About
GTECH G2
(www.gtechg2.com)
GTECH G2 brings together — under one brand — the combined
expertise of GTECH and its extensive lottery insight with leaders in the
interactive gaming world providing a complete gaming portfolio of poker,
bingo, casino, sportsbetting, fully managed services and instant games.
It combines the software development and customer management expertise
of Boss Media, Finsoft, Dynamite Idea and St Minver, and operates the
International Poker Network and International Bingo Network.
Media Partners
Debate
on the Harmonization of European iGaming Legislation
December 2009, London
Transcript and video highlights.
GTECH G2 hosted the second in its ongoing series of thought leadership seminars for executives in the igaming industry:
Fundamental
Changes in UK iGaming Policy
Tuesday 27 April 2010
Britain is reviewing its policy
on Remote Gambling and is proposing a consultation process to determine
whether it should require all offshore operators who want to target British
custom to obtain a license and/or pay tax in Britain, or whether it should
continue to recognise that EU licensed operators are free to offer their
services cross border without having to obtain a local license.
This free seminar was crucial for anyone taking custom from Britain and
for British operators who rely on their rights to offer cross border services
into the rest of the EU.
Sponsored by GTECH G2. Arranged by Lyceum Media
Speakers
Peter Wilson, Partner, Memery Crystal
Peter
is a regulatory lawyer specialising in gambling and business investigations.
His gambling practice has built up over 20 years expanding from advising
UK land based businesses to an international igaming practice with clients
in over a dozen jurisdictions. Peter is known for his comprehensive industry
knowledge, and sensible, practical advice.
Peter has a wide ranging
and varied business investigations practice having represented both companies
and individuals facing civil and/or criminal investigation by government
agencies. His experience over the years includes dealing with allegations
of fraud, tax evasion, money laundering and breach of statutory obligations
in matters of food safety, gang master licensing, environmental law, trading
standards and financial services.
Peter has been recognised as a leading individual in the area of gaming
law by both Chambers UK and The Legal 500. In the 2009 edition of Chambers
UK, he was described by his peers as "a fantastic guy and a real
go-to lawyer who has found his niche in the sector and excels at it --
we respect his advice and opinion." In the 2008 edition of Chambers
UK, he was commended for having "vital political clout when it comes
to dealing with regulatory decision makers," a "nose for commercial
solutions" and an ability to put "matters across in a way that
is easy for everyone to understand."
Peter is the Secretary of the Society for the Study of Gambling and a member of the International Bar Association (Business Crime Section), Tax Investigation Practitioners Association and the Fraud Advisory Panel.
Nick Hawkins, Barrister, Legal Director & Company Secretary, Danoptra
Nick
Hawkins is an English Barrister with 30 years’ experience. Since
2007 he has been Company Secretary and Legal Director of Danoptra Ltd,
a major UK Gambling and Leisure Group, who are the parent company of,
(among other subsidiaries) Bell Fruit, (one of the 2 largest UK gaming
machine manufacturers, who also export, and are now involved in internet
gaming ) , Gamestec , by far the largest supply company of machines to
the UK pub sector, On Board Leisure, who run casinos on cruise ships and
machines on ferries, (and through Three Services Automatics supply UK
forces worldwide), and Leisure Connection, one of the 3 biggest sports
management companies operating prestige facilities for Sport England and
for local authorities across the UK. Nick was previously a gambling industry
lawyer working in major firms in the City of London, and prior to that,
a Conservative Member of Parliament in the UK 1992-2005. He held various
roles in both Government pre-1997 and Opposition thereafter, including
being Shadow Solicitor-General (2003). He had 2 spells as Shadow Minister
(Opposition spokesman) for Gambling, and worked on the detailed line-by-line
scrutiny of what became the 2005 Gambling Act in the UK. Prior to his
time in Parliament, Nick was a practising Barrister from Chambers, doing
a wide variety of advocacy, and civil/commercial/Chancery cases 1979-86,
and then a senior corporate in-house Counsel specialising in Banking,
financial services, insurance and payment systems/consumer credit. He
was Company Legal Adviser, Access - (credit cards) 1987-9 and Group Legal
Adviser, Lloyds Abbey Life plc, 1989-92.
In his present role, Nick takes a very active part in industry trade associations: he sits on both the Gambling Working Group, and the Sports Working Group, of BISL (Business in Sport and Leisure) and is actively involved in the machine industry group BACTA (British Amusement Catering Trade Association) and the UK RGA (Remote Gambling Association-sitting on its Executive Committee). He continues to use his close political connections to keep in touch, especially on industry issues, with major figures of all parties in the UK Parliament and in the EU.
Paul Bolt,
Director of Sport and Leisure at the DCMS (key civil servant
responsible for gambling)
Paul
has been in the civil service for over 33 years, in the SCS for over 19
years and a Director for 10 years. He spent the first 17 years of that
career in the Home Office. Since joining the then Department of National
Heritage in 1992 he has served as Head of Libraries; Head of the Fundamental
Expenditure Review; Head of Broadcasting Policy; Director of Strategy
and Communications; Director of the Olympic Bid Team and, now, Director
of Sport and Leisure (including tourism, gambling and licensing). He has
served secondments as Chief Executive of the Broadcasting Standards Commission
(2001-3) and a Director of the Capability Reviews Team in the Cabinet
Office (2006-7).
Simon Burridge, CEO, Virgin Games
Having
completed his degree in History at Queen’s College, Oxford, Simon
spent 18 months traveling around Africa and France, where he taught English
extremely badly to a series of increasingly bewildered Parisian secretaries,
waitresses and unemployed, before finally succumbing to the lure of a
career in advertising in 1979. In 1999, he was asked by Sir Richard Branson
to set up the People’s Lottery in order to contest the second License,
formally becoming Chief Executive of The People’s Lottery in September,2000.
In 2003 Simon rejoined Richard Branson, working on a number of projects,
one of which has led to him starting Virgin Games, of which he is now
the CEO, in 2004.
James Hollins, Gambling Equity Analyst, Daniel Stewart
James
joined Daniel Stewart as a research analyst in May 2004 and has covered
the betting and gaming companies for the past six years, alongside the
leisure and media sectors. He started work in equity research at JP Morgan
and, following this, he joined WestLB Panmure on the highly rated smaller
companies team. After a year, he moved across to WestLB Panmure’s
number one ranked leisure team, working primarily as a research analyst
on small and mid-cap hotel, tour operator and health club companies. Latterly,
he took over coverage of the large cap leisure companies, including acting
as corporate broker to InterContinental and P&O Princess. He has a
degree in business studies from the University of Bristol.