Maestro

How to play Maestro

“We felt there was a gap for a continent-wide network that could connect organisations, encourage collaboration, and help build a stronger collective voice on player protection. ARGN is not here to replace national organisations or regulators. Its purpose is to support and strengthen the work already being done by bringing people and organisations together.”

But while the ARGN intends to enhance collaboration between stakeholders across the continent, Akolade asserts the aim is to promote “common principles rather than identical regulations”.

Akolade explains: “Every African country has its own legal framework, culture, and level of market development, so a single model might not work everywhere.

About Maestro

Sponsorship activities involving children and adolescents, schools, and youth sports categories are also prohibited. Betting companies will also be banned from associating their brand with campaigns or projects related to mental health, suicide prevention, financial education, treatment of gambling disorders, social assistance, prevention of over-indebtedness or protection of vulnerable families. 

Operators may not use data from individuals who have self-excluded, are undergoing treatment, or have requested to block marketing in order to attempt to reactivate them. Repeated or intrusive messages and offers directed at users who have reduced their gaming frequency, registered significant losses, triggered limits or shown signs of risky behaviour are also prohibited.

The text also bans exploiting situations of economic crisis, unemployment, debt, emotional distress, grief, anxiety, depression, loneliness, or other conditions of vulnerability to attract, retain or reactivate gamblers. 

How to play Maestro

Five years from now, Curwen expects the development landscape – and the studios operating within it – to look markedly different.

“I don’t think the successful studio of the future necessarily has hundreds of people,” he says. “It could be a relatively small group of extremely talented people with great ideas, strong brands and a very good understanding of players, supported by technology that does much of the heavy lifting.”

That would also shift the basis on which studios compete. If sophisticated development capabilities become accessible to a wider range of creators, scale alone becomes less of an advantage.