The winners of IAGR’s 2024 International Regulatory Awards have been revealed, with regulators from Australia, the Netherlands and Denmark taking home the trophies during the IAGR & IMGL Rome Conference.

This year’s winners showcase innovative and effective regulatory efforts from across the globe.

1. Regulatory Excellence Award: Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)
   For the launch of the BetStop National Self Exclusion Register, the ACMA was recognised for overcoming complex delivery and regulatory challenges to create Australia’s first centralised exclusion register.

2. Regulatory Innovation Award: Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa), Netherlands Gambling Authority
   The Ksa was commended for its use of data to enhance consumer protection, fast-tracking advanced dashboards to improve regulatory oversight.

3. Best Regulatory Campaign Award: Danish Gambling Authority
   The Danish Gambling Authority won for its ‘One Armed Bandit’ campaign, which used humour and collaboration with influencers to engage the public on responsible gambling.

IAGR Vice President, Sarah Kelly, who was part of the judging panel, said:

‘This year saw one of the highest numbers of global nominations, with a diversity of entries reflecting the increasing efforts of our members to improve regulation of the gaming sector.

‘Our winners have shown exceptional dedication in advancing regulatory standards for the benefit of the gaming industry and its consumers.’

ACMA Chair, Nerida O’Loughlin said:

‘BetStop – the National Self-Exclusion Register represents a significant enhancement of consumer safeguards available to Australians who gamble. The IAGR award for regulatory excellence is recognition of the dedication and collaboration of ACMA staff in delivering this important safeguard which has supported the more than 30,000 Australians registered to date.’

Michel Groothuizen, Chairman of the Ksa/Netherlands Gambling Authority said:

‘I was honoured to be in Rome on behalf of our organization. I greatly appreciate the international acknowledgement for ‘Markers of risk’. I would like to thank my dedicated and impactful colleagues Dr. Flóra Felsö and Dr. Judith Kas and their team for their hard work. The report about this project will be published later this year. A great contribution to our mission which states consumers must be able to play safely. We act to prevent misconduct.’

Anders Dorph, Director of the Danish Gambling Authority, said:
‘Our campaign “The One-Armed Bandit” targets underage persons to prevent them from gambling, which is why we took a quite unusual approach. For instance, our character uses a type of language which one does not normally hear in campaigns from public organisations. However, we found it necessary to use unorthodox methods to reach our target group and I am very thankful that the IAGR jury saw the value of our campaign.

‘Preventing underage children and young people from gambling and gambling harm is an important agenda for the Danish Gambling Authority which is why I am particularly proud of the award.’

These prestigious awards underscore the importance of collaboration, innovation and dedication in the global regulation of gambling. 

Betfair Casino, part of the world’s biggest entertainment company, Flutter, has today launched with their creative agency, Pablo, a new campaign seeing the return of their ‘Brett Flair’ character, but this time with some new companions.

The new campaign, created by Pablo, builds on the success of the original Brett Flair campaign which launched in 2022, evolving this creative platform to new heights. It celebrates Betfair Casino as the ultimate ‘home of new games’, reminding players that exciting new slot games are released every week.

The campaign is born out of the insight that 70% of UK online casino revenue is driven by slot games, more than table games or live casino. Betfair found that almost a third of their overall player volume was driven by games launched in the same year, and given their Casino launches new games every week, this gave the brand a point of difference to demonstrate their credibility in a noisy marketplace lacking differentiation.

In true Casino fashion, the brand is back with a bang for the next instalment of their larger than life character ‘Brett Flair’, everyone’s favourite market stall holder, taking him to the next level of fame. But this time, Brett Flair is not coming back alone. He’s bringing an entire band with him, each member representing Betfair’s latest and best games dropping every week. Introducing ‘Brett & The New Slots’. Brett is joined by a Greek God, Fisherman, Cowboy and Miner, reminding players that with such a wide range of new games available weekly at Betfair Casino there’s something for everybody to enjoy.

