Matej Novota: "Regulators should think of unintended consequences"

Casino Guru Head of Data and Complaints Matej Novotavisited the recent edition of Online Casino Summit Italia. The event touched on a variety of topics, with a strong focus on regulation, expected changes in the market, and how those were not always – perhaps – in the best interest of consumers. Matej shares the highlights of the events, his personal opinion, and makes an interesting argument for regulators avoiding "originality" for the sake of it, and focusing on hard evidence and facts, that can often be drawn from parallel markets.

Q: Matej, it’s good to have you with us. We will jump straight into it. You recently attended the Online Casino Summit Italia. Can you tell us what this was like for you?

It was my first time attending the summit and it was quite refreshing to have an industry gathering where you had a smaller number of industry specialists focusing on the quality of the discussions and exhibitions. I definitely enjoyed the presentations and work done by the exhibitors.

There were actionable insights into the market that I feel were definitely good data and research. As someone who is interested in data and appreciates information, I found it interesting to see the event introduce statistics about various things – for example, how much the removal of Auto Play & Turbo mode would impact players and whether certain regulatory changes made sense – once again based on data, although sometimes drawn from other markets.

So, part of the information at the exhibition was focused on how things are right now – with presentations comparing the Italian market as it is right now and juxtaposing it to other markets in Europe. Another part focused on discussing things such as Auto Play and fast-play features, as I mentioned, betting limits and more.

The event tried to present actual data gathered from consumers, and from parallel markets to try and determine whether certain things would work. I think data can be a key to helping guide regulatory decisions as many of the things have been already tested across different markets beyond Italy.

Q: Why is Italy an important market in Europe in general and what is your take on some of the presentations you saw at the event?

The Italian market is the second-biggest market in Europe with the potential to increase its size in the next few years. That’s definitely interesting. However, this market comes with many unique challenges when it comes to how much brands can advertise, and with the chatter about. I believe I am not alone when I say this but many people in the industry are hoping that things will change in the future to allow for somewhat more liberal advertising rules.

Now, in terms of presentations and information shared at the event, there was a lot, but I want to draw your attention to the 2.5-second-per-spin rule. I found it very interesting how the 2.5-between-spin rule was explained. One of the presentations essentially described ways for new games to be built so that players would be able to still play fast, but not actually spin any reels. A good example was given with a game called Super Pinata where players would just click around on their screens – no spins involved.

But here’s the thing – and what I found very interesting at this event. The 2.5-between-spin rule is not in itself a universal safeguard for consumers. In fact, you may argue that the rule doesn’t work, at least based on the data I saw presented at Online Casino Summit Italia. So, the main takeaway was that the rule would actually lead to an increase in the time players spend playing – longer sessions.

Another thing that I found very interesting and rather surprising is that some well-known practices such as session statistics could have a direct opposite effect than regulators planned for and instead of preventing players from losing more, it encourages players to spend more to cover their losses. But here I believe it depends on the players - how they evaluate the information they have at hand. For some players, the changes discussed may be of help but for the most problematic players, this could be just the opposite. I think it's fair to ask – who are these measures protecting in the first place?

If that is indeed the case, this means that there are fundamental questions regulators ought to ask themselves before passing on restrictions. I think what is important is for regulators to start talking to each other and exchange know-how, experience, and data – my own bread and butter.

I just feel the regulatory conversation can be so much better with regulators learning from one another – what works and what doesn't. I am not saying that the regulatory changes that may be implemented in Italy are themselves bad or ill-conceived, but I feel that at the Online Casino Summit Italia, there were quite a few concerns about certain aspects backed by compelling cases and informed by hard data from other markets that made a lot of sense.

I think the main takeaway would be that regulators are keen to come up with new ideas to protect consumers and regulate the market, but they seem to be putting insufficient effort into checking the results.

Q: Can you tell us more about what the main highlights of the event were for you and why they mattered in your opinion?

For me, the most important part of the event was the panels and discussions about upcoming legislation and anticipated changes. There was a lot of interesting information about how the limitations set by the government are actually impacting players and how consumers are affected by that.

The Online Casino Summit Italia touched on some very interesting topics that to me, personally, were precisely what I expected to hear about going into this event for the first time. One of the big-ticket discussions concerned regulation. Italy is set to increase the license fees for operators and limit their number to 40, a move that is going to suppress competition, I feel.

I think the gathering addressed this well. Italy is already one of the strictest regulated markets. The issue that companies face now is that increased regulatory pressure would definitely make it harder for businesses to operate. But there is another point of view to consider here – how these changes would impact consumers and players who are ultimately the ones that regulation must serve to.

So, there was a lot to unpack. The currently anticipated changes are generally received with some degree of skepticism with only several of the biggest companies in the market looking forward to them. For the rest of the companies in Italy, the new licensing conditions may prove a real challenge indeed.

Q: Italy’s one of the tightest markets in terms of regulation as we have found out. Have you seen or learned about something that is noticeably different about Italy due to the way it regulates its industry?

Every market seems to be unique in its own way when it comes to regulation – it’s not immediately there to see, but markets are different. There are things that work in the matter of regulation and things that don’t. I think what’s important is for regulators to cooperate and focus on tools and requirements that work well rather than coming up with a completely unique framework. As I previously mentioned, there are established formulas that have already been tested – again it’s about data!

There are many tested formulas out there that work and can be implemented successfully already. If operators need to develop new tools to enter different markets, this makes it harder for new companies to actually launch into a given market, this means that a market becomes less competitive. More competition means that the players benefit, and this is definitely something that deserves further regulatory attention.

Q: What is your opinion of the Italian market after visiting the Online Casino Summit Italia?

Each market is different and for some, you don’t need to know much, and some are very complicated. The Italian market is a bit complicated, but it is not an extreme case. There are many valuable lessons to learn and take away from how Italy does things, and more importantly – how operators are adjusting to regulation and succeeding in the delivery of a great product that is consumer-focused and corresponds to the highest regulatory standards for consumer protection.

The Online Casino Summit Italia definitely helped outline some of those success stories, although the event undoubtedly discussed the challenges that the sector faces. Overall, though, I felt that Online Casino Summit Italia had a very positive message to send to attendees and the overall future of the market.

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