Example Entry - Compliance Lifetime Achievement Award

.
Example Entry
50-word entry description

Roger Parkes has worked for online and land-based operators, consultancies, government
departments, the AGCC and the UKGC. His years of work have made positive contributions of benefit to the customer, business, the regulatory landscape and the image of the industry. Roger is an invaluable asset to our industry in general and Betway in particular.

250-word synopsis in bullet form summarising the key points
  • Betway is absolutely committed to ensuring its customers have a safe and secure environment in which to gamble and bet.
  • Roger Parkes is essential to delivering Betway’s culture of compliance. His unique contribution is due to a lifetime of experience in risk and compliance, his qualifications and the meticulous and creative approach he takes to everything he does.
  • Roger’s more than 20 years in compliance within the betting and gambling industry includes experience in government departments (New Zealand Internal Affairs), regulators (the UKGC and the AGCC), consultancies (Gaming Associates and Gambling Integrity Services), land-based casinos (Sky City, Playboy Casino and Casinos Austria) and online betting companies (Betfair and now Betway).
  • Roger is respected and acknowledged by his peers for his knowledge of online and offline industry best practice, leadership and innovation in compliance.
  • Profound contributions to the private and regulatory spheres of the industry contributing to policy and regulations, influencing leaders and businesses, leveraging influential relationships across private and public sectors, building teams and changing the way compliance is done and thought of.
  • Betway now has seven licenses, strong and engaging relationships with regulators and government bodies and a compliance department that manages compliance rather than does compliance.
  • Roger’s work includes revising and updating gaming regulations at the AGCC, developing remote technical standards, testing and guidance for the LCCP, securing licenses and driving a compliant culture in the businesses he has worked in.
  • Within Betway, Roger is creating a pioneering approach to proactive monitoring, assessing and reporting regulatory risk to the business.
A typed statement of no more than 1,000 words addressing the Question and Answer format below
A) Why is your company entering this award category?
B) What has the individual or company nominated done to qualify for this award?
C) What benefits to your company and its customers can be illustrated as a result?
D) What measurements of success best illustrate why your company/this individual should win this award?

Betway is absolutely committed to ensuring its customers have a safe and secure environment in which to gamble and bet. As such, compliance plays a central role in the running of the business and Roger Parkes plays a critical role in delivering that vision. Betway’s approach to compliance and the culture of compliance that has been built under his stewardship over the past two years is a key part of the Betway story. Roger’s unique contribution is due to a lifetime of experience in risk and compliance, his qualifications and the meticulous and creative approach he takes to everything he does. We are proud to have him as a key member of our business and feel that his lifetime contribution to compliance in the gambling industry should be shared, acknowledged and recognised.

Roger has been involved for over 20 years in compliance within the betting and gambling industry. In this time, he has worked for government departments (New Zealand Internal Affairs), regulators (the
UKGC and the AGCC), consultancies (Gaming Associates and Gambling Integrity Services), land-based casinos (Sky City, Playboy Casino and Casinos Austria) and online betting companies (Betfair and now Betway). His in-depth knowledge through practical involvement and an array of qualifications has seen him make profound contributions to the private and regulatory spheres of the industry contributing to policy and regulations, influencing leaders and businesses, leveraging influential relationships across private and public sectors, building teams and changing the way compliance is done and thought of. Roger is respected and acknowledged by his peers for his knowledge of online and offline industry best practice, leadership and innovation in compliance, and is regularly asked to speak at international conferences on responsible gambling, compliance and regulation.

As a result of Roger’s influence and involvement at Betway, we now have seven licenses, strong and engaging relationships with regulators and government bodies and a compliance department that manages compliance rather than does compliance. The customer-friendly yet clear and commercial compliance processes that have been established ensure that both the customer and the business are safeguarded and that responsible gambling sits at the heart of all customer engagements.

Roger is a valued member of the gambling compliance professional community due to his wide range of experiences and his proactive, positive and innovative approach and contributions to the compliance industry. Wherever Roger has worked in the industry he has brought about tremendous improvements in the way compliance is done. His approach to compliance first and foremost benefits the customer but does so in a way that acknowledges the commercial nature of betting and gambling and drives the right way of acting in this industry.
It is a testament to the breadth of Roger’s experience that some of his key contributions to the industry have come from within government and regulatory bodies. In addition to various inspector and regulatory roles in the New Zealand civil service in their casino unit in the pre-remote industry era, he was involved in revising and updating gaming regulations at the AGCC, as well as developing remote technical standards, testing and guidance for the UKGC. It is important to note that Roger’s service at the Gambling Commission came at critical times for the regulator, first as a remote and technical advisor in the run-up to the launch of the 2005 Gambling Act and again as senior manager as the Commission made the difficult transition to onshoring the remote gambling industry in 2014.
Within Betway, the key measurement of Roger’s success is that he is creating a pioneering approach to proactive monitoring, assessing and reporting regulatory risk to the business. This unique program of compliance started with the creation of a compliance team of 16 people who drive a compliant culture throughout the business. The success of this team is visible in the progress made on awareness of compliance throughout the business, establishment of key responsible gambling programs and a direct and collaborative approach to regulatory relations in every jurisdiction. Roger’s influence on the team is evident in their growth in skills, experience, the geographic specialisation over compliance in different parts of the world and their close and collaborative approach with the business to find compliant and commercially appropriate solutions to managing and monitoring the compliant running of the business.