Speaking at the SBC Summit Lisbon last week, a panel of European gambling CEOs discussed the role of industry trade bodies and the hurdles they face in representing both small and tier one operator interests.
These associations have become increasingly pivotal in challenging policy makers and holding regulators to account against tightening policies across Europe.
But LiveScore CEO Sam Sadi told the audience he believed they faced an impossible job in representing the entire sector, due to the conflicting interests of large and small operators.
Are some welcoming incoming restrictions?
Sadi said some tier one players were welcoming new measures like advertising restrictions and tax hikes as they help to consolidate a market and improve the position of leading operators.
“You’ll see some super large operators being able to absorb advertising restrictions or increased taxes and even benefit because the marketplace consolidates at the top and smaller operators have to leave the market.”
In Spain, Codere Online has said on numerous occasions that it had been impacted by the rollback of advertising restrictions in the market in 2024.
In November Codere Online CFO Oscar Iglesias said the reintroduction of welcome bonuses had had a slightly negative impact on profit margins in Spain in Q3 due to the costs involved and increased competition from newer operators.
“When competition is higher, the prices are increasing both in digital and in traditional media, which eventually leads to a higher CPA and then later, maybe to a slower ROI (return on investment) until we are able to cover those CPAs,” CEO Aviv Sher told analysts during the operator’s Q3 earnings call on 27 November.
Sadi said these conflicting interests made it “an almost impossible job to represent the entire industry, where so many objectives are in place”.
Gambling trade bodies should define goal of entire industry
The mood across many of the panels discussing the challenging position facing the sector in Europe and further afield was particularly negative throughout the event.
Many insisted the continued uncertainty around new regulations and the political stability in some markets across Europe were proving hugely challenging to navigate.
FDJ CFO & Strategy Officer Pascal Chaffard told the audience that trade bodies should be working to represent as many operators as possible across the global sector.
He said: “The purpose of those trade associations is to define what is the goal of the whole industry and not let one or two black sheep damage our reputation.
“If you have one black sheep in the industry it will let down the reputation of the entire industry.”
On tax the European leaders’ panel discussed how increasing tax rates are hindering growth across various markets.
BoyleSports CEO Vlad Kaltenieks said: “This is a big debate and I look at it from the overall social and economic impact.
“My real desire is to build a sustainable environment. And that looks like an environment where companies can continue to grow and innovate and invest in technology and employment to build that ecosystem for the economy to flourish.
“Tax is one of these vehicles that can really affect how the companies move in that direction. So if the tax regime is clear and beneficial that could be very productive. If it is becoming more restricted it can lead to uncertainty and problems within the wider market,” he added.
A panel of European CEOs said industry interests differing significantly between small and large operators has hindered the work of gambling trade bodies.