Trust by Design: GLI Highlights the Right Balance in Gambling Regulation

Following his keynote at the HIPTHER Prague Summit 2026, “Trust is Everything: The Hidden Framework Behind Regulated Gambling,” we continue the conversation with Iain London, Government and Regulatory Affairs Executive at Gaming Laboratories International (GLI).

With over 25 years of experience across global gaming markets, Iain works closely with regulators throughout EMEIA, supporting the development of effective, future-ready regulatory frameworks.

Hello Iain, thank you for this follow-up interview. In your keynote in Prague, you described trust as the “hidden framework” behind regulated gambling. What are the core elements that truly build and sustain that trust across the ecosystem?

Thank you for having me back; it is a pleasure to continue the conversation. In Prague, I spoke about trust not as something abstract or emotional, but as something that is engineered into a regulated market. Regulation is sometimes misunderstood as control, but at its best it is market design: it creates the conditions in which players feel protected, operators can grow responsibly, and innovation can take place with confidence.

As the industry considers trust and regulation, the core elements are governance, transparency and sustainability. Governance creates accountability and ensures that everyone in the ecosystem understands their obligations. Transparency creates visibility, so that processes, outcomes and decisions can be verified. Sustainability ensures that regulation protects players while still allowing the market to develop over the long term.

Together, those elements form the foundation of a trusted market. What players see may be simple — a game, an outcome, an experience — but what matters most is the framework that sits behind that experience: standards, testing, certification, reporting and oversight.

From a regulatory perspective, what differentiates a framework that enables a healthy market from one that unintentionally restricts it?

An enabling framework is clear, proportionate, risk-based and consistently enforced. It gives operators and suppliers enough certainty to invest and innovate, while giving regulators the tools they need to meet their public policy objectives and protect players. By contrast, a restrictive framework is usually one that is unclear, overly prescriptive, difficult to comply with or disconnected from how the market actually operates.

The best frameworks create space for responsible growth. They set clear expectations around player protection, technical integrity, advertising, payments and compliance, but they also allow regulators, operators and suppliers to engage openly and adapt as the market changes. That is where the balance between control and confidence is achieved.

The industry often speaks about the importance of “balance” in regulation. In practical terms, how can regulators strike the right balance between player protection and market competitiveness?

Balance is one of those words that is used often in our industry, but in practical terms it comes back to sustainability: creating a market that protects players effectively while remaining competitive, attractive and viable over the long term.

That means designing rules that meet the regulator’s objectives without placing unnecessary or disproportionate burdens on the licensed industry. I think that most of the Regulators we talk to understand that if requirements become too onerous, there is a risk that they weaken the regulated market and make unlicensed alternatives more attractive to consumers.

Advertising is a good example. Regulators may see legitimate reasons to place controls around advertising, such as when it comes to protecting minors and vulnerable people. But a complete ban may have unintended consequences if it only constrains licensed operators while illegal operators continue to advertise or reach players without oversight. That is why regulation needs to be evidence-based, proportionate and targeted.

In practical terms, regulators can strike the right balance through proactive engagement with the industry, clear objectives, proportionate technical requirements, well-defined rules for areas such as advertising and payments, and fair[PS1] , consistent enforcement. That combination protects players while supporting a healthy, sustainable licensed market.

How does GLI support regulators in building frameworks that are both robust and adaptable to rapid technological and market changes?

At GLI, we support regulators through a combination of technical expertise, regulatory experience and global perspective. Our teams include lawyers, former regulators and specialists in gaming standards, security, testing and compliance. We work collaboratively with regulators, beginning with their objectives: what they want to achieve, what risks they need to manage and what type of market they want to create.

From there, we assist with the development of technical standards, rules, regulations and internal control requirements. We also advise on emerging areas such as new technologies, cybersecurity, responsible gaming, payments and market integrity. Importantly, GLI does not advocate for any particular product or technology. Our role is to support best practice, independence and frameworks that allow innovation to flourish responsibly.

GLI University® is also an important part of that support. Its curriculum helps regulators and industry professionals better understand technical requirements, testing methodologies, regulatory objectives and emerging risks. That knowledge-sharing helps frameworks remain robust, adaptable and practical as technology and market conditions evolve.

Innovation is moving fast — from AI to new game mechanics and payment technologies. How can regulatory frameworks remain future-proof without constantly playing catch-up?

Innovation has moved at a remarkable pace in gaming, particularly over the last five to ten years, and it can be difficult for regulators to keep up with every new development. The key is to design frameworks that are principles-based and technology-neutral, rather than tied too closely to a specific product, method or platform.

It is also important to recognise that a framework is never simply drafted, published and finished. Technology moves quickly, so standards and regulations need regular review to ensure they remain relevant. Many regulators around the world use The GLI Standard Series as a baseline, and we continually review and update those standards with input from regulators and industry stakeholders globally. Shared standards help create a common language of trust, support interoperability and promote greater consistency across markets.

Training and knowledge-sharing are a key part of GLI’s work. How can ongoing education for regulators maintain effective oversight?

Ongoing education is essential because effective oversight depends on understanding not only what the rules say, but why they exist and how they should be applied as technology, products and player behaviours change.

Many professionals in our industry spend their careers working with standards, technical requirements and regulatory frameworks. It is easy to become focused on achieving compliance without fully appreciating the objectives those requirements are intended to deliver. Courses such as those offered by GLI University® help participants move beyond that mindset.

Rather than simply explaining obligations, the training explores the principles that underpin them: why games are tested, how fairness is demonstrated, why cybersecurity controls matter, how regulatory oversight protects consumers, and how transparency contributes to confidence in regulated markets.

That understanding enables regulators and industry professionals to make better decisions, ask better questions and respond more effectively to new risks. Ultimately, education strengthens oversight because it builds capability, confidence and consistency.

Looking ahead, what do you see as the biggest regulatory challenges the global gaming industry will face in the next 3–5 years?

One of the biggest challenges will be maintaining trust while the pace of change continues to accelerate. Regulators will need to deal with increasingly complex issues around artificial intelligence, automation, cybersecurity, data protection, digital identity, payments and financial crime risk. At the same time, they will still need to address long-standing issues such as responsible gambling, illegal operators and cross-border consistency.

The challenge is not simply whether regulation can keep up with innovation, but whether it can do so in a way that protects consumers, supports legitimate markets and remains flexible enough to adapt. That will require greater cooperation between regulators, more reliance on shared standards and a continued focus on evidence-based, technology-neutral regulation.

If you could give one piece of advice to regulators entering or evolving within this space, what would it be?

My advice would be to start with absolute clarity about the objective. Every market is different, and each regulator will have its own political, social and economic context. But before deciding how to regulate, it is important to be clear about what you are trying to achieve, what risks you are trying to address and why.

One of the advantages GLI brings to regulators is that we work in more than 710 jurisdictions, so we advise regulators that they do not need to reinvent the wheel. We can advise them about markets that have addressed similar issues, so they can understand what worked and what did not and then can adopt best practices to their own jurisdictions. One of the strengths of this industry is the level of standardisation it has achieved through shared standards. Working with GLI, regulators can build on that foundation while still developing frameworks that reflect their own market needs.