Two questions: 1. If the European Commission has no interest in harmonising gaming regulation within its boundaries, what is the point of Euromat? 2. If the UK is coming out of the EC next year, what is the point in the UK remaining a member of Euromat?
To briefly lay the background:
1. Euromat is the federation of coin machine trade associations in Europe. All of the big trade associations, the German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and British associations are in membership, along with their fellows from 11 countries in total. Around since 1979 the organisation’s primary role is to act as a watchdog on Brussels.
It was made abundantly clear at the Euromat Summit, held in Monte Carlo June 5/6 by a number of speakers, that Brussels wants nothing to do with gaming regulation. It has chosen to dodge this potentially dynamite political issue by deflecting responsibility on to its member states.
2. Given that the UK is leaving the Union next year, what is the point in the British trade association, BACTA, continuing to fund its share of this potentially expensive yet apparently toothless cabal?
Is it just a jolly for the boys to exotic destinations (Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin)? And there were certainly some weaknesses in the representation present and indeed, in the attitude of some of the delegations, almost to the pitch where it could be described as ‘closed minds’ on some subjects.
The two questions were posed to me in coffee breaks by folk more genuinely intrigued with the possible justification, as opposed to simply mischief-making. And at the risk of being accused to mischief-making myself, I emphasise immediately that I would seek positive justification rather than taking the opportunity to just knock it.
I spoke with Jason Frost on the subject. The current president of the organisation and former president of BACTA, is something of a Euromat evangelist. He believes passionately in what he sees as its raison d’etre. In face of some pretty fierce applications of cold, hard logic on my part, Frost played what the Brits describe as ‘a straight bat’ (to European readers, it is a cricket expression meaning simply stout defending). And he went on from there to outline some of the key plus points in not only Euromat continuing to exist, but Britain’s membership of it.
He kept suitably poker faced at some of the negatives I voiced about attitudes present at the Summit from some present (and absent) delegations, but more about that later.
“I could go on at considerable length about why I believe that there is a place for Euromat,” he said, “but to encapsulate it in one sentence: the regulators are the key to European operators’ future and we have a growing communication with the regulators.”
Yes, he could mention that while the EC doesn’t want to regulate gaming, it wants to issue diktats on subjects like money laundering and that kind of legislation DOES affect the industry and therefore Euromat’s ‘watchdog’ role is very appropriate. He could have gone on at length about the need to promote the FEC business in Europe, cashless payments (a passion of his) and opening up new markets like France and Portugal. All very valid reasons for Euromat to be there, provided of course that it pursues these objectives aggressively…..
But he chose instead to point to the active involvement of regulators, meeting, mixing and exchanging ideas with Euromat. He pointed out that Marja Appelman was there, and spoke convincingly and sympathetically (especially over ticket redemption in FECs) during the Summit. Appelman is the CEO of The Netherlands Gaming Authority and perhaps more impressively in terms of credentials, Appelman is the vice-chair of the Gaming Regulators’ European Forum (GREF), a kind of trade association for the law-makers.
Also there were regulators from Spain and from Belgium plus observers from other jurisdictions.
Frost believes firmly that this kind of liaison is the key to progress in Europe. He feels – and Marja Appelman clearly agrees with him – that ticket redemption games should not be in any national regulation, yet many put those games into that sector because simply, they don’t know where else to put them. Accordingly, France and Portugal regard ticket redemption as ‘gambling’ and ban it, which is clearly daft when you consider that severely restrictive and conservative environs such as Saudi Arabia wave it through without a second glance.
These are areas that, through the regulators, Frost believes that Euromat can be heard – to the benefit of all of Europe, and not just those countries that lie within the grip of the EC.
To that extent then, Euromat is a Europe-wide organisation and it just happens that nine of its 11 member countries are also EC members. Two are not, and the UK will make it three next year. Yet they can all benefit from the work that Euromat can do.
Those are the arguments, at least a short summary of them. I am sure that Frost could wax lyrical in support of his passion, but the object of this commentary is not to produce an advertisement for Euromat, but to take a closer look at why it’s there and to examine some of the concerns that some of us felt as a result of the Euromat Summit.
