The World Lottery Association (WLA) and The European Lotteries (EL) have launched their Sports Betting Seminar in Istanbul, Turkey, bringing together more than 90 participants from 25 countries to address the main challenges facing the sports betting industry.
The event gathers over 90 participants from 25 countries and is moderated by WLA Executive Director Luca Esposito and Mélissa Jacquérioz Steiner, Senior Sustainability & Membership Officer at European Lotteries.
The programme focuses on key industry issues such as AML compliance, predictive markets, the use of artificial intelligence in sports betting, and the fight against illegal operators.
One of the strongest messages came from Vincent Ven, who stressed the importance of combating match-fixing with a clear statement: “A single match-fixing case is already too many.” During his intervention, he explained how UEFA is working to address this issue.
Branco Gianni de Kock, Calendar and Regulations Manager for Football and Club Competitions at UEFA, also spoke about changes introduced to competitions such as the Champions League, aimed at making them more inclusive in terms of clubs and more dynamic in format.
Antoine Béghin, Director of Sponsorship and Sports Integrity at FDJ UNITED and member of the Executive Committee of United Lotteries for Integrity in Sports (ULIS), presented ULIS’s mission and the value of its global monitoring and alert system, which helps lotteries better assess risks, react faster and protect their betting offerings.
The seminar also featured Christian Kalb, Managing Director of CK Consulting, who presented key trends, figures and strategic changes from the 2025 report, highlighting sports betting as one of the fastest-growing global segments, driven by both land-based casinos and online channels.
Finally, Richard Wagstaff, VP of Product, and Chris Benstead, Product Director at Bally’s Corporation, shared insights on sports betting product experience and the importance of keeping customers within the regulated market.
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