Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) President and CEO Paul Burns told Yogonet during a recent interview that Canada’s gambling industry is thriving because its companies, technologies, and products are in “constant demand.”
Canadian Gaming Summit ran from June 18-20 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre
“The pace at which the industry continues to evolve is relentless, and Canada remains in the driver’s seat as its companies, technologies, products, and expertise are in constant demand,” Burns told Yogonet.
This comes shortly after the Canadian Gaming Summit (CGS) at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre concluded its premier annual conference and exhibition for gaming and sports betting senior executives.
In fact, this year’s event was the 27th edition. The conference was proudly produced by SBC in collaboration with the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA), and over 3,000 delegates were in attendance.
According to Yogonet, Burns cited four key factors why the gambling industry is evolving: shifts in public perception of gaming, technological innovation, consumer demand for new and engaging gaming channels, and innovation occurring in a globalized, competitive market.
In January, Burns said the CGA’s priority for 2024 is player health, in an effort to encourage responsible gambling and prevent problem gambling. The CGA has already established an Action Plan to Promote Responsible Play.
Furthermore, part of that will be the new CGA Responsible Gambling Guiding Principles, developed in tandem with the Responsible Gambling Council, and a new Industry Responsible Advertising Code, developed with Ad Standards.
CGA President and CEO Paul Burns said goal is to promote responsible play, ensure safe gambling environment
At the “CGA Symposium on Promoting Player Health and Wellbeing” in Toronto before Christmas, CDC Gaming Reports spoke with Burns about the new initiative ahead of this year’s agenda.
“It started at the beginning of the year (2023), long before the (AGCO) consultations on revised advertising standards even started. We’ve gone through a process of developing an RG action plan, as we call it, an action plan to promote responsible play,” Burns said.
“It was really about the need for the industry to put its voice forward. There’s a lot of excellent work going on. The commitment to player health and ensuring our players have the right tools and information knowledge to make informed decisions, all of the work that’s been done by companies in the marketplace has been strong and we want to tell their stories.
“That’s really what we’re trying to do, from land-based casino operators to online operators. There’s a strong commitment to healthy play and ensuring sustainable customers.”
RG Guiding Principles include “building a shared industry responsibility, protecting players, and continuous innovation and improvement to ensure the Canadian gambling environment is as safe as possible,” according to the press release in March.
