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European Commission – Fact Sheet – Financial Technology (FinTech) Action Plan
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Frequently asked questions: Financial Technology (FinTech) Action Plan
Brussels, 8 March 2018
FINTECH
What is FinTech?
Financial technology, or FinTech, refers to technology-enabled innovation in financial services. It is spurring new business models, applications and processes, such as payment applications for mobile devices. FinTech is also having a transformative effect on financial markets and institutions and on the provision of financial services as a whole.
Why is this Action Plan needed?
Technological innovation in finance is not new, but the amount of investment in technology and the pace of innovation have increased significantly in recent years. There has been rapid advancement in artificial intelligence, mobile applications, cloud computing, big data analytics and distributed ledger technology, such as blockchain. This changes business models of established financial institutions, technology companies and new market entrants alike and affects the entire financial sector, including services for both consumers and wholesale markets.
The Action Plan has three main objectives: to support innovative business models to scale up across the single market; to encourage the uptake of new technologies in the financial sector; and to increase cybersecurity and the integrity of the financial system.
What is the FinTech Action Plan about?
Today’s Action Plan sets out clear and concrete steps by the Commission together with other actors to make the most of rapid advances in technology. It includes measures to better understand the nature of FinTech developments as well as forward-looking measures designed to encourage and simplify the emergence of new FinTech solutions. The actions set out will benefit the EU citizens and industry, and will foster a more competitive and innovative European financial sector, while maintaining high levels of consumer and investor protection.
The Commission will, among other things,
- host an EU FinTech Laboratory where European and national authorities will engage with tech providers in a neutral, non-commercial space;
- consult on how best to promote the digitisation of information published by listed companies in Europe, including by using innovative technologies to interconnect national databases. This will give investors easier access to key information to inform their investment decisions;
- run workshops to improve information-sharing when it comes to cybersecurity;
- present a best practice guide onregulatory sandboxes based on guidance from European Supervisory Authorities (see below for definition of sandboxes);
- report on the challenges and opportunities of crypto assets later in 2018 in the framework of its EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum. The Commission is also working on a comprehensive strategy on distributed ledger technology and blockchain addressing all sectors of the economy. A distributed ledger is an information database that is shared across a network. The best-known type of distributed ledger is blockchain.
How does the Action Plan fit in with other Commission initiatives?
The Action Plan is part of the Commission’s efforts to build a Capital Markets Union and a true single market for consumer financial services. It is also an integral part of the Commission’s drive for a Digital Single Market. The Commission wants to make EU rules more future-oriented and aligned with the rapid advance of technological development that is driving structural changes in the financial sector.
How is the growth of FinTech currently being supported in the EU?
Companies that develop financial technology are currently faced with diverging regulatory and supervisory regimes. While some Member States offer a wide range of tools to encourage the use of financial technologies in financial services, the market is still underdeveloped in other Member States.
Current national instruments include:
- establishing innovation hubs or single contact points through which national authorities can engage with companies that seek to place technological innovations on the market;
- providing research and financial support to FinTech companies and setting up incubators, or companies that help startups get off the ground by providing services, like offices ;
- building experimentation facilities, such as sandboxes. A sandbox is a safe and controlled space where companies can test innovations in the market, with or without regulatory relief.
The Action Plan will build on the experiences made at national level to identify best practices and possibly establish common guidelines.
What preparatory work has been done to draw up this Action Plan?
In November 2016 the Commission set up an internal Task Force on Financial Technology to address potential opportunities and challenges posed by FinTech. The Commission held a public consultation on FinTech in 2017 to gather stakeholders’ views on the impact of new technologies on financial services. Today’s Action Plan is based on the responses gathered in the consultation as well as the work of the Task Force on Financial Technology.
How will the Commission adapt existing financial services rules to new technologies?
The Commission will set up an Expert Group to assess whether current EU financial services rules are adapted to the challenges posed by new technologies. The group will be made up of experts selected through a call for applications. Experts will have to demonstrate outstanding knowledge of regulatory issues in the FinTech area. The Expert Group will conclude its work with a report in the second quarter of 2019.
What is the EU FinTech Lab and why is the Commission setting it up?
The EU FinTech lab is a non-commercial laboratory that will be established by the Commission. It aims to provide training to regulators and supervisors and share knowledge on new technologies through demonstrations, expert discussions and workshops. The Lab will help to get a better understanding of the technologies that are used to innovate financial services and will put regulators and supervisors in touch with leading experts from industry. The FinTech Lab will take place four times a year and is based on a participant-driven agenda. The first workshop will focus on cloud computing or outsourcing.
