Tech Compliance Now a Top Strategic Challenge for Gaming Suppliers, Vixio Survey Finds
Gambling technology suppliers are facing a “new reality” of increasingly complex, fragmented, and costly technical regulations that are hampering innovation and creating significant business risks, according to a new industry survey from the research firm Vixio. The findings reveal a growing frustration among the companies that build the platforms and games for the global iGaming industry, who feel caught between demanding regulators and their own operator clients.
A Disconnect Between Regulators and Technology
A key source of this frustration, the survey found, is a perceived disconnect between rule-makers and the technology they regulate. An overwhelming 86% of suppliers surveyed said that policymakers often create new rules without a sufficient understanding of their technical and product compliance implications.
This can lead to regulations that are difficult to implement without causing major disruptions to a supplier’s product development roadmap. The issue is particularly acute when it comes to new technologies like artificial intelligence, where suppliers believe a lack of regulatory understanding is a major limiting factor to its adoption.
“We’ve seen the scope of technical compliance increase in established markets, and we’ve seen more markets with more complexity, which is further compounded by the frequency of changes,” said Richard Bayliss, a Senior Regulatory Affairs & Compliance Manager at Playtech.
The Fragmentation Problem
Compounding the issue is the growing fragmentation of regulations across different jurisdictions. The survey found that even as regulators attempt to collaborate, requirements are often diverging rather than harmonizing. This forces suppliers to navigate a patchwork of conflicting rules, a task that consumes significant resources.
According to the survey, suppliers identified several key pain points:
- 26% cited the high cost and diversity of certification requirements.
- 24% pointed to the increasing frequency of new compliance changes.
- 23% highlighted conflicting requirements across different jurisdictions.
This environment forces companies to allocate more resources toward compliance, which in turn leaves less for innovation and product development.
Pressure from All Sides
The pressure is not just coming from regulators. Suppliers are also feeling the squeeze from their direct customers: the operators. The survey found that 75% of suppliers report that operators are pressuring them to remain compliant, especially as operators themselves face stricter enforcement.
“Everyone wants to be first into the market with as much content as possible,” said Bayliss. “So the real key for us is how you can assess what you need to do, how quickly you can get it done, and deliver that to licensees so they can go live from the very beginning.”
This commercial pressure is forcing suppliers to make high-stakes decisions about where they operate. The survey revealed that 71% of suppliers believe they will soon have to make a clear choice between working in unregulated “grey” markets or focusing exclusively on licensed ones.
The High Cost of Getting It Wrong
The business risks of failing to navigate this complex landscape are significant. A misunderstanding of a technical requirement can lead to costly delays, failed product certifications, and lost revenue.
“[The] bottom line is that if we misunderstand the requirement and we must make some change later in the development process, that can lead to extra work and longer certification times… which means risk for our revenue or missing out on opportunities,” explained Abaz Beganovic, Head of Compliance at Comtrade Gaming.
The message from the survey is clear: as the regulatory landscape becomes more complex, the suppliers who invest in mastering it will gain a significant competitive edge—an advantage some, like Beganovic, would rather keep as a “secret weapon.”
Recommended