Luc Delany, CEO of the International Social Games Association, discusses the work of the new industry body and some of the key regulatory issues in the social games sector today
One of my favourite slogans used by Facebook is ‘move fast and break things’. This month I like to think that the social games industry has been able to move fast and fix something. The International Social Games Coalition and the Social Gaming Association have merged to form one body to represent the whole of the industry under the title of the International Social Games Association. I will continue as CEO and will work closely with Stuart Tilly who will be non-executive board advisor.
The social games industry is a relatively new one that is really just a few years old. It has undoubtedly had a great impact on the way people spend their leisure time, as they play games either by themselves or with friends. These games have even impacted how people interact with their mobile devices – I’m quite sure that actually making calls is the thing I do least on my phone.
Organise or die
As the industry has grown and games have become increasingly sophisticated, so has the level of scrutiny of their impact. Newspapers, regulators and politicians all want to understand this new phenomenon. Fortunately the industry has also, incredibly quickly, become more sophisticated and self-organised into one global and unified body under the International Social Games Association.
Regulation can be incredibly helpful for the people it safeguards and it gives companies the legal certainty they need to be able to operate. Making good regulation, however, is not always easy. In order to help educate, inform and engage in the process, you need to be present.
In the short period of time the social games industry has been represented, we have been extremely busy. We have been engaging in public policy in Australia, France, the UK, the US and elsewhere. We’re moving fast and hopefully fixing things. It may be that the social games industry was motivated to form its own trade association so early on in the sector’s life, because it has learned from watching other industries that were slower to respond and were ultimately heavily regulated or regulated in such a way that limits growth.
Without representation and engagement, an industry will always be on the back foot when it comes to talking about regulation. By taking a proactive stance and leading the debate with political stakeholders, the industry has the opportunity to demonstrate it is addressing the concerns raised.
Not one answer
The questions that the social games industry are being asked can vary from country to country but the trend is largely towards whether social games can lead people to engage in other types of behaviour (such as gambling) and whether in-app payments are sufficiently transparent.
As I have already documented in this column, I do not believe that social games encourage people to gamble and nascent research in this space indicates this to be the case. Thankfully, there is already a body of case law and regulation that covers payments and consumer protection. Furthermore, in the UK, the Office of Fair Trading is looking proactively at in-app purchases in games aimed at children.
We can be sure that other questions will arise for the social games sector as games change and evolve. When those questions do get asked, we will endeavour to move fast and respond accordingly.