Responsible gaming, compliance take center stage at SPiCE Sri Lanka's second day

At the recent SPiCE Sri Lanka event, held July 24 - 26 in Colombo, industry experts highlighted the critical importance of responsible gaming and legal compliance in the rapidly growing gaming sector.

During one of the meeting's panels, Mahesh Madan Bhat, Founder of MMB Legal, emphasized the need for a safe gaming environment, stating: "The main aims of responsible gaming are player protection, gaming-related harm minimization, and sustainable business practices."

"This is very important as there are revenues and good things that come out of this industry, but it's also important for them to be long-term sustainable. Responsible gaming does aid in that."

The discussion around how to encourage best practices in responsible gaming comes as Sri Lanka moves to establish a regulatory authority for lawful gambling. The local industry gears up for massive transformation as the government greenlights a long-awaited bill to regulate gambling operations and address calls for responsible gambling practices. 

For his part, Advocate Pranati Pandit stressed the significance of safeguarding monetary transactions in the digital era: "In this world where we have a lot of cyber-hacking, it's very important for your transactions, especially cross-border, to be secure."

During the conference, the speakers highlighted the implementation of responsible gaming measures at various levels. Pandit discussed player-led measures: "Offering self-exclusion tools, putting deposit limits, session timeouts, and 'Know your customer' is essential in ensuring responsible gaming."

Bhat delved into critical contractual clauses, noting: "Change in law is triggered by an event, for example, the GST being applied in India that has really rocked things in so far as a lot of companies are concerned. Your change in law clause should mitigate loss, and adverse impacts on revenue."

The conference underscored the significance of collaboration among stakeholders in the gaming ecosystem. The speakers stressed the need for compliance with applicable laws. Bhat remarked: "The question is to what degree are you in compliance and that degree is the difference between legal, illegal, and what we call the sweet spot."

Pandit emphasized the importance of robust documentation and contractual structures: "Your contractual structures and documentation should broadly identify and take care of risk mitigation, revenue maximization, and definitely speedy exits."

As the gaming industry continues to flourish, the SPiCE Sri Lanka event emphasized the vital role of responsible gaming and legal compliance in ensuring a thriving and sustainable gaming ecosystem. Stakeholders were urged to prioritize player protection, safe gaming practices, and adherence to regulatory requirements for a successful and ethical gaming industry.