WGBA Forms to Channel Licensed Operator Data into Global Gambling Policy Debates

The World Gaming and Betting Alliance launched to supply operational data from licensed operators to international gambling policy discussions. Maarten Haijer, director general of the WGBA and former leader of the European Gaming and Betting Association for more than 13 years, outlined the new group's aims in an exclusive interview with Focus Gaming News.

Haijer said gambling debates now cross continents yet often lack practical evidence on consumer behavior and rule application in licensed markets. The WGBA will bridge that gap by pairing operator data with academic research, public health input, and regulatory experience. It will complement national and regional associations rather than supplant them, elevating local knowledge to the global level.

Practical Priorities and Cross-Border Tools

Immediate focus falls on the illegal gambling market, where consumers have no safeguards. The alliance will also direct resources to regions where regulation advances quickly, including Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Priorities will be set with members and adjusted as the policy environment shifts.

Haijer identified concrete areas for cooperation among regulators, law enforcement, payment providers, and platforms: blocking illegal websites and advertising, plus severing payment channels. In Denmark, site blocking cut traffic to illegal operators by around a third within six months. Because illegal activity crosses borders easily, coordinated enforcement across jurisdictions matters as much as action within them. The WGBA can contribute licensed-operator insight to identify what works.

Measuring Policy by Consumer Retention

Regulation should rest on evidence and real-world outcomes, Haijer argued. Every safeguard works only if consumers remain in the licensed market. Policy must distinguish accountable licensed operators, who pay taxes and fund protections, from illegal ones that do neither. Tax and advertising rules should be judged by how much activity stays regulated.

In the United States, more than 90 per cent of online bettors and casino players say legality matters to their choice, yet over 40 per cent find it hard to tell legal platforms from illegal ones. Advertising limits or higher regulatory costs risk pushing consumers toward unprotected sites and shrinking the tax base. The three largest challenges ahead, according to Haijer, are the illegal market, regulatory fragmentation that lets consumers drift offshore, and the licensed sector's need for credible, scrutible data.

Forward-looking enforcement that keeps consumers in regulated channels will determine whether new international bodies like the WGBA deliver measurable gains.