Ethical Gambling Forum 2026

Is there any value in industry awards and do they promote safer gambling? 

Key conclusions from the final panel of the conference

• Transparency is the key to any integral awards process, 
• However, transparency is difficult, because the general public doesn’t champion it enough 
• Telling the stories of the winners is important, explain exactly why they won & champion them to showcase integrity and push further innovation 
• Have more categories which champion startups

Africa, EU & US: Spotlighting on international regulatory developments

One of the overriding and truly fascinating insights from this panel is that Nigeria’s regulatory landscape is strikingly similar to that of the US, with individual regional regulator’s misalignment with federal forces being cited as the key issue surrounding both RG and the gambling landscape in the nation, more broadly. 

Fisayo Oke highlights that the Federation of State Regulators has helped to centralise and progress the market greatly, with Keith Whyte concurring that the US market could do with a similar kind of initiative to help facilitate some cohesion:

Because this is such a global industry now, we can learn from other jurisdictions

Will the US look to incept something of a ‘regulator’s AGA,’ watch this space… 

After making it 24 hours without discussing AI at length before this morning's AI panel, one begins to wonder how far we can make it at the 2026 Ethical Gambling Forum without the discussing the indurtry's new favourite toy - prediction markets… 

The answer is 12:30pm on day two - not a bad innings at all! 

In response to an audience query, Andrew Lyman, Gibraltar’s Gambling Commissioner comments on how the region managed to be so decisive with prediction markets:

We were decisive because we’re a small jurisdiction and we pride ourselves on agility. 

With prediction markets, as things stand, we classify them as betting intermediaries, but there is an argument there which could materialise in the coming months. Because Gibraltar is a small jurisdiction and politicians want to regulate properly, you can have very productive conversations.

Decisive regulation around prediction markets? Somebody pinch me, I must be dreaming!

As the morning moves towards its conclusion, the room breaks off into a group practice workshop around supporting industry colleagues through difficulties, either related to gambling harm or not.

Jo Abergel runs a quick workshop where three scenarios are posed to the audience, who are placed into groups, to provide feedback on how they would handle each scenario. 

Scenario one

You are in a meeting where an employee reports that a colleague has been asking to lend money over the past few months and nobody has been paid back: 

Key feedback from the groups: 

• Is this employee using the money for gambling? 
• Don’t jump to conclusions and make sure you are empathetic 
• Try to get them talking and make they feel safe, who has the best relationship with them in the team? Conversation doesn’t have to be a manager
• Ensure anonymity for the employee who reports it 

Scenario two

David has requested to move onto the quieter night shift, and you have already noticed a dip in his productivity lately

Key feedback from the groups: 

• Gather more data & feedback from his daytime manager - don’t take things at face value 
• Set clear expectations about what is required from night shift employees 
• Make sure they are signposted to professional advice and support outside of house if they need it

Scenario three

Marta has been upset and has disclosed she is struggling at home due to her husband’s gambling addiction, she is finding it very hard to cope

Key feedback from the groups: 

• Ensure that she feels heard, as she is not feeling heard at home 
• Direct her to HR or EAP, but make sure you know what she is looking for, how exactly can work help? 
• Does she want her team to know so they can potentially help? 
• Emma the AI says: ACTIVE LISTENING IS IMPORTANT! 

Question: Do conferences have more importance now because of remote working and are companies now becoming more selective about which events they attend? 

The Ethical Gambling Forum’s second panel of day two concludes that it is a combination, and that socialising at any conference is networking that can yield valuable business opportunities. 

When you go to a conference the conversation can start naturally in a way they simply don’t happen online. 

Travelling to ensure these valuable interactions are also difficult, and sometimes choosing the sustainable thing isn’t always easy. Clarion’s Eva Bakum highlights the infrastructure and geography of a city can play a huge part in deciding where, how and why to host a conference. 

She states that she understands what drives people primarily is accessibility and this has driven many shifts in the exhibition sector over the past five years. 

What are your key conference considerations?

Key quote of the morning 

Tom Penney of Grace Gaming steadfastly disagrees that an AI should ever replace a human or human element when someone reaches out about gambling addiction, no matter how sophisticated it becomes.

