With new markets opening up, and existing markets tightening their regulations, it’s important for betting and gaming companies “to follow the current changes and to stay compliant”.

That’s according to Dalibor Srubar, head of legal and compliance at Slotegrator, who spoke to CasinoBeats about how its consultancy service can help operators remain compliant in an ever-changing regulatory environment.

CasinoBeats: First of all, can you tell us a little bit about what your job role entails?

Dalibor Srubar: Well, my job role entails various legal topics. However, the vast majority of my job is represented by advising our top management on their strategic decisions. I make sure that we are compliant with the legislation of the markets where our company operates. 

I am also in charge of licensing and certification procedures for our company and for our clients that wish to benefit from our consultancy service. And last, but not least, another part of my job is to protect the IP rights of the company.

CB: Looking at Slotegrator’s consultancy service, how are you helping those looking to open new businesses and merchant accounts? 

DS: I believe at the beginning of each project, the client needs to choose a certain strategy to reach his goals. It can be quite overwhelming without any experience to know where to get the licence and what is forbidden and what is not and of course, it’s a lot of paperwork. 

We have the experience, and we know how to handle the issues from A to Z so that the client can focus on important business issues.

CB: We recently covered a story on Slotegrator’s Estonia licence acquisition assistance service. Can you tell us a bit more about what other legal services Slotegrator offers?

DS: We can help our clients to get a licence in most of the jurisdictions where online gaming is regulated. We either do it directly, or via our local contacts. 

Otherwise, we offer also – assistance with certification of the software, consultancy with regard to IP protection, offshore companies establishment, companies set-up consultancy. We also have possibilities to give tax consultancy with the help of external tax auditors.

CB: What are the most common legal issues that operators tend to seek your help on? 

DS: Nowadays, the most discussed issues with the operators are what type and in which jurisdiction they should get their licence. Another big topic is the fund moving (banking, payment processing etc.). Lot of clients have wrongly set-up companies, so we consult them on this topic too. I would say those are the most discussed topics right now, however it’s really individual.

CB: Given that new markets are opening all the time, and regulations are constantly changing, why do you think consultancy services are so important in the gambling industry? 

DS: That’s a good and important question and it’s true that the legislations in a lot of jurisdictions are constantly changing and developing. Therefore, it is really essential for the operators to follow the current changes and to stay compliant all the time. Nobody likes to pay fines, right? 

Having said that, even the B2B projects (like us – Slotegrator) have to stay compliant in the jurisdictions that we operate in and it is becoming more and more challenging every year.

CB: How can using consultancy services help operators save time and money in the long term? 

DS: We believe that having the right company structure can save a lot of headaches and at the end of the day a lot of money (considering the tax optimalization). 

We also believe that it’s really beneficial for operators (especially the starting ones) to focus on other parts of their project and their journey (like brand recognition, traffic to their website etc.) since it can be quite overwhelming to get oriented in this jungle of laws/tax laws. 

Having the right set-up from the beginning will therefore just benefit the successful projects in future. In general, we believe that it’s important for the operators to pay for good consultancy service in the beginning for their future benefits.