Paul's Blog April 30, 2018
A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. George Bernard Shaw Click here to read
We have posted articles and interviews from the March/April issue of PGRI Magazine, as well as a pdf of the magazine itself at PublicGaming.com and also PGRIDigitalLibrary.com (go to the Magazines tab 2018) Also posted are the video-recordings of PGRI SMART-Tech Miami. See PGRItalks.com.
Malta cabinet approves regulatory framework for crypto-currencies. The precise impacts of crypto-currencies on the ability of governments to regulate and tax iGaming is not known yet. But it is probably not a good sign that Malta is providing a safe-haven for iGaming operators to develop crypto-currency-based financial platforms that may serve as an underground economy, an ecosystem out-of-reach from regulators and tax authorities. Malta and its iGaming clients make money, but at the expense of everyone else. Fortunately, iGaming is not the only industry that is vulnerable to the impacts of alternative currencies. So hopefully governments around the world will act quickly to implement the laws and regulations to minimize the disruptive impact crypto-currencies.
“A ZEAL for disruption.” ZEAL Networks is trying to do to the world what the Health Lottery did to the UK. The name of this new lottery model is “Society Lotteries”. It is essentially starting a new lottery to compete with the state-sponsored lottery. Zeal joined with UNICEF to create a new online/digital lottery in Norway. It is legally licensed in Norway with the charter to operate a lottery to raise funds for UNICEF charities. Other examples of Society Lotteries include the Health Lottery in the UK and the People Postcode Lottery in the Netherlands. Society Lotteries are operating with proper license and are generating funds for good causes. We respect the rights of governments to decide which regulatory policy best serves their public policy objectives. But there are a couple troubling aspects to this “Society Lotteries” trend.
ZEAL Networks also owns TIPP24 which, like Lottoland, is a bet-on-the-outcome-of-lotto model. Like Lottoland, TIPP24 operates in gray areas where the enforceability of laws is difficult. No disrespect to Norwegian government for deciding to partner with ZEAL Networks, but is it good for the industry to reward methods of operation that many people regard as illegal? Having operated on the fringes of legality for many years, ZEAL is now being allowed to pivot, bringing the customer base and technological assets acquired in the gray markets over to apply in the regulated markets.
The “People’s Postcode Lottery” is a Society Lottery that is lobbying to remove limits to the amount they are allowed to sell. Without knowing the background for the decisions on terms and conditions for the original charter for People’s Postcode Lottery, one might suppose that the intent was for this new lottery to serve good causes, but to do so in ways that do not disrupt the broader market for lottery games. In any event, “At present society lotteries have an annual sales cap of £10 million a year.” Now, the People’s Postcode Lottery wants to expand beyond that original charter. Is that the best thing for the government, for the state-sponsored lotteries, or for the good causes supported by those state-sponsored lotteries. Is it a good thing to transform the traditional lottery model (which provides exclusivity to one operator) over to being a competitive market-place with multiple operators? Which brings us back to the moniker of ZEAL Networks: A ZEAL for disruption. Disruption is a vital part of a healthy and dynamic economic system. Disruption is not, however, a positive thing for the established incumbent (government lotteries) or the shareholders of the established incumbent (the government which is all the people). Why is it a good thing for government lotteries, the governments that own the lotteries, or the people and good causes supported by the government lotteries, to introduce competition into this space?
It should be emphasized that there are many different models at work here, and they should not all be put into the same bucket. The Health Lottery and the People’s Postcode Lottery are licensed and law-abiding operators. Lottoland and TIPP24 operate in at least some jurisdictions without proper license. theLotter.com operates an online re-selling model that is not properly licensed in all the jurisdictions where it sells. ZEAL Networks is migrating its gray area model over to regulated markets. Lottoland is attempting to do the same. Some of these models and methods of operation are perfectly legal, and some are not legal, and some are more destructive than others. The multiple-license model being implemented by Sweden represents another approach with a similar effect of reshaping the Lottery industry to resemble a competitive consumer market-place. Regardless of the various approaches, I am just not clear on the purpose of destroying the exclusivity model which has been so effective at generating billions of dollars for good causes.
5G: How Brands and Lotteries Can Prepare for the New Era of Connectivity
Fabulous article on the 5th generation of mobile networks. It’s not just about speed and bandwidth (though that will be improved exponentially). The power of the entire “Internet-of-Things” infrastructure will be unlocked when barriers to seamless ubiquitous internetworking are removed. “Since commercial rollout is predicted to arrive from 2020 onwards, the time to create more graphically immersive, multiplatform, seamlessly connected play – is now. “More” in a game is not necessarily better for the play experience, but more speed – with shorter latency and faster loading – certainly is.”