Euromat, the pan-European trade association keeps a close eye on what is being discussed in Belgium in case it has a negative influence on the amusement and gaming industry. Last month, it also decided to up the ante by publishing a book designed to ‘educate’ the parliamentarians on what exactly the amusement and gaming industry is. Sometimes we are so wrapped up in our own business that we don’t realise that others don’t really understand what we do. How many times have you discussed your job with a stranger and had them react with, “Gosh, how glamorous it must be to work in the casino industry. Do you have any tips on how to win?”

When you explain that, no, it is fruit machines or arcade-style games that you work with, their faces fall. “Oh, those machines we see in pubs or on the end of the pier?” Yes, it’s true, our end of the gaming and betting sector might not appear at first sight to be the most glamorous. But it still employs 200,000 people throughout the EU and most of those people work for small or medium-sized enterprises, a large number of which are still family businesses.

So it seems unfair that our industry might end up being lumped in unceremoniously with pan-European legislation governing the gaming industry as a whole – which is what is being proposed by the European Commission. Court cases to do with sports betting and internet gaming are putting pressure on the EU to make a ‘one size fits all’ solution. Euromat believes this would be disastrous to the many smaller companies working in our sector. We need to educate people about what we do and educate ourselves about the threats to our businesses coming from the EU.

The best place to start is with Euromat – support their work and get their book.

Stephanie Norbury

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