IMGL Conference Highlights Future Gaming Trends:
The top ten gaming panel observations at the two-day International Masters of Gaming Law conference held in Vienna, Austria, last week were as follows:
1) Merger and acquisition activity in the gaming equipment manufacturing and related software development industry will pick up in 2012.
2) The impact of the internet on the gaming business is massive and needs to be fully understood and addressed by the regulators in a logical, common sense fashion. The technological revolution and its impact on enforcement issues present significant challenges for the regulators and the industry.
3) Internet gaming is expanding rapidly in Europe, with Italy leading the way. State monopolies are gradually fading away in favor of an open, competitive, commercial internet gaming market that emphasizes commercial transparency. The challenge is to properly protect the public from phony operators and protect player accounts. The European Parliament is awaiting a green paper on online gaming (pegged as the “Creutzmann Report” in honor of its author) which will be forthcoming in October and will serve as the basis for the European Parliament’s development of online gaming policies. The focus of the recommendations will be minimum standards, transparent reporting, and financial transaction regulation designed to block illegal operators.
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