European Gaming Lawyer magazine Autumn 2015 | Page 7
[
President’s Message
]
Joerg Hofmann, [email protected]
W
President Joerg Hofmann
elcome to this edition of the European
Gaming Lawyer! You will find that
this edition once again demonstrates
IMGL’s continued positive and
significant development, in particular
in relation to the high standards that we have set
ourselves regarding the educational purpose and
international orientation or our organization.
One of the highlights of this edition clearly is the
announcement of this year’s winners of the prestigious
“Regulator of the Year Award” for the Americas
and Europe. You may recall that in 2014 the IMGL
introduced a new Regulator of the Year category for
Asia/Australasia in order to account for the increasing
number of members from the Asia and Pacific region and
the significant developments of markets and regulation
in this part of the world. For similar reasons the IMGL
this year decided to subdivide the “Americas” category
into a “North America” and a “Central/South America”
category and to select a winner for the 2015 Regulator
of the Year Award from both these regions. This not
only underlines IMGL’s endeavors to further expand
globally but also honors the outstanding achievements
by regulators in the emerging markets of Central/
South America more accurately as political and cultural
variances between North and Central/South America can
better be taken into account.
But now, without further ado, let me introduce you to
this year’s winners of the Regulator of the Year Award for
North America, Central/South America and Europe. I
congratulate Mark Ostrowski, Administrator/Director, Illinois
Gaming Board (2015 ROY – North America)
Manuel San Roman Benavente, General Director of
Casino Gaming and Slot Machines, Peru (2015 ROY –
Central/South America)
Jenny Williams, Commissioner and Chief Executive,
Gambling Commission, Great Britain (2015 ROY –
Europe)
I wish to thank them for their exceptional commitment
towards a sensible gambling regulation and for
encouraging an open dialogue between industry players,
regulators and all other parties involved. You will find a
lot more information on our award winners later in this
edition.
Although not a surprise considering Mr. San Roman’s
remarkable achievements and the pioneering role of Peru
in gaming regulation, I consider it a happy coincidence
that our Regulator of the Year 2015 for Central/South
America operates in the country where our next IMGL
Autumn Conference will be held. The IMGL Autumn
Conference in Lima (14-16 October 2015) marks a
historic step in IMGL history as it will be the first IMGL
conference ever to be held in South America. Being able
to hand over our very first Regulator of the Year Award
for Central/South America on this occasion and being
able to hand over this award to a Peruvian official gives
me great pleasure and will make this historic step even
more special.
Speaking about the IMGL Autumn Conference, I
would like to take this opportunity to remind you to
register for the conference soon. I hope to see many
of you there and am already looking forward to the
conference, not least as I am confident that it will
continue IMGL’s streak of very successful and wellrecognized conferences. In fact, this reminds me of
something I have wanted to share with you:
During my travels I have had the pleasure of observing
and experiencing just how well-recognized the IMGL
and our conferences are. I notice that IMGL members are
welcomed with open arms, high expectations and utmost
respect when acting as speakers, moderators or guests at
global conferences. The uncompromisingly high standard
of our own conferences and Masterclasses, the quality
and the international profile of our publications and
the open debate and dialogue that has been established
between stake holders in the industry, advisors and
regulators within our organization are gratefully received.
I am convinced that when the founders of the IMGL
noticed that the gaming world lacked a platform which
could bring together these demanding assets they made
the best decision in creating the IMGL. I am proud that
the IMGL stays true to its roots by being the pre-eminent
international networking and educational organization
that it is and still constantly continues to grow and
improve from strength to strength.
Keep up the good work and see you all in Lima!
European Gaming Lawyer | Autumn Issue | 2015 | 7