There is no chance that I would have someone who is not directly trained by myself or my team handling a situation where someone is in serious need of help. I dread to think that someone who is struggling with gambling would reach out for help, only to realise there is just a machine on the other end of the phone. 

Would you trust an AI to handle a delicate gambling addiction situation? 

What are the strengths and limitations of AI? 

This is the question the panel poses to it's AI panel member - Emma. 

After a brief and tense moment of hesitation, Emma conclusively declares:

Artificial intelligence 

is very good at analysing mass data (like identifying problem gamblers) but cannot empathise.

Continuing, Emma AI outlines that

an AI / human collaboration is required, and there should be a handover at some point after the information has been condensed.

The black market x social media 

In a world of influencers, celebrity endorsements and targeted advertising, day two of the Ethical Gambling Forum kicks off with another crucial panel exploring a topic growing in prevalence in the ethical world. 

C-Suite panel: What would make gambling more ethical? 

Helen Walton, CCO & Co-Founders at G.Games, Richard Clarke, MD of Products at Flutter and Paul Buck CEO & Founder of Epic Global Solutions. 

Moderated by EGF’s Jo Abergel, the panel is posed the overall question - to which Walton replies it is not one thing, but rather a holistic system. She fears that regulator, government, operator and suppliers are becoming “misaligned in their incentives, which leaves to un-ethical results.” 

B2B suppliers are becoming a pinch point, yet Walton explains that it isn’t always easy to define what is (and isn’t) the regulated industry. There are very strong commercial pressures as to why suppliers have to act globally - because that’s how they make their money. Stake represents 6% of the global market - which is very hard for a supplier to say no to. 

The panel concludes that RG starts with the player doing the right thing, but we have to match their energy as an industry - alongside regulators, politicians and governments more broadly. Everybody in the ecosystem has to do the right thing. 

Collaboration is, as an overriding point, the only way forward. No one person should become sole responsible for RG in a given company, and so individuals should not necessarily be held accountable for errors but rather organisations as a whole.

“Sustainable entertainment - a vision for the future,” food for thought… 

With insights from across the industry on ethical practices, Global Gaming Insider is taking a look ahead at some of the key highlights from the Ethical Gambling Forum 2026 Agenda... 

Tim Miller - Gambling Commission

The Gambling Commission's Executive Director will be the opening keynote at this year's forum, with his address offering ethical insights from the regulator coming at a key junture for the UK market. Miller will also be conducting an exclusive Live Desk interview for GGI! 

Transparency and ethical governance

The opening panel will explore how transparent and ethical governance can help deliver business in a responsible and contructive manner - featuring former CEO Special interviewee Jennifer Shatley of the Responsible Online Gaming Association and long-term Global Gaming Insider contributor, BetBlocker CEO Ducan Garvie. 

Regulatory disasters

A panel on the biggest compliance mishaps in gambling history wll explore the who's, what's, when's, where's why's and how's of the most notable compliance disaters in recent memory and how they could've been avoided. 

Rise and fall of betting shops? 

As the conference moves into its first afternoon, a break out session on the rise and fall of betting shops will be led by SBC, Evoke and GamStop - as the retail sector reaches a key precipice in the UK. Other break out sessions will also observe the responsible and efficient use of technology and how research can have a positive industry impact. 

Black market & social media

Day two's opening panel will explore the murky world of black market facilitation and how social media often has a role to play... 

The UK's approach 

A key panel exploring how the UK approaches ethical gambling, featuring senior executives from regulators across Europe, will dissect the strengths, weaknesses and everything between of this complex subject - defining what "good" should look like from a regulatory point of view. 

STAY TUNED TO THE LIVE DESK FOR THE INSIDE SCOOP ON THE ABOVE AGENDA AND MUCH MORE!

All roads lead to Yorkshire this week for the Ethical Gambling Forum 2026 - hosted by Flutter UK & Ireland in the city of Leeds!

Global Gaming Insider will be in attendance to provide exclusive content, updates and interpretations of this important responsibility and protection meet-up, with leading delegates from the ethical gambling field from all over the globe.