Zona de Azar Belgica – Solidarity, Community and Alliance: Embodying a New Culture of Sports Integrity
Lausanne/Brussels, June 30, 2020 www.zonadeazar.com Lottery executives and professionals from the sports movement came together this week via a series of online webinars to address among other topics, the new normal to which the lottery sector, the sports betting sector, and public stakeholders are adapting to after the Covid-19 pandemic. The webinar, which gathered over 300 participants, was organised by Global Lottery Monitoring System (GLMS), The European Lotteries (EL) and the World Lottery Association (WLA).
Reflecting on the largest health crisis the world has seen in modern history, lottery games and the sports movement (including sports betting), dramatically slowed down or even came to a complete halt. Sports betting operators have been proposing bet opportunities on unusual competitions, triggering specific types of investigations, increased vigilant monitoring, and have further highlighted the need for closer cooperation with the law enforcement and sports sectors. Digital transformation, understanding the climate from the perspective of each stakeholder and working together was therefore an underlining theme in all the webinar sessions. There is no doubt that the current Covid-19 crisis is challenging, but lottery operators should embrace it as an opportunity to fast forward their thinking on digital transformation and innovation.
Debunking the myth that no sport equals no threat, the importance of going digital while still understanding consumer needs and the appreciation of the social aspects of sports betting were all identified as key takeaways. Additionally, law enforcement continues to develop its targeted understanding of the sports betting world as this is a key factor in the wider context for example, of identifying and capturing criminals. All agreed that a legislative and structured framework such as the Macolin Convention and its national platforms would facilitate an understanding of the whole context of a manipulation. The rise of sports betting in the USA and Canada was discussed as well as the boosting of sports betting activities and products through increased digitalisation and innovation, taking it to the next level.
Reactions
GLMS President, Ludovico Calvi shared, “This was the first webinar for GLMS and I would like to thank EL and WLA for supporting us in its organization and execution. I think that it was a success and that we all have gleaned some best practices, which will help our members, partners and key stakeholders in the Covid-19 recovery and post recovery phase. There were interesting and useful presentations as well as valuable insights over the last three days of sessions. I really valued the variety of the topics and the interaction from the audience through the questions and comments made in each session. I believe that the range of valuable perspectives will provide fertile ground for grappling with familiar problems in new and more effective ways. GLMS also had the opportunity to launch its new promotional video and its latest operational Hub in North America”.
EL Secretary General, Arjan van ’t Veer added, “By moderating a session on the impact of Covid-19 on the lottery sector and adaptations to technological developments, my motto is – don’t be afraid of digitalisation! I had the opportunity to hear about how lotteries have become more innovative and for example, how the mobile channel has quickly changed from being a channel within the omnichannel approach of a lottery, to becoming THE omnichannel itself. In the post pandemic era, the digital transformation we are experiencing it is not a threat but on the contrary, an opportunity for both lotteries and retailers to add value to their activities. It was a pleasure to organise this first webinar series on sports integrity with GLMS and WLA.”
Luca Esposito, WLA Executive Director said, “The three-day webinar demonstrated the world lottery community’s commitment and dedication to the integrity, security, and probity of the lottery and sports betting sectors. Despite the restrictions that these troubled times have placed upon us, we remain committed to sharing knowledge, experience, and best practices with our members around the globe. I would like to personally thank, GLMS, EL, and of course all the participants for making this webinar an absolute success”.
Full session overviews and the final agenda can be found attached and links to the recordings of the webinar are below.
Notes
- Webinar recording: Day 1 – Day 2 – Day 3
- Full session overview
- Final agenda
Editó: @_fonta www.zonadeazar.com