The organisation worked hard to bring an eclectic mix of subjects before delegates that should have elicited interest, stimulation and lively debate. They were, indeed, inclusive of some of the key talking points in the European street market today. And after all, Euromat is there not for the casinos, nor for the online gambling market or any of the other, arguably more financially extravagant forms of ‘amusement’ in its widest sense. Euromat is the organisaton for the street market, for the arcades, the seaside amusement centres, the urban adult gaming centres….in other words for the amusement trade or for the low-stakes and prizes machines in bars and pubs.
There are overlaps, of course. Responsible gambling has to play a significant role as players can lose money compulsively on an AWP in a pub just as they can (much faster) in bookies’ shops, casinos or on lotteries. That was on the agenda.
The future of cash in coin-op was also on the agenda. Most FECs these days use cashless methods – usually in-house debit cards; but the issue of using bank cards in gaming machines is just as key to the pub as it is to the casino or the arcade.
The competition from online gambling was certain to be mentioned several times – and it was, if only to acknowledge its impact as a competitor.
I watched with interest the involvement of the various national groups with each subject. The turn-out for day two, when it was mostly talk about responsible gaming and protection of the vulnerable, was actually quite decent, but probably driven by the fact that most big operators today have at least one person if not a department dedicated to that sector.
And cashless gaming affected most people – except the Germans. It was made clear that as cashless gaming is not legal in Germany and Germany has enough problems of other types right now, and there is no general talk of making gaming cashless there, then the German delegation was actually quite dismissive of the entire subject. That did surprise me a little, for the Germans are (rightly) regarded as technology leaders and innovators, yet they appeared singularly narrow-minded on any subject that did not affect Germany in particular.
It was very noticeable that when the subject matter turned to the future in Europe of the family entertainment centre and, by association, the mainstay of that type of venue, the redemption business, most of the German delegation took a break. That is disappointing. I have many friends in the German industry and have tried long and hard to penetrate the thinking that does not go beyond AWPs in pubs and arcades. The potential of the FEC is (at last) being recognised in The Netherlands, in the UK, in Spain and Italy, yet what is to a large extent the leading market in the street business switches off completely when the subject gets mentioned.
And where did the 100-plus delegates and speakers come from? About 40% of the total attendance was British…..what odds of that statistic post-Brexit? And where were the Italians? Monte Carlo is within spitting distance of the Italian border, yet there was nary a soul that I spotted. Granted there were a couple of the largest Dutch operators in the room and there were plenty from Germany; but Spain was represented by the enigmatic Eduardo Antoja (perhaps the most Euromat-phile of them all) with association and regulatory representation that can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
But where were the rest of the countries that are counted in membership? In reality, operators from all over Europe, if they are not in the casino industry, should have taken a stronger interest. Does that suggest that a ‘Europeanness’ is lacking within the European amusement and low-stakes gaming industry? Are they only interested in what is happening on their own ‘patch’ and failing to take the wider view….the European view? Is the European operating industry, then, small-minded, disinterested in anything outside their immediate territories?
The inevitable conclusion is that Jason Frost and his colleagues have a lot of work to do to win over some hearts and minds. Logic suggests that they deserve much better support from the rank and file of the industry. If the organisation is really energetic in its pursuit of pan-European relief on subjects such as more open-mindedness among regulators towards FECs and their contents and a closer liaison generally with those who govern our wider industry, then they deserve a break.
Enthusiasm for a cause will do much, but it is not the panacea for all the industry’s ills. It is, however, a very good starting point.
And next year? Hopefully somewhere less eye-wateringly expensive than Monte Carlo. If Euromat wants to demonstrate that it is a European industry organisation and not an EC one, then it could do much to bolster its credibility by staging its Summit in the UK. How about Cardiff? Not such a daft suggestion, really, as the Welsh capital is where the AWP was born and bred…..
Pictured: Jason Frost addressing the Summit.
