22 Dec, 2021
The series of public discussions about the regulations imposed on the online gambling business does not stop. The topic is discussed in different programs on different channels. This time, marketing specialist Levan Gvinianidze spoke on Formula TV.
The marketing specialist and founder of Agency 11 focused on the potential increase in crime following the restrictions and the negative role of regulations for the online gaming business.
"Before we didn't have the Internet at all, there was gambling back then and it was much more criminal than it is today. Today we are dealing with established brands, these brands are communicating around the world. They have superstars as stars. The types arrive, they are established brands, you can see Georgian brand advertising on El Clasico, they are existing brands, and their activities are much easier to control than Mazavshiki, Mazavshiki known by their nicknames.
With Mazavshik, a person loses money that he does not have, and then what he does to earn this money is a separate matter. And we remember that such news happened. There was no Internet, no Vipien (a computer program that can be used to change the IP address) then, there was gambling, there was gambling, and then you tried to bring this money. This is the biggest threat it can bring, if it eats that (internet) cable and something happens to VIP, Sharia!”.
Levan also spoke about the regulation in relation to the advertising market. According to him, in the media space, the money given to free media is one of the main reasons why restrictions are imposed on the gaming business.
"For the advertising market, in 2020, there were approximately 40 million televisions with advertising from gambling. A large share of this came from the opposition media, which probably became the root cause of this decision. And the worst thing is that harm is wrapped in the name of care. And this by people who were one of the first to ban condoms with blisters. That ban does not contain such a threat as the current regulations.
In addition, for example, a European movie is not available in English, and unfortunately you have to watch it in Russian, in such a case, the Russian Beth advertisement integrated into the movie jumps out at you.
Also in the advertising market, when you advertise, you do it with two types of face shots, one is for other media, the other is for the public broadcaster. There will always be a loophole through which you can advertise Beth on the public, write sports at the bottom instead of Beth, change the slogan a little, and that's it."
The marketing specialist also touched on the issue, which is acute in the reality of Georgia today. The mechanism of the so-called trolls developed against the opponents of this initiative, who actively comment on various social media pages and groups and try to shape public opinion.
“And now there's a classic troll narrative set in motion. For example, they attack the banker and say - the houses were taken from us. Even now this is a troll narrative, but the government is already trolling.
In the championship of Georgia, the title sponsor of 5 teams is Beth. The stadium in Batumi bears the name of one of the big and successful brands. All this was ordered by the government. Because the presidents of the main sports federations are acting parliamentarians. Something like that was a rarity before. We are in such a situation.
I agree that a strawberry (slot game) ad shouldn't jump in the middle of a children's popcorn or cartoon movie at the cinema, but it needs planning, step-by-step work and regulations. It needs work."
The Parliament of Georgia has already adopted the 8-law package of restrictions for online gaming business in the first and second reading.
