Many of the gaming industry’s top operators and software providers will be attending the second Prague Gaming Summit later this month.

The summit, which opens on 29 March, focuses on the regulatory updates of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and Poland.

The European Gaming Media and Events group says it has created a “boutique concept” that brings inside information from the top gaming experts in the European Union, and beyond.

The summit was first held during 2017 and became a huge success with the panels focusing on Czech and European gambling regulation. This year the Prague Gaming Summit aims to cover new market-specific amendments in gambling law, effective sports betting marketing, and responsible gaming.

Focus on new legislation

The Polish market is one of the most restrictive in Europe, but changes to its gambling regulations introduced on the 1 April last year have so far proven to be more beneficial to the licensed betting operators, who have reported that they have almost doubled their turnover in comparison with previous years.

But there have been complaints that operators have found themselves either blacklisted or dealing with cumbersome paperwork, with more announced amendments on the cards.

The official aim of the legislative changes was to increase the protection of players against risks related to excessive gambling and to decrease the unlicensed market. However, according to DLA Piper’s Gaming Resource, the number of games permitted in Poland also includes a couple of revolutionary changes.

These would consist of more online gambling games allowed in Poland, not just the online betting and lotteries that were previously included. It also included an enlargement of the state monopoly, so that the whole online gambling sector fell under review – apart from online betting and promotional lotteries. It also contains a partial liberalization of poker tournaments and unlimited slot machines.

There are stricter measures in place for unlicensed operators and a limit on gambling advertisements.

Responsible gaming

Responsible gaming is now a significant topic across the continent of Europe, with UK firm William Hill hit with a record fine earlier this month.

One of the latest announcements from the Prague Gaming Summit has revealed that an entire discussion has been devoted to responsible gambling and tackling the threat of money laundering.

The summit will see the likes of panel speakers such as the Romanian National Office of Gambling president Dan Iliovici, Alex Henderson of the Ritz Club London, Pieter Remmers of Assissa, and Martin Arendts of Arendts Anw?lte.

Workshops and reports will be given by top reputable gaming experts who are active players of the online and land-based industry, providing both operators and software providers with an early peak as to what to expect in 2018, and how they can apply for licenses wherever that is possible.

The summit will also feature a roundtable discussion with the Czech regulators to cover any questions which may arise.