At the GiocoNews.it round table at the iGB Live! in Amsterdam, Netherlands, this week, EU regulators disapproved of the ban on gaming advertising proposed in Italy.
According to Charles Coppolani, president of the French authority Arjel: “Advertising regulation is an activity that is very important for us, as regulators. In France, we issued precise rules on the quality of messages, providing indications and limitations to companies.”
Although he did not directly criticise the choice of the Italian government, he cautiously explained that “we are dealing with very delicate subjects and therefore difficult to judge from the outside.”
Coppolani explained his experience and the line followed in France. “We have not considered the idea of completely banning gaming advertising because it wouldn’t be in line with the operators’ activities, but above all because we believe that this represents a serious risk for player safety because the legal offer would become indistinguishable from the illegal one, while our role is precisely that of protecting consumers first of all and fighting against illegal activities.”
Heathcliff Farrugia, administrator of the Malta Gaming Authority, agreed. “Each country must independently regulate the advertising of games, because there are peculiarities concerning the single context that must be taken into account, for example the types of television programmes, the attitudes of the audience and so on.
“Therefore, the regulator must provide qualitative indications and rules and the frequency with which it is possible to show the messages. The idea of introducing a total ban on games promotions, however, looks dangerous because it doesn’t allow consumers to learn about legal offers, posing a risk for safety.”
However, Dan Iliovici, vice president of the Rombet association and outgoing president of the National Gaming Office which regulates the Romanian market, has no doubts about the ineffectiveness of these measures. “We are carefully following what is happening in Italy, also due to the fact that in Romania we had a similar situation with a bill presented in Parliament calling for a total ban on gambling advertising, just like in Italy.
“But it was set aside because it was considered not worthy of attention. However, there is now the fear that someone may think to try again that way, reading the news coming from Italy. What I can say is that in my role as regulator, just a few months ago before leaving office, I published the new code of discipline of games promotion that was the result of a study analysis and synthesis of the various experiences gathered at international level on the same subject, regulating advertising in Romania.
“It is vital to provide sustainable, clear and simple rules for the benefit of consumers but at the same time sustainable for businesses. But I am sure that totally banning advertising is completely wrong because it is dangerous, because it makes it indistinguishable for the consumer what is legal and what is illegal, with enormous risks for safety.”
