Parliament Palace, host to the most important local gambling event
Well-thought sessions, issues of a great interest and excellent speakers were the reasons for a record number of Romanian and foreign participants and a successful event for our publication.
The end of February meant the fourth edition of the biggest and most important gambling event in our country, the Romanian Conference on Gambling.
In the beautiful marble room Nicolae Balcescu in the Parliament Palace, this experience of an international nature since the beginning brought together an unexpected large number of participants from Romania, Malta, Bulgaria, Italy, Austria and the Czech Republic.
The one-day agenda aimed to deal with all the elements embodied in the Romanian gambling industry, starting from the most recent legislation and the implementation norms, the vulnerabilities in the current system, going through poker, slot rooms and casino life to the newest online gambling, all the current issues. All the above and the outstanding speakers succeeded to fill up the conference room.
Like with any edition, the conference lobby hosted a mini-exhibition so that the participants be able to see the exhibits of the partners during the coffee and lunch breaks.
Over 150 participants, officials, parliament members, attorneys and a great number of representatives from the gambling industry, national and international, attended a program of three plenary sessions, namely the Opening speech, Legislation and Image, CSR and responsible gambling. The program met the expectations of everyone present, who were able to ask questions to the lawmakers, to the other speakers or to the presidium people.
The opening speech was delivered by Mr. Mihnea Paul Popescu, President of Casino Life & Business Magazine who, after addressing a welcome word to the participants and thanking the partners, had a short presentation of the time between the third and fourth editions of this Conference.
The introductory session featured the speeches of the representatives of all the professional associations in the gambling industry in Romania and the officials. The topic of legislation stirred the greatest interest, as it hosted the points of view expressed by the professional associations and the participants in the public. The precise questions to be asked were answered in a very competent manner by Mrs. Odeta Nestor, President of the National Gambling Office and Mr. Daniel Florea, member of the Commission on Judicial Discipline and Immunity of the Chamber of Deputies.
During the two sessions, moderated by Mr. DAN-OCTAVIAN NICOLAIE, economic editor of the Bursa newspapers, the following people took the floor: Daniel Florea, Marius Alexandru Dunca, President of the National Authority for the Consumer Protection, Dan Ghita, President of ROMBET, Alexandru Debrezeni, Executive Director of Romanian Bookmakers association, Cristian Pascu, Executive Manager of the Association of the Gambling Organizers and Manufacturers in Romania, Sorin Constantinescu, President of the Association of the Casino Operators in Romania, Viorela Radoi, Executive Director of ROMSLOT, Sarmizia Maria Fetcu, Porte-parole, General Anticorruption Department, and Gabriel Gheorghe, Vicepresident, the National Gambling Office.
Later, two more speakers discoursed in the second session, on the recent legislation – Claudiu Scarlatache, Deputy Director, Department of Fraud Investigation with the General Police Inspectorate and Odeta Nestor, President of ONJN. Also, Anchidim Zagrean, Vicepresident of ROMBET was another person to approach this topic.
For the final session, dedicated to the image, social responsibility and responsible gambling, moderated by Dan Iliovici, Executive Director of ROMBET, Mr. Mihnea Paul Popescu introduced a short analysis of the status of the Casino Scholarship Project, initiated and promoted by our publication, Casino Life & Business Magazine. Following that speech, the representatives of the associations spoke about the novelties in the responsible gambling programs.
The list of speakers included: Cristian Pascu, Leliana Parvulescu, psychologist, coordinator of the “Responsable Gambling” program, and Dr. Cristian Andrei, Consultant in the above program, started and supported by ROMSLOT and Romanian Bookmakers.
At the end of the event, we asked for the opinion of several participants to the fourth edition of the Romanian Conference on Gambling.
Here are their answers:
Dragos Buriu, General Manager Newton Slots
‚The presence of the National Gambling Office to this conference is worthy to be mentioned, mainly for the free discussions with the operators. There has been an intense work, along with the associations, for establishing the rules and for settling into shape and regulating the gambling market in Romania.’
Aida Bachner, Regional Manager GTECH Austria GmbH
‚Regarding the conference it was great to be able to take place there and to feel the actual situation in the market. Listen to involved people and chat with some operators about their opinion, objections and plans was very interesting and positive for me. It will help me to understand better the market and establish good strategy to develop our position in Romania. I am for sure looking forward this year development and bew challenges.
Thanks.’
