Interview with WLA President on combatting illegal lotteries and betting operators

In your first year as WLA President, what is the next phase for the WLA new strategy and the role the Combatting Illegal Lotteries and Betting Committee (CILBC) will play in it?

In my first year as WLA President, the next phase of our new strategy focuses on enhancing our support for members and addressing key challenges in the global gaming industry. Our vision is to be recognized as the global lottery and sports betting authority that supports its members in contributing to society.

We are moving full steam ahead to deliver several different strategy initiatives that will help us to achieve this. Science is a major factor and should enable us to see the facts, new insights and developments, and advise us on questions regarding the future design of markets and companies. We need the impulses to reflect on our actions and to keep an eye on major developments. It is important that we attract globally renowned scientists to address these issues.

In this context, an innovative research project initiated by the CILBC should be mentioned. The research will use artificial intelligence technology to develop a standardized method of sizing the illegal betting markets. In collaboration with the School of Criminal Justice at the University of Lausanne, we have gathered a group of key international stakeholders who bring diverse expertise to the table.

It is going to be an interesting year as the project advances to its conclusion in 2026. This is an important project, because our industry needs to be able to have as accurate a picture as possible of the illegal markets, which currently is not the case.

Beyond the topic of combatting illegal gaming and betting, what do you hope to achieve in 2025?

With its new strategic approach, the WLA has laid a very good foundation and basic concept for a successful future. Now it is a matter of looking at the themes in more detail and developing them accordingly. To be more specific, this year I will continue to drive the implementation of our strategic initiatives, which include efforts to enhance the support we provide to our members in the areas of Responsible Gaming and Security and Risk Management - the two pillars and foundation of our work.

It is our goal to make the WLA a more vibrant exchange platform for all our members again and, in line with our new strategy, to provide the best possible support for our members in their respective tasks.

I strongly believe in the measures we are taking to strengthen our partnerships with the Regional Associations (ALA, APLA, CIBELAE, EL and NASPL) and other organizations, such as the United Lotteries for Integrity in Sport (ULIS).

How is digitalization impacting the distinction between gaming and gambling in today's industry?

Different converging factors are driving this development, where the line between gaming and gambling is becoming more difficult to manage and in need of addressing. These include the growing interest of players in digital offerings, the use of innovative technologies, and the liberalization of regional gambling markets into licensing markets.

We see that a growing number of lotteries are incorporating gaming elements, such as digital scratch cards, into their product portfolios, even though regulators set clear restrictions on how these gaming elements should appear. For example, there is a new generation of highly entertaining multiplayer online competitive games where players pay money to acquire tools to help them win. Technically, the money is not being wagered or gambled, as there is no monetary prize. While money is being spent, these games do not fit the traditional definition of gambling, which includes chance, wager, and prize. Even so, the player experience has many similarities to gambling and requires spending money to play a game that can be highly addictive.

These new challenges raise questions for all stakeholders, including players, providers, legislators, gambling regulators and the WLA. Questions need answering, for example, how should a contemporary and effective responsible gaming program be designed, given the growing and changing gambling markets? Where does gaming end, and gambling begin? How can we balance the use of innovative technology in our industry; while ensuring we follow regulations and provide our customers with entertaining and responsible, secure playing environments?

How does the WLA, along with its diverse membership, differentiate itself from illegal gaming and betting operators, and what initiatives are in place to support this?

We undertake different initiatives through the work of our Committees, which benefit, and differentiate our members from illegal operators.

In 2014, the Council of Europe established the Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions, also known as the Macolin Convention. The WLA was instru-mental in drafting the initial version, which was finalized through the collaboration of over fifty states worldwide.

Our position is clear and aligned with the Macolin Convention and its definition of legal and illegal gaming. We have embedded it in our Code of Conduct. Moreover, we advocate that any companies operating without permission from competent authorities within their jurisdiction should be recognized as an illegal operator, and no jurisdiction should legitimize such operations by granting them licenses.

A fundamental aspect for the WLA is to achieve a common understanding of what constitutes illegal activities. To this end, the CILBC has developed extremely useful resources for our members including: a database that provides country fact sheets with an overview of the legislative, judicial and commercial situation regarding bet-on-lotteries and courier services in each country. The Committee also produced the WLA Working definitions publication that describes both legal and illegal operations and covers the areas of: Illegal Gambling Operators, Lottery Courier Services Opera-tor, Betting on Lotteries Operator & Commercial Gaming Broker, and a publication that provides lotteries that take part in multijurisdictional games with best practices for protecting IP, as well as steps to take in the event of infringements. WLA also pro-vides trainings and seminars, with diverse global partners, pooling expertise on this topic to raise awareness of the different issues that arise from illegal betting.

I have already mentioned how we support our members in providing secure, responsible gaming environments. We also have our Betting Integrity on Sports & Horse Racing Committee (BISHRC), which is dedicated to preserving the integrity of sport by leading the fight against match fixing and illegal betting.

The work of this Committee has never been more important given that over half of our lottery members now offer sports betting. These types of illicit activities jeopardize our industry’s reputation and require a concerted effort to tackle.

To this avail, we collaborate closely with ULIS and are involved with other organiza-tions, such as the Council of Europe and its Addressing Competitions Manipulation Together (ACT) project, which gathers stakeholders from across the lottery, sports and sports betting ecosystem, including law enforcement, sports organizations and sports monitoring bodies, to deal with these important issues.