Impact case study database

The research was designed from its inception to have impact on the regulation of online gambling in the Member States of the EU, and beyond. The European Commission Report [3.3], ‘Evaluation of regulatory tools for enforcing online gambling rules and channelling demand towards controlled offers’, has been widely used (with 1,137 downloads as of 1. October 2020). It has led 11 countries (Australia, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Malta, Norway, Poland, Spain and Sweden) to take measures to protect local players and contributed to the movement in the UK for a reform of gambling regulation [5.13].

Hörnle has presented the key findings at various international fora, including the International Association of Gambling Regulators (IAGR) Conference in Copenhagen in September 2018 and the Gambling Regulators European Forum (GREF) in Cyprus in 2019. The recommendations have also received attention in industry specific journals [3.7, 3.8] and media outlets with a wider public audience, such as the Conversation, BBC Radio Digital Planet, Wired and The Daily Mail [5.14]. The report, and subsequent discussions with regulators and stakeholders of its key findings and recommendations, were welcomed across the industry.

Five key impacts have arisen from the research and its dissemination.

Capacity building for the benefit of regulators including setting regulatory priorities

Regulators who lack the resources to do research have used the report as evidence to justify the need for regulation. The Ministries of Finance in Estonia and Poland said the report was an authoritative evidence-base to justify their strategies and build enforcement solutions [5.5, 5.8]. The Chief Policy Officer of the giant software company Playtech, who was Italy’s former gambling regulator, described it as ‘the most remarkable and serviceable study in the field of gambling that I have read in my 12 years of experience in the sector’. He described the innovations recommended as a ‘catalyst for change and improvements’ in gambling regulation [5.3] and that the research was of ‘high benefit to European regulators and beyond who are not all so well resourced or equipped to carry out such [research]’ and described the report as the ‘reference handbook for every current regulator’ [5.3].

Furthermore, the research provided under-resourced regulators with legal instruments to enforce player protection against the tide of unlicensed online gambling offerings from abroad. For example, in Norway the research assisted a small regulator in protecting consumers against foreign, multi-billion-dollar interests. In a case brought by several well-funded gambling operators challenging the Norwegian regulation, the Norwegian Court quoted the research extensively to confirm the legality of the payment ban. In this way the research helped to protect players in Norway by giving the regulator the instruments it needs to enforce the law [5.7].

Influencing legal frameworks (changes in law)

The research has improved legal frameworks for enforcement and progressed initiatives for legal change in Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the UK. Hörnle gave oral and written evidence to the UK’s House of Lords’ Select Committee, which informed four recommendations forwarded in the Committee’s final report [5.13, paras 149, 177, 381, 515]:

• The Committee approved the finding that online gambling companies are in a position to control overspending by gamblers on the basis of the data they collect [5.13, para 177].

• It also approved the recommendation that a duty of care, enforceable in the civil courts, would provide an incentive for gambling companies to comply with best practices of player protection [5.13, para 381].

• The Committee referred to the finding that prohibition of online advertising of gambling should be considered [3.2, 5.13, para 515].

• It accepted the recommendation that the largely ignored problem of foreign unlicensed gambling in the UK must be better addressed [5.13, para 149].

These recommendations have now garnered strong support by the UK Parliament and the UK government. Additionally, it has had a tangible effect on legal frameworks in other countries:

• Finland’s Interior Ministry stated that the report was instrumental in overhauling the Finish enforcement model. In Finland the gambling monopoly is mainly enforced through criminal law (which is slow and cumbersome). As a consequence of the report, the government is, for the first time, implementing other forms of enforcement as an alternative to criminalization [5.4].

• In Belgium, Hörnle’s research influenced a royal decree adopted in late 2018, which introduced new restrictions on online gambling advertising. Belgian’s gambling regulator confirmed that this research has provided it with novel enforcement solutions [5.10].

• In Norway, the judgment in the aforementioned case changed administrative law by confirming that two types of enforcement methods are a legitimate exercise of power by the Norwegian regulator: the ban on payments made to unlicensed online gambling operators and co-operation with social media companies [5.7]. Estonia’s Ministry of Finance said that it relied heavily on the Report when amending the country’s Gambling Act and its enforcement methods [5.5].

• In Sweden, the Gambling Authority confirmed that the Report inspired changes in secondary law and guidelines [5.9].

Denmark’s newspaper Videnskab published a summary of Hörnle and colleagues’ research article [3.4], influencing the debate on targeted marketing and social media advertising there. In consequence of this and media voices, Denmark’s Tax Ministry announced regulatory action against such advertising.

Assisting regulators to adopt more effective enforcement practices for better player protection

The report has assisted regulators in strengthening their enforcement practices in Australia, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Malta, Norway, Poland, Spain and Sweden [5.1, 5.2, 5.5-5.12]:

• Belgium’s regulator said that the research provided new perspectives for its policy on the use of website and app blocking. The report’s recommendations contributed to the development of an effective gambling policy to protect players. In particular the finding that ‘regulators should have a wide range of sanctions at their disposal, ideally ranging from criminal sanctions to informal sanctions such as regulatory notices, dialogue between the regulator and tech industry, and voluntary requests for information’ led them to recalibrate their practice accordingly [5.10].

• Sweden’s Gambling Authority confirmed that the report had a direct impact on its policy and strategy discussions in the field of enforcement. Furthermore, it stated that the research is shaped its new payment blocking power [5.9].

• Australia’s regulator, the ACMA, stated that the report’s analysis of where foreign, illegal gambling websites are hosted had been particularly useful, and provided new strategic insights. In particular, the research on social media influencers introduced the ACMA to ‘an aspect of the online gambling industry and its promotion which they had not seen canvassed before’. The report’s analysis of new advertising technology assisted the ACMA in its own policy decisions [5.6].

• Malta’s Gaming Authority pointed out that the ‘insights in respect of social media/influencer advertising show that a new regulatory approach is needed’ [5.11].

Providing evaluation tools for assessing the effectiveness of regulation

The research has given regulators the tools to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of their regulation and develop best practices by comparing their standards to those of regulators in other countries. Dialogue with regulators established that such evaluation tools had been missing previously. For example, Spain’s Finance Ministry stated, ‘your research is a clear benchmark for new regulations all around Europe’ and ‘really helped us to contrast our current regulation and enforcement measures with regards to other European regulators, which is something very valuable by itself.’ [5.12]. Regulatory authorities in Australia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Spain, and Sweden also confirmed that they will use the report to benchmark the effectiveness of their regulation [5.1, 5.2, 5.6, 5.9, 5.11, 5.12].

Creating a framework for international co-operation between regulators and with tech companies

Gaming authorities in Australia, Belgium, Finland, Norway and Sweden said the report inspired them to share more information and seek contacts with gaming authorities in other countries with a view to international exchanges [5.4, 5.6, 5.7, 5.9, 5.10]. For example, Australia’s Communications and Media Authority has stated that recommendations on strategic cooperation with like-minded regulators were useful and had provided the Australian regulator with approaches to implement [5.6]. Similarly, Belgium’s Gaming Commission said the report changed its view on international co-operation, both in respect of regulators in other countries and international co-operation with tech and social media companies [5.10]. Co-ordination between regulators across state borders represents an entirely uncommon practice and is significant, because online gambling and tech companies operate across national borders and urgently require a co-ordinated approach to player protection.