As Play’n GO Gears Up For G7 Summit, Scrutiny Continues Over Black Market Availability

Play’n GO, which is among the world’s leading casino game providers, announced Tuesday it will be part of a new initiative to shape global gaming policy, starting with this week’s G7 Forum in Calgary.

The announcement comes amid scrutiny of Play’n GO’s games being available on some black market sites while the company simultaneously makes a point of distancing itself from sweepstakes-prizing based platforms.

Compliance + More reported last week that it had “seen evidence that Play’n GO titles, including ‘Book of Dead’, ‘Mission Cash’ and ‘Pilgrim of Dead’ are available on the Curaçao-licensed FoxyGold.com and Goldspin. Both sites make their offerings available to customers from the Netherlands and Germany despite being unlicensed in those territories.”

As recently as last month, Play’n GO CEO Johan Tornqvist reaffirmed his company’s commitment to the regulated market, saying, “Sweepstakes casinos do not operate inside a regulated framework and that’s not something we support. Our commitment to regulated markets is absolute. We will never supply our games to sweepstakes casinos.” 

Time will tell if Play’n GO’s news announced Tuesday will shift the narrative surrounding the company.

The inaugural Global Forum on Responsible Gaming and Gambling Policy to be held in the Alberta province of Canada will be the first of three high-level summits in which it participates. Play’n GO will also take part in talks at the G20 Summit in South Africa in November and at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Saying the right things

West Virginia Del. Shawn Fluharty, who is Play’n GO’s head of government affairs and also the president of National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS), will lead Friday’s meeting, which will also feature global leaders, public health experts, regulators, and neuroscientists to discuss gambling, mental wellness, and policy development.

“Positioning responsible gaming at the world’s premier policy forums is vital to ensuring regulation keeps pace with rapid innovation and effectively protects consumers,” Fluharty said in a statement.

“As the only online supplier engaging directly at the G7 Forum on Responsible Gaming and Gambling Policy, and soon at the G20 Summit and United Nations General Assembly, Play’n GO’s presence will showcase the critical value of early collaboration with lawmakers and regulators in forging cohesive, global standards.”

As for the sweepstakes casino issue, multiple state legislatures — Montana, Nevada, Louisiana, and Connecticut — have passed anti-sweeps legislation, and two others — New York and New Jersey — currently have bills to ban the vertical advancing through varying stages of their respective statehouses.

Fluharty echoed Tornqvist’s sentiments regarding sweepstakes operators last month.

“Sweepstakes casinos threaten the regulated market model that many of us in the industry have worked so hard to achieve, which protects players first and foremost, and delivers much-needed revenue to jurisdictions,” he said.

Fluharty told Compliance + More last week that Play’n GO sees “close to zero traffic from unlicensed operators.”

The West Virginia legislator did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request from Casino Reports for an update or comment.