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UK Gambling Commission launches three-year Corporate Strategy and annual Business Plan
The Gambling Commission has unveiled its new three-year Corporate Strategy which sets out the Commission’s focus as it continues to protect the public and players from harm.
Launched alongside the Commission’s 2021 to 2022 Business Plan, the new Strategy will be delivered through five priority areas:
- protecting children and vulnerable people from being harmed by gambling
- a fairer market and more informed consumers
- keeping crime out of gambling
- optimising returns to good causes from the National Lottery
- improving gambling regulation.
Protecting children and vulnerable people from being harmed by gambling
The Commission will continue to ensure licence holders minimise the risk of gambling harm to vulnerable groups as part of a coordinated effort to understand factors that influence behaviour. This will be achieved through improving conduct and competence, continuing to evolve the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice, building a stronger evidence base, and focusing on preventative and regulatory action.
A fairer market and more informed consumers
Ensuring that products are fair and compliant is vital for the Commission – whilst also improving information for players and making it simpler for them to find information on operators they are gambling with. This also includes making licence holders’ complaints procedures easier to access and understand.
Keeping crime out of gambling
The Commission will persist in tackling those who offer illegal and unlicensed gambling to consumers in Great Britain, whilst also continuing, alongside partner agencies, to prevent activities which lead to money laundering. The Commission’s work to manage risks around sports betting integrity and event manipulation will also continue to be an important feature in future enforcement work.
Optimising returns to good causes from the National Lottery
The National Lottery continues to be one of the world’s largest and most popular with millions given to good causes each year. The Commission will ensure the effective management of the third licence continues, whilst also concluding the fair and open competition for the fourth licence – ensuring a smooth and effective transition.
Improving gambling regulation
Over the past year the organisation has been restructured to ensure effective regulation in the future. The Commission continues to support the Government in their Gambling Act Review whilst also building on work it is already undertaking following recommendations from three key reports in 2020 into gambling regulation. The Commission will work with DCMS to ensure it has the resources to regulate effectively, to ensure employees are continually developed and technology is harnessed to improve systems and processes.
Meanwhile, the Commission’s 2021-22 Business Plan sets out the priorities to accelerate progress in making gambling and safer for the public and players, including those at risk of harm and leisure gamblers. This includes a focus on improving the way the Commission regulates in parallel with other high-profile decisions to be announced later this year – such as the Government’s Gambling Review and a review of the Commission’s fees by DCMS.
Gambling Commission chair Bill Moyes said: “Our new three-year strategy maintains the ambition of our previous strategy and goes further in considering how best we can use our current resources.
“We launch the new Strategy and our Business Plan, which details our milestones during what is going to be a hugely important year for compliance and consumer protection as the country starts to move out of lockdown after a challenging 12 months.
“Covid-19 has meant a shift in gambling habits and is exactly why the new strategy focusses on protecting consumers from harm, holding operators to account, creating a fairer market for all, and protecting the National Lottery.
“Additionally, the launch of the Gambling Act Review was a pivotal moment earlier this year and whilst our work continues, we are aware that we must continue to adjust and challenge ourselves depending on the outcomes of the Review.
“Over the next three years we will see the gambling industry change further, especially as the pace of innovation accelerates. As the regulator we must keep pace with that change, be ready to adapt, and ensure that the millions of people who gamble in Great Britain can do so safely.”
You can read the Gambling Commission’s Corporate Strategy: 2021 to 2024 and to explain the Strategy further, a short animation video (opens in a new tab) has also been added to our YouTube channel.
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Eastern Europe
Totogaming Joins Cernica Pantelimon RunFest: Not Just Present, But Fully Participating
“We weren’t just present — we were participants of Runfest. And that’s one of the most important aspects,” said Artak Ashkhatoyan, Deputy CEO of Totogaming.
On July 6, Totogaming joined the Cernica Pantelimon Runfest in Romania, once again emphasizing the importance of promoting amateur sports and a healthy lifestyle.
“Supporting such initiatives is a priority for TotoGaming. First, 50% of the proceeds from RunFest will be donated to the CLOVES Romania Foundation, supporting children affected by CLOVES Syndrome. And second, we’ve always believed in showing our passion for sports through actions, not just words. Have you noticed how we’re constantly rushing through life, yet when we look back, it often feels like we haven’t moved at all? It’s important for us to lead by example and show the importance of participation. This is exactly the message we’re promoting through our team’s active involvement in the marathon. After all, there can never be too much sport in our lives,” said TotoGaming’s Deputy CEO, Artak Ashkhatoyan.
A Simple Concept, a Powerful Impact
The concept of this sports event is straightforward: choose a distance between 1 to 21 kilometers and run. The goal? Make sport an integral part of everyday life. The crowd certainly embraced that, gathering as early as 8:30 a.m. — on a Sunday morning.
Totogaming contributed in two distinct capacities: as an official sponsor and as an active participant. A dedicated team of 13 employees represented the company at the Cernica Pantelimon RunFest, with 7 of them proudly taking part as runners.
More Than Just a Run
It wasn’t an easy challenge — especially because among Totogaming’s runners were people for whom running isn’t a daily habit, or even part of their life at all. Yet they couldn’t miss the opportunity, not least from the perspective of corporate responsibility.
“We just finished the 7.5-kilometer race!” shared Petrut-Adrian Toea from the Totogaming team.
“It was amazing, honestly. Around the 2-kilometer mark, I had this little battle with myself — I told myself I had to finish the race, no matter what. And I did it! I came in around 60th place out of over 100 runners, which for me is a really good result.”
