IAGR annual conference opens in Lima with prediction markets on agenda

The International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) is holding its 2026 annual conference at the JW Marriott in Miraflores, Lima, from 19 to 22 October, with Peru's Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (MINCETUR) as host. The programme covers prediction markets, illegal gambling, artificial intelligence, money laundering, payments, sports integrity, advertising, self-exclusion and cross-border cooperation. It was reported that IAGR is returning to Lima 11 years after its previous conference in the Peruvian capital.

IAGR president Ben Haden is to open the event, focusing on increasingly connected markets, the need for international cooperation and the challenge posed by illegal operators, product convergence and new technology tools. Yuri Guerra Padilla, director general of casino games and slot machines at MINCETUR, is then scheduled to present Peru's regulatory model and the development of the Latin American market.

A first international panel on regulators' mandate in a connected market is to feature Anders Dorph, director of the Danish Gambling Authority; Ida López, president of ALEA; Fabio Macorin, deputy secretary of the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting at Brazil's Ministry of Finance; Lou Rogacki of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement; and Anne Marie Caulfield, CEO of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland. Andrew Rhodes, former CEO of the British Gambling Commission, is to moderate.

On the first day, a session titled "Prediction Markets, Event Contracts, and Regulatory Arbitrage" is to examine consumer protection, sports integrity, advertising and attempts by products similar to betting to place themselves outside traditional gambling regulation. Participants are Paul Brodeur, commissioner of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission; Jesús Acevedo, president of the Lotería de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires; Marc Ellinger of Ellinger-Bell Law; Joe Webster of Hobbs Strauss; and Antonis M. Vartholomeos, president of the Hellenic Gaming Commission. Tomás Botta, a partner at MF Estudio, is to moderate.

Also on the first day, Jason Lane, CEO of the Jersey Gambling Commission, is to moderate a panel on anti-money laundering, terrorist financing, payment methods, digital wallets and organised crime. The session is to look at how regulators can use data on financial movements and suspicious transactions to detect criminal risk and possible match-fixing earlier. Speakers include Manuela Croci of GCGRA, Harris Tsangarides, head of the Cyprus Gaming & Casino Supervision Commission, and Anna Scherfig of the Danish Gambling Authority.

Tuesday 20 October is to begin with sports betting integrity and convergence with event markets. Khalid Ali, CEO of the International Betting Integrity Association, is to share a panel with Adam Bjorn, CEO of Plannatech US, and professor Georgios Yannopoulos of the Hellenic Gaming Commission. A further session that day is to discuss how regulators should act on products that no longer fit traditional gambling categories, with Daron Dorsey, president and CEO of AGEM; Aftab Rizvi, CEO of Gaming Associates; and Vusi Mtsweni, CEO of the Mpumalanga Economic Regulator.

Mike Dreitzer, chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, is to give a lecture on the future of regulation and the need to modernise supervisory systems in the face of new products, new access channels and increasingly complex market structures. Sarah Gardner, acting CEO of the UK Gambling Commission, is also to speak on recent British regulatory changes and their possible influence on other markets, with emphasis on new resources to combat illegal gambling and on strengthening international cooperation.

The agenda also covers self-exclusion beyond national borders, in a panel moderated by Corinne Valletta, general counsel at Betsson, with Pedro Romero, CEO of BetBlocker; Jennifer Shatley, president and CEO of the Responsible Online Gaming Association; and Margaret Carran, professor of law at City St George's, University of London. A separate block is to focus on advertising, affiliates and the responsibility of digital platforms, examining how far search engines, social networks, affiliates and other intermediaries should be responsible when content from illegal operators reaches consumers.

On Wednesday 21 October, Michel Groothuizen, chairman of the Dutch authority Ksa; Ross Parker, director of corporate and regulatory affairs at Entain; and Dave Phillips, COO of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, are to examine how to dismantle the ecosystem supporting illegal gambling, including affiliates, hosting providers, app stores, payment systems, search engines, social networks and domain rotation. A separate artificial intelligence block is to cover tools for document review, anomaly detection, intelligence analysis and regulatory supervision, with Mark Pace, chairman of the International Gaming Standards Association; Ian Hughes, chief revenue officer at GLI; and Rasmus Kjaergaard, CEO of Mindway AI.

A Latin America panel moderated by Karen Sierra-Hughes, GLI vice-president for Latin America, the Caribbean and Spain, is to compare models of regulation, legalisation, consumer protection and action against the illegal market. Participants are Ida López of ALEA, Yuri Guerra Padilla of MINCETUR and Loraine Irizarry Torres, director of games of chance and route machines at the Puerto Rico Gaming Commission. A lotteries session is to feature Javier Milián, president of the Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia de El Salvador; Khalid Jones, CEO of Allwyn North America; and Moustapha Camara, president of Senegal's LONASE lottery.

The conference is to close on Thursday 22 October with a look towards 2027, with Ben Haden, president-elect Brian Krolicki and Dave Phillips discussing the tools regulators will need for more connected markets: regulatory intelligence, technology supervision, cybersecurity, anti-money laundering, sports integrity and international cooperation. It was reported that IAGR has scheduled more than 40 sessions, lectures, workshops and meetings over four days, under the theme "Steady Hands, Shifting Ground: Advancing regulation in a connected world".