Certification for sustainable lotteries

In recent years, advances in technologies have helped to rapidly develop the entertainment industry, from music and movies to gaming and betting. In the case of the lotteries and sports betting operators, they offer an increasing number of online platforms that provide players with easy access to many products and services across diverse personal devices.  

As more jurisdictions legalize online gaming and sports betting and the number of sports and types of betting offers grows, players are spoilt for choice in an online world that unlike physical retail outlets, is not limited to opening hours.  

This may be advantageous to the ongoing development of omnichannel and the ever-expanding online market, but it also raises some important questions regarding player safety, in particular, vulnerable groups, as well as the security of gaming and betting operations and player data.

The state-authorized lotteries and sports betting operators have risen to the challenge of delivering fun, yet safe and responsible gaming environments. In fact, for many, Responsible Gaming (RG) is at the heart of their Corporate Social Responsibility strategies.  

The WLA RG Framework was developed to assist WLA members that are beginning an RG program and those which continue to improve on what they already have established. Certification to the WLA Responsible Gaming Framework enables the lotteries and their suppliers to demonstrate that they adhere to industry best practices which protect the interests of their players, while balancing fund raising and providing fun entertainment. Over 115 WLA members are certified to the RG Framework of which over 100 are lotteries.  

Equally, the WLA Security Control Standard (WLA-SCS:2020) is the only global standard for the lottery and sports betting industry, which enables WLA members to develop and maintain a visible and documented security environment, in order to achieve and sustain public confidence in their operations. Around 80 lottery members and 35 associate members have certified to the standard. Its structure is aligned with the International Standards Organization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard – ISO/IEC 27001, Information Security Management Systems, and provides industry-specific controls for lottery operators, gaming system suppliers and operators, and multijurisdictional games. Certification to this standard allows businesses to obtain a level of security control in line with generally accepted best practices and to enable an increased reliance on the integrity of their operations.

In this issue, a member of the WLA Security Risk Management Committee (SRMC) task force for security will provide updates about the next iteration of the SCS, which is expected in the second half of 2024. We will also learn more from a member of the task force for risk management about key work and activities in this area.  

It is always inspiring to hear about the varied and effective RG programs being developed by our members around the world. This time, we discover the ongoing work of Uruguay LaBanca, which has achieved the highest level of certification and continues to find novel ways to enhance its RG efforts, while Singapore Pools enlightens us on how the use of artificial intelligence as a preventative measure helps to better protect vulnerable players.

We will also get highlights from WLA and regional association events, which gathered global experts from our industry and beyond to discuss the concept of sustainable RG, such as with special focus on the responsible gaming normalization, youth as well as gaming and social costs for lotteries.

We hope you enjoy this issue.