Over 40 countries joined European Lotteries and WLA for responsible gaming seminar in Oslo

Members from over 40 countries joined European Lotteries (EL) and the World Lottery Association (WLA) in Norway for this year’s sustainability and responsible gaming seminar, which took place from September 27th to 29th in Oslo.

Titled "Normalizing responsible, sustainable gaming," EL says that the program was packed with experts on the seminar's two key focus areas – "normalizing responsible gaming and adapting the sector to the new normal of our time, sustainability."

The seminar featured keynote addresses from experts in their fields including Dr Sally Gainsbury, professor in Psychology; Sophie Massin, professor in Economics; and Lise Klaveness, President of the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF). It aimed to present members with opportunities to approach topics such as normalizing lower-risk gambling, the social costs of lotteries, best practices for diversity and inclusion, and more. 

The EL and WLA in a press statement said: “We were delighted to be joined by Dr Sally Gainsbury, Professor in psychology and Director of the Gambling Treatment and Research Clinic at the University of Sydney. Her research focuses on developing and evaluating policies and practices to reduce and prevent harm from gambling, as well as how technology could influence this.”

Dr Sally Gainsbury in her keynote address said: “Problematic gambling is a public health issue. For every individual problem gambler, 6 to 10 additional people experience harm. Lower-risk gambling is therefore essential for a sustainable industry."

The seminar's second keynote speaker was Sophie Massin, a professor of Economics at Lille University in France. As per the event's organizers, in her insightful address, Massin focused on the social value of gambling.

The final keynote speaker for the seminar was Lise Klaveness, the first female president of the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) as well as the world’s first female expert commentator on TV during a men’s World Cup in football.

Her inspirational speech marked the end of the seminar. Klaveness, in her speech, said: "Football is the biggest sport for girls, but there is no level playing field."

The new EL Sustainability Guidelines were officially presented during the seminar (publicly available here). On a similar note, the question of which future steps the EL Environmental Initiative can take was raised.

EL and WLA concluded: "With Laura Da Silva, sustainability director at DigitalRG.com, and Carly Grace ALLEN, UX Designer at Norsk Tipping, moderating the event, we are hopeful that EL members were inspired to continue shaping the lottery industry around a new normal.”