CR59-p50&52-Comment:SJC-Casino Review 19/8/07 14:28 Page 2
casinoreview
“As with all other industries and sectors it (internet gambling) is capable
of control in order to prevent it being used as a source of crime. Within
the United States vast amounts of credit card transactions take place on
a daily basis. The system is well established and well policed in order to
counteract fraudulent and criminal transactions. The only circumstance
in which crime can flourish is if the activity is unregulated."
Clive Hawkswood, CEO of the Remote Gambling Association,
after the congress hearing
Will new personal licenses change the face of British casino recruitment?
Ads with
<Continued from p50 Gaming world? Past prece- of attraction, retention and These new licences also If we are to compete in help lines
specific responsibilities of dent does exist where, for success should in theory be potentially open the market the leisure/entertainment
UK gaming law such as money example, bingo general man- the same. Therefore, if a senior up to ex-pats and foreign market, should we concen-
are better
laundering, fraud, the social agers have successfully pro- manager of, say, a restaurant, casino managers and thus will trate our staffing resources
responsibility elements of the gressed into Casinos, so why nightclub or bar can success- be able to work in the UK in a to within our own industry
role and so on? can’t exceptional people of a fully manage one of our com- managerial capacity, legally. A or should we supplement
than no
Is it possible for a manager similar level in other fields do petitors, are their skills not potential benefit of a manager the existing skills we have
to control and supervise the same? After all, casinos (with a little training and from America, Macau or South with the capable candi- ads
departments that he/she has are in effect entertainment adaptation) directly transfer- Africa for example, is that they dates from other industries?
no prior working knowledge and leisure venues. Places able to ours? Especially with will have experience of larger If we are to compete on a
or expertise in, particularly in where people go to have fun the continuing deregulation resort style casinos and whilst level playing field with helpinghand
such a cash sensitive environ- and enjoy themselves. and normalisation of our there is still a little uncertainty other leisure destinations BY PETER COLLINS
ment as casinos? They are/should be com- industry, (for example the over the 17 new UK licences then surely we must
Is it possible for a manager peting with other entertain- new marketing allowances), it is fair to say that that expe- compete on a level playing Revoking the right to
from a different industry to ment and leisure venues for we now have even more con- rience of scale will certainly field within the entire can- advertise gambling as part
transfer their skills into the their custom. The principles vergence. come in handy. didate market. of the current anti-gambling
backlash could be a mistake
from the point of view of
both preventing, and getting
help to people who are
addicted to gambling or
who gamble too much for
other reasons.
In South Africa, the
National Responsible
Gambling Programme,
which I manage, agreed with
the industry and the
regulators that all adverts
should carry a brief
message of advice about
gambling sensibly and our
helpline telephone number
which offers free,
confidential, expert
counselling instantly to
anyone who is brave enough
to recognise that he or she
needs help.
This is the best way of
publicising the availability of
professional help to problem
gamblers, their families,
friends, colleagues and
employers. It is also fair to
the industry and its
Slot liberalisation would
customers in that for the
vast majority of those who
enjoy gambling, even more
than for the majority of
be a disaster in Austria
those who enjoy alcohol, it
is a harmless form of
recreation.
The solution here would
be to permit advertising
Austria’s monopoly
soleopinion ation. While many websites with gaming In Austria supervision lies with the provided it carried the
of 12 Casinos
VIEWPOINT offers are actually found on the internet monopoly holder, the Ministry of Finance. phone number of a helpline
which are not permitted in accordance Liberalisation of the market is not such as that of the charity,
Austria venues has
The demand to liberalise slot machine with Austrian law and should not be used, planned, therefore a regulator does not Gamcare, which is
come in for new
gaming throughout Austria is extremely it would be naïve to believe these compa- make sense. professionally staffed 24/7
competition in recent
alarming in view of experiences experi- nies wanted to subordinate themselves Since they have been in existence, and refers people to
enced far in the provinces of Vienna, to Austrian regulations with respect to Casinos Austria and the Austrian Lotteries Gamblers Anonymous, the
times with the launch
Lower Austria, Styria and Carinthia, where player protection, age and access restric- have realised their legal responsibility to NHS or its own free face-to-
of low denomination
it has been shown that the number of tions or to Austrian tax laws. generate the “best tax revenues” for the face counselling services as
slot halls. The
cases of gaming addiction has exponen- Consumer wishes for a versatile range federal government. This does not mean appropriate.
operator is arguing
tially risen; the desired effect of squeezing of games with the necessary protection obtaining the “maximum” amount from
illegal operators completely out of the against gaming addiction is combined in players, which is not desirable from the
Director,
that the end of the market has not been achieved. Austrian gaming legislation. One impor- overall perspective of society (player
Centre for the Study
monopoly would be
With so-called “little slot machine tant principle is that available market protection, arguments with respect to of Gambling,
socio-politically as
games” there is the problem that while potentials are not fully exhausted, but local regulations). Because of this respon- University of Salford
maximum bets are stipulated by law, they that market growth is allowed only in a sibility, for example, Casinos Austria has
well as fiscally are actually ineffective due to the techni- controlled fashion. In particular, games excluded 80,000 potential gaming
disadvantageous for
cal possibilities, such as extremely high- with a high risk potential for gaming addicts from playing in the casinos since
Austria. The operator
speed playing. The problems of illegal slot addicts should be limited. 1986. At the same time Casinos Austria
machine gaming can only be solved by When both objectives are simultane- and the Austrian Lotteries paid the enor-
made the following effective control and not the legalisation ously pursued – player protection mous sum of 550m euros to the finance
statement.
of an illegal condition. through market control and higher rev- minister in 2006. Casinos Austria and the
The claim is continually made that the enues for the public sector – then the Austrian Lotteries are therefore the
Republic of Austria will miss out on tax monopoly leads to higher economic rev- second largest taxpayers in the Republic
revenues due to the gaming monopoly, enues than a liberalised market. This was of Austria. Other than market players
but it lacks any basis in fact. The existence demonstrated by studies carried out by operating in liberalised markets, for
of an enormous illegal gaming market is the Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS) Casinos Austria and Austrian Lotteries the
alleged and the demand made for greater and the Institute for Mathematical maximisation of profits from companies
legalisation and with it subjection to tax- Methods in Economics. are not the primary company objective.
52 September 2007 comment
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