What exactly is the Commission proposing regarding sandboxes?
A regulatory sandbox is a framework set up by regulators that allows FinTech start-ups and other innovators to conduct live experiments in a controlled environment under a regulator’s supervision. Regulatory sandboxes are gaining popularity, mostly in developed financial markets. A common and co-ordinated approach among Member States would therefore be useful to encourage innovation across the EU.
The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) will be invited to identify best practices among supervisors. Based on this work, the Commission will come forward with a best practice guide on regulatory sandboxes. It would set out how Member States could organise their sandboxes, the types of activities concerned, and how supervision of relevant activities could be conducted.
BLOCKCHAIN
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is the best known distributed ledger technology. A ledger is a database which keeps a final and definitive record of transactions. Records, once stored, cannot be tampered without leaving behind a clear track. Blockchain enables a ledger to be held in a network across a series of nodes, which avoids one centralised location and the need for intermediaries’ services. This is particularly helpful to provide trust, traceability and security in systems that exchange data or assets.
It is important to avoid confusion between blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies, which represent just one type of application of blockchain. Blockchain can underpin a wide range of applications in various sectors, which are not limited to cryptocurrency or FinTech.
Why does the Action Plan have a special focus on blockchain?
Distributed ledger technologies and particularly blockchain are set to lead to a major breakthrough that will transform the way information or assets are exchanged, validated, shared and accessed through digital networks. They are likely to further develop over the coming years and become a key component of the digital economy and society. This is why the Commission decided to have a special focus on blockchain.
The transformative role of blockchain goes far beyond financial services, it can help create new services, businesses models and ventures. It is still in an early stage and Europe has the opportunity to become a global leader in this area. Financial services and FinTech were among first explorers of the potential of blockchain technologies.
What has the Commission done so far on blockchain?
Cross-border infrastructure for blockchain is crucial to reap the full benefits of this new technology. Developing this infrastructure requires the development of a proper governance framework, as well as solving existing interoperability issues. To further consolidate its expertise and demonstrate the use of distributed ledger technologies beyond its current applications, the Commission will identify a first set of services of public interest via pilot projects, before being potentially exploited on a wider scale. In this context, it has set up a European Financial Transparency Gateway as well as the EU Observatory and Forum on Blockchain.
What is the European Financial Transparency Gateway (EFTG)?
EU financial rules (Transparency Directive, 2004/109/EC) require companies listed on EU regulated markets to publish certain financial information, such as annual financial reports. This protects investors by helping them make informed investment decisions. However, this reporting is currently done via national databases, which are not connected to each other or a central platform. This makes it more difficult for investors to assess cross-border investment decisions.
This is the starting point of the European Financial Transparency Gateway, which links existing national databases through distributed ledger technology. This blockchain-based gateway is a simple and affordable way to share information on listed companies, fostering cross-border investment activity and contributes to a well-functioning Capital Markets Union.
What does the EU Observatory and Forum on Blockchain do?
The European Blockchain Observatory and Forum was launched on 1st February 2018. It is currently in its inception phase but you can already consult its website and offer to contribute here. Over the next two years, the Forum will bring together Europe’s leading experts and enable cross-border cooperation on practical use cases as well as new ideas. It will offer evidence-based analysis of technological and regulatory trends and propose recommendations where EU action may have a major impact. The Observatory is funded by the European Parliament. It will map existing blockchain initiatives worldwide with a focus on European ones. It will deliver thematic reports over a significant number of cross-cutting issues related to blockchain technologies (e.g. interoperability, legal context and regulatory frameworks). It will also serve as an online and offline platform to build an EU community around blockchain technologies.
Is the Commission going to regulate cryptocurrencies?
The Commission will work with the ESAs and international partners to assess risks, opportunities and applicability of existing rules. On 26 February 2018 Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis hosted a Roundtable on cryptocurrencies, which highlighted the risks for financial stability as well as investors and consumers. Participants also discussed new opportunities offered by the development of crypto assets as a means to raise funding, such as through Initial Coin Offerings. The Commission will continue to closely monitor developments of the market and any risks that may arise, while the ESAs will continue their assessment of the applicability of EU financial regulation to cryptocurrencies. In view of this assessment the Commission will decide if specific initiatives at EU level are required. Any initiatives will need to be put in an international context as Europe represents only a small share of global cryptocurrency trading. Crypto-asset markets are global with worldwide transