Ievgeniia Derbal, Chief Legal, Tax & Regulatory Officer at Energame, champions installing global regulation for the online sports betting market.

Getting global regulation right from the outset, through the sharing of best practices to ensure minimum standards across jurisdictions, would be of huge benefit to businesses and users alike. It would also help regulators stay ahead of rapid innovation, future proofing the industry for the years ahead.

Global regulatory cooperation is nothing new. Consecutive waves of globalisation, the increased size and sophistication of multinationals, liberalisation of trade and the interconnectedness of markets has necessitated global regulatory cooperation in financial services for many years. Given the explosion of the digital economy in recent years – a phenomenon some are calling the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ – there are calls for greater cooperation among regulators in this vast new area of the economy that is, by definition, global.

Coordinating regulation globally, combined with best practice standards developed by industry leaders, could bring huge benefits to online gambling. It would strengthen consumer protection, enhance the industry’s wider credibility, squeeze out bad actors, increase transparency and help create a level playing field across the industry. Ultimately, a more proactive and constructive approach by the industry would mean regulation is workable and effective, avoiding mishaps in the future. Online gambling is one of the largest undiscovered markets on the planet. Even a cursory glance at some of the frontier markets shows a patchwork of differing regulatory environments.

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