Valentin Ioan, Key Account Manager – AWP Italy / GTECH Austria GmbH
‚I have been thrilled to receive and honor the invitation that Casino Life & Business Magazine has extended to me to the last week conference in Bucharest. I had the opportunity to meet again and listen to influential people in the Romanian gaming business while talking on concrete and very present issues. The large number of participants and the topics have turned this conference into a successful event. From my position as the GTECH representative, I have shown a great interest for the recent legislation and the favorable circumstances to be built in a new business for the gambline sector, such as the AWPs (Amusement with Prices). This equipment is already in use in the European countries and the Romanian market will soon start operating them, under the name of penny slot machined with limited winnings. As manufacturers, we have had a great expertise and we showcase this product worldwide, where the legislation allows this type of business. This is the reason why we will also be paying close attention to the Romanian market.’
Marius Stoi, General Manager DGL PRO
‘Firstly, I would like to highly appreciate the venue of the conference – the Parliament Palace. You have already set a precedent and it will be more difficult to choose a more representative location in the future.
Secondly, it is worth mentioning the interest that this event has stirred, visible in the large audience.
I believe that dealing with the topics was tersely, with no distractions at all. My opinion is that the conference was truly a huge success.’
Dan Ghita, President ROMBET
‘As usual, the Romanian Gambling Conference was a perfect context for thought-provoking and lucrative discussions between the two sides in our branch – the lawmakers and the ones implementing and abiding by the laws.
I really hope that my message regarding the imperative need for a more concerted industry reach everyone involved and have them start working.
We must be undivided and close to one another in dialogue, action and transparency, we need to have a coherent voice, an approach that will match the force we are representing.
I acknowledge and am thankful and greatful to Casino Life & Business Magazine for another event that gave us the opportunity to debate on hot issues for the gambling market and come nearer to the solution of the questions that we have had.’
And this is the BURSA newspaper article on the 2015 edition of the Romanian Conference on Gambling, published on February 27:
‘There was an intense Q&A section of a technical nature regarding real cases, but Mrs. Odeta Nestor, President of ONJN, was able to give clear explanations to the ones in attendance about their concerns related to the implementation norms for the G.E.O. 92/2014: “We truly want to have the gambling market in Romania reach the European level, to become one of the best regulated both for organizers and for players. We wish to have an attractive market, trust generating, active and responsible, aligned to the latest trends and innovations in gaming.’ President of ANPC, Marius Dunca, congratulated the operators in this branch, ’As for your line of business, there is no complaints from the consumers, which is essential. You are an example and a benchmark’. Deputy Daniel Florea assured all the people present that no parliament member is against the gambling industry: ‘I need to tell you that yesterday (Wednesday) the Chamber declined the initiative that created the context for our meeting. Even though we started off on the wrong foot, we need to go on. The gambling legislation taking shape now is good, but it can be improved. This is the reason why I would urge you to have a as close connection with the lawmakers as possible. Similarly, I will recommend you to put your observations in writing, as we all know the saying ‘words fly, writing remains’. The law should not be for arguing, negative energies are coming out and we are at the risk of losing our joint interest from sight. I repeat, you do not have any opponents in the Parliament or in the Department of Finances, since everyone wants to do their best.’ The representatives from the National Gambling Office invited the other sides to intensify the dialogue, come with constructive proposals and address to the authorities when illegal things are brought to their notice.’
This fourth edition of the Romanian Conference on Gambling was organized by our publication, Casino Life & Business Magazine, with the assistance of the Commission on Judicial Discipline and Immunity of the Chamber of Deputies and its institutional partners were the National Gambling Office and the National Authority for the Consumer Protection.
ROMBET was the platinum level partner to this edition, also supported by DGL PRO, NEWTON Slots, ROMSLOT and Tiger Security.
The BURSA newspaper participated as the media partner to this edition of the Romanian Conference on Gambling, along with the portal www.ForRichOnly.ro
From our position of organizer, Casino Life & Business Magazine acknowledges all the partners to this international event, who contributed to a large extent to this favorable outcome, a major achievement of our magazine.
About Casino Life & Business Magazine, the event organizer.
For almost eight years, since it started, Casino Life & Business Magazine has been the initiator and promoter for the original events in the Romanian gambling industry, being involved in a sizable number of conferences, seminars, round tables on gambling itself or as an information hub.
Our publication is the one that has launched the following pioneer projects: Romanian Conference on Gambling – international event, ‚ Ora Exacta în Gambling’ seminar (What’s the time in gambling, TN), the yearly socializing event of the Awards Gala of the Gambling Industry and of the Casino Club, and some of them were even duplicated by other publications.
