Summer 2024

A world of opportunities

Welcome to the July issue of the IMGL Magazine. For those in the northern hemisphere, I hope it will provide a great source of summertime reading. But, wherever you are, it should deliver a welcome injection of commentary and analysis of legal developments in the gaming industry.

I am particularly pleased to see the paper from Tamera Parson, student at the University of Mississippi School of Law. The article was her entry to the second IMGL Student Writing Competition where she was voted runner up by attendees to our Tampa Bay conference. Winner Charles Cahillane’s piece has already been published elsewhere, showing just how high the standard of entries is. I am hoping that we will expand this successful initiative to Europe this year and very much look forward to hearing from some future young gaming lawyers at our Rome conference.

Talking of Rome, I have been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm with which this conference has been welcomed. Our partnership with IAGR, the venue in the Eternal City and, of course, a stellar lineup of highly relevant topics and a roster of exciting and experienced speakers have made this conference a very hot ticket. At this stage, it looks like the event will sell out, and I encourage you to reserve your place whilst they are still available. Members of the organizing committee are putting the finishing touches to the event both in terms of speakers and the social program and you can find out all the details by visiting www.imgl.org/events/imgl-iagr-2024-autumn-conference/. Our early bird offer runs out by the end of July so that is also something to consider.

Scanning the contents of this IMGL Magazine and talking to our members I am struck by the world of opportunities that continue to open up both for our industry and for the IMGL. Brazil has been the big one this year, but EM Group reported recently that it has helped potential operators apply for over 700 licenses in Curacao. We have a report in these pages from Timor Leste where the government has earmarked gaming as part of its efforts to drive economic growth. We also have an update from India, a market of over a billion people, where the twists and turns of regulation continue to generate interest. Then I hear there are developments in Finland which will no doubt feature in a future edition. It is an exciting time to be doing what we do.

On the subject of emerging jurisdictions, I just returned from a very successful institutional trip to Tbilisi where I met with the local regulator and other industry representatives from across Eastern Europe and Eurasia.  They are all keen to get closer to the IMGL, to work with us and also to draw from our vast experience, know-how and global network

As ever, I am interested to read the wide variety of articles in this edition and am grateful to all our contributors. I can only concur with Corinne Valletta’s comment that barely a day goes by without a development taking place somewhere that will have a material affect on us all. I am thankful to Simon and Phil for tracking some of these changes and for bringing them to us in our magazine.

See you in Rome!

Quirino Mancini