Dr. Ekaterina Alexandrova is Senior Legal Advisor at the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) since September 2013. She deals with legal and policy work on behalf of EGBA members both on a European and national level in the field of online gambling and sports betting. Prior to working at EGBA, Ekaterina worked on complaint and infringement handling in relation to the legislation of DG Health and Consumers at the European Commission. Other work experience includes work as an Assistant to a Member of European Parliament and an intern at a Brussels-based consultancy. Ekaterina possesses a Ph.D in Health Policy from the Medical University-Sofia, as well as an LL.M in European Law and a Bachelor of Arts in European Studies from the University of Maastricht, The Netherlands.

Ekaterina will is the Moderator of REGULATORY UPDATE FOR EASTER EUROPE & Speaker for the 4 AMLD (anti-money laundering directive of EU) at the Eastern European Gaming Summit 2015 which will be held next week between the 23rd and 25th of November in Sofia, Bulgaria. More details here.

EEG: Hi Ekaterina, since you are one of the key speakers and moderator of the REGULATORY UPDATE FOR EASTERN EUROPE and also a speaker in the PROTECTION AGAINST FRAUD & MONEY-LAUNDERING panels, we would like to have a sneak preview about what the discussion and your presentation will be all about.

Can Eastern European countries learn from the recent Malta incidents that involved licensing?

Ekaterina: In any regulatory system it is key that all stakeholders stay vigilant when it comes to the prevention of fraud and money laundering. Regulatory systems must be sufficiently robust and up to date to be able to effectively prevent and fight crime, but it is impossible to completely exclude every risk. Malta has a proven licensing system and many years of practical experience with enforcing its licensing system, but it shows that the authorities must remain extremely attentive when it comes to prevention of fraud.
It should be added that due to the lack of cash money in the system and with the traceability of the internet, there is no data suggesting that criminals are specifically targeting EU regulated online gambling providers for money laundering purposes.
EEG: Europe is still the leader of the market when it comes to the e-Gaming industry, but how long can it last? Our opinion is that it will become stronger once more regulations will come into force, what is your opinion on this?

Ekaterina: The online gambling sector is one of the few if not the only digital sector where the EU is the world leader. However, EU-regulated operators face competition from operators outside the EU, who, at best, comply with much less stringent legislative frameworks. A significant threat to the competiveness of the EU regulated operators is the lack of harmonization and the fragmentation of the market in 28 mini internet markets, all of which result in high compliance costs for EU-regulated companies. In other words, while EU-licensed operators are obliged to comply with an increasing number of national regulations, which causes regulatory duplication and prohibitively high regulatory costs, non-EU regulated operators do not face those costs and therefore have a massive competitive advantage.
For this reason, we consider that it is not a question of more or less regulation, but rather a question of better regulation. We cannot continue with the current fragmentation of the EU gambling legislative framework, which does not lead to higher consumer protection. A European approach will result in an equally high level of consumer protection throughout the EU and give effective tools to fight crime, while at the same time not impose unnecessary burden on the operators, allow them to stay competitive and ensure that EU players are channeled to the regulated offer.
EEG: What does good regulation mean in the gambling sector?

Ekaterina: A good gambling regulation is the one that duly protects consumers, channels them to the regulated offer and prevents gambling-related crime while allowing for healthy competition between regulated companies through the creation of a working market. This balance is not easy to strike. While lenient legislation fails to duly protect EU citizens, too rigid protection standards create a disincentive for players to go through often long and burdensome registration processes and instead choose to play with the “one-click away” black market where registration is easy and odds are better due to the non-existence of taxation and compliance costs.
Additionally, over- regulation, unreasonable taxation levels and high compliance costs create a bad business case for a market, which, in turn, does not create interest for reputable operators to obtain a license to enter the said market. Statistics have demonstrated that this a common mistake made by some Member States who, concerned by the threat of illegal operators and the need for adequate responsible gambling provisions, enact legislation that is so strict that it ends up channeling consumers towards the unregulated offer. However, if the aforementioned balance is struck, as has been the case in Denmark, gambling demand can be properly channeled towards the regulated market to the benefit of the player, the regulator and the operators alike.

If you would like to get the unique opportunity to ask all your important questions and learn first-hand details about the REGULATORY UPDATEs FOR EASTER EUROPE, be sure to attend the Eastern European Gaming Summit at which Ekaterina Alexandrova will moderate the panel and also speak about Anti-money laundering directive of the EU. For 8th consecutive year on 23 – 24 November 2015, Inter Expo Center in Sofia, Bulgaria will bring together under one roof world’s leading figures and companies from the industry to present and outline current market developments and future trends with global vision and focus on the Eastern European market.

Visit the EEGS website here.