“I see my participation as a small contribution toward promoting a healthy lifestyle. In my close circle, everyone knows I’m not exactly the sporty type. I’m not athletic, and I usually prefer having fun in other ways. But showing up here, early in the morning, in this intense heat, and completing almost 8 kilometers with just one short break — I think it set a good example.”
“I hope seeing someone like me finish this challenge motivates my friends to try something similar for their own health. I believe that’s a meaningful contribution”, – added Petrut-Andrea.
Totogaming also made it possible for every attendee to bring sport into their lives — quite literally. At the Totogaming tent, participants could ride stationary bikes and receive prizes based on the number of points they earned through their efforts.
Whether they were running, cycling, or simply cheering for friends, the goal for everyone was the same: to reach the destination of champions — by bringing sport into everyday life.
The post Totogaming Joins Cernica Pantelimon RunFest: Not Just Present, But Fully Participating appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
BMM Testlabs, the world’s original gaming test lab renowned for exceptional product compliance and certification services, today announced the promotion of Sacha McLaughlin to Vice President of Global Quality Assurance.
BMM’s President of Land-Based Gaming & Inspections, Kirk White, said, “Sacha has consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership, operational excellence, and a customer-first attitude. Her experience and passion will be critical as we continue to grow our QA services to meet the always-evolving needs of the global gaming industry.”
With over 18 years of experience in software implementation and seven years in the gaming industry, McLaughlin brings extensive knowledge of both agile and waterfall development methodologies, test planning, project management, and cross-regional team leadership. She is recognized for her ability to build and scale QA organizations that deliver quality, speed, and value to customers.
McLaughlin joined BMM in 2018 and has held roles of increasing responsibility within the Company, most recently serving as Senior Director of Quality Assurance. Throughout her tenure, she has been instrumental in expanding BMM’s QA capabilities and helping customers launch products into the global gaming market more quickly, with a focus on regulatory compliance, functionality, fairness, and security.
The post BMM TESTLABS PROMOTES SACHA MCLAUGHLIN TO VICE PRESIDENT OF GLOBAL QUALITY ASSURANCE appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Major findings from the newly launched report include playable ads having the potential to deliver impression-to-install rates 16 times that of non-playable formats for emerging gaming apps and a 20% increase in spending on interactive ads year over year.
Liftoff, a leading AI-enabled growth platform for the mobile app economy, has published its seventh annual Mobile Ad Creative Index. The report explores top creative trends that are attracting and scaling in ad spend across consumer apps and games. It also highlights the expanding role of AI in creative production, testing, and optimization.
This year’s Mobile Ad Creative Index specifically analyzes creative concepts that have excelled in scale for Liftoff’s highest-spending advertisers over the past 12 to 48 months. It is based on findings from over 4.7 trillion impressions, 263 billion clicks, and 1.1 billion installs between 1 January 2023 and 31 May 2025.
Highlights from the report include:
Top consumer apps are investing in interactive ads to compete for engagement
In 2024, the share of spend on interactive ads for top apps increased by 20% year over year. The share of spend increased by 2% for spenders outside the top tier. Top-spending apps differentiate their campaigns by adding innovations to evergreen concepts such as social scrollers, carousels, and scratch-offs.
Playable ads deliver returns across ad budgets for mobile game advertisers
In 2024, the share of spend on playable ads for top games averaged 35% higher than other games. Across all ad budgets, however, playable ads delivered higher conversion rates. Impression-to-install rates were 8 times that of non-playable formats for top spenders and 16 times that of non-playable formats for other game advertisers.
Tailoring “metaplay” elements to motivations can improve performance
“Metaplay” elements—gameplay that diverges from an app’s core design to appeal to a broader audience—are widespread, but top games gain an edge by tailoring their metaplay ads to the publisher audience. The report found that aligning “metaplay” creative with publisher audiences resulted in a 93% increase in installs-per-mille.
UGC is becoming a key differentiator in driving scale for consumer apps
The share of spend on user-generated content (UGC) increased 11% for top-spending apps, with social and utility apps seeing the most significant jump of nearly 30% between 2023 and 2024.
Widespread adoption of Gen AI leads to more customized ad experiences
Creative teams increasingly leverage AI to enhance top-performing assets with 3D and motion and to create and test variations. Top advertisers also use AI to recombine their assets in customized ad experiences that break away from standard video to playable formats.
Yann Zeller, Chief of Staff, Creative at Liftoff, said: “Today’s creative landscape is shaped by a single, powerful truth: attention is the commodity, and brands, games, and influencers are all vying for it. Great mobile ad experiences can earn attention by aligning context with behavior. As ad formats become richer and AI expands our ability to personalize and adapt creatives at scale, we’re able to unlock new insights into user behavior and motivation. We see users spend meaningful stretches with the right content, sometimes 60 to 90 seconds when the ad feels personal or prompts meaningful participation. This isn’t just a better way to advertise—it’s a better way to tell stories and the most exciting brief we’ve had in years.”
Soren Steelquist, Director of Creative Production, said: “The proof is in the data—more and more consumer apps are incorporating UGC into every stage of their marketing, and programmatic is no different. UGC works because it’s authentic and relatable, and users are more likely to be influenced by ad when it’s coming from a trustworthy source. To see higher impact from UGC creatives, work with a partner that can match the right creator with your brand and develop winning concepts that resonate with audiences.”
The post Liftoff’s 2025 Mobile Ad Creative Index Reveals UGC Is a Key Differentiator for Top Apps appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
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