responsible gambling practices, treatment centers, prevention programs and public health and social policies internationally.
- Prof. Kahlil Simeon-Rose, Associate Professor, Washington State University, US.
He offers expertise in gambling policy, responsible gambling, and consumer behavior combines academic research with extensive industry experience, including former leadership of social responsibility programs at the British Columbia Lottery Corporation. also regularly advises governments and regulators on gambling regulation and harm minimization.
- Dr. Anke Quack, Head of Competence Centre for Player Protection & Prevention, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Centre, Mainz, Germany.
Quack is a public health researcher specialized in gambling harm prevention and player protection, affiliated with the Competence Centre for Player Protection & Prevention at the University Medical Centre Mainz and focuses on evidence‑based responsible gambling measures, consumer perspectives, and prevention strategies.
- Dame Diane Thompson, (not present during the event) brings over four decades of experience in marketing and general administration roles in diverse businesses and was CEO of Camelot Group plc, the former operator of the UK National Lottery for 14 years. Currently, Thompson is Non-Executive Chairman of Sanderson Design Group Ltd and a non-executive Director of Next plc and Pagefield Communications.
Challenges raised by the panel
Some of the challenges raised by the panelists included:
- The importance for lotteries to implement and evaluate what has been developed, to ensure and demonstrate that the responsible gaming program works.
- The need to use influencers who are particularly relevant for young people to show them what the risks are.
- AI technologies allow early detection and the ability to analyze larges amounts of data. They may predict a player's gambling problem, but once the risk has been identified, what is the right intervention?
- When it comes to sustainability commitment, the effectiveness of integration and evaluation is really important for demonstrating how a lottery operator drives its business sustainably.
- The rapidly growing prediction markets.