Continuing the theme of catchy 90’s band nostalgia, the campaign sticks with parodying classic boy band hits, but moves on from the Backstreet Boys, ‘I Want It That Way’ to ‘Everybody’ to create a new jingle worthy of earworm status.

Staying true to his origins, Brett remains front and centre to the action with him and his band filming their latest music video in a market stall setting. ‘Brett & The New Slots’ play on the very best of 90’s music video style tropes, delighting us with synchronised choreography, home-made fan signs and elevated production, music and lyrics.

Brett Flair’s debut appearance was in 2022 following a new set of regulations from the Committee for Advertising Practice (CAP)coming into force. These changes led to Brett’s creation to ensure compliance in the new world of gaming. This latest campaign continues to build on Pablo and Betfair’s four year relationship, which is well versed in balancing compliance and driving stand-out in what is a very cluttered and noisy competitor landscape. In this campaign, ‘Brett & The New Slots’ bring a sense of nostalgia and fun, frivolous, entertainment into the world of gaming.

The two 30” TVC spots cover Brand and Safer Gambling messages. They were directed by Louis Bhose through Agile Films, creating the yellow market stall inspired music video with sound specialists Birdbrain bringing Brett’s version of ‘Everybody’ to life.

The TTL campaign goes live 24 October 2024, premiering ‘Brett & The New Slots’ across TV, VOD, OOH, social and digital.

The TVCs can be found here for download, with the Brand here on YouTube.

Lisa Marquis, Head of Gaming Brand & Propositions, Betfair said “The first Brett Flair campaign and its nostalgic theme was a hit with our casino audience, offering the standout and memorability we needed in a highly competitive market. Pablo has delivered in spades with this second campaign, which builds on the strengths of the original while delivering our core message about new games. The campaign is highly entertaining and aligns with our customers’ desire for fun, whilst also landing a message about responsible play through the introduction of our Gaming Time Check tool, ensuring players can enjoy themselves in a safe and balanced way.”

Tim Snape, ECD at Pablo said: “This campaign supports our long-standing relationship with Betfair, having recently launched a one shot trick ad for the Sportsbook and Exchange side of the business earlier this year. This execution is our second outing with the incredibly effective ‘Brett Flair’ character. It was time to turn the knob up to max in every way, so we’ve gone slicker, bigger, louder and prouder than ever before. We managed to secure another Backstreet Boys banger as the base of our new musical outing too so it’s 90’s fun from start to finish.”

Credits

Client: Betfair Casino

Head of Brand & Propositions: Lisa Marquis

Senior Brand Manager: Venetia Tabor

Brand Manager: Jennifer O’Kelly

Marketing Executive: Megan Hayes

Producer: Mikaela Benson

Creative Lead: Daniel Flynn

Agency: Pablo

Executive Creative Director: Tim Snape

Creative: Bex Conyngham-Hynes

Creative: Dan Scott

Planning Director: Chris Turner

Planner: Oliver Edridge

Managing Director: Harriet Knight

Senior Account Director: Charlotte Johnson

Senior Account Manager: Phoebe Snelson-Chiffers

Head of TV Production: Tom Moxham

TV Producer: Rebecca Forrester

Head of Project Management: Ben Mascari

Project Director: Kelly Watts

Project Executive: Emily Rutledge

Production:

Production Company: Agile Films

Director: Louis Bhose

Producer: Sarah Kirkby

Executive Producer: Fliss Hutcheson

Director Of Photography: Murren Tullett

Editor: Jack Williams @ The Assembly Rooms

Exec Producer: Emma Bewley

Post-Production: Agile Studios

Post Producer: Angie Broomfield

Creative Director (Post-Production): David Horsburgh

VFX Lead: Kevin Merien

VFX Artist: Thomas Dunleavy & Andrew Loughnane

Grade: Matthieu Toullet @ Company 3

Grade Assistant: Karl Pasamonte, Santino Napolitano & Jack Kennedy

Sound: Mike Bovill @ 750mph

Music Company: Birdbrain

Track: Backstreet Boys – ‘Everybody’

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