2020 And The Gambling Industry

James Scicluna, Co-Managing Partner WH Partners, gave the keynote introductory speech at the regulation conference at SiGMA Europe Virtual Expo 2020. Here is the transcript of the speech. 

2020 is the year of COVID-19, of working from home, of lockdowns and no conference travel, but maybe more importantly for the online gaming industry it is– amongst others:

• the year in which virtuals and esports helped partially plug the gap left by the absence of football leagues and tennis tournaments;
• the year in which despite everything else, things didn't go as badly as some feared;
• the year of sports betting licences in Germany and newly introduced restrictions on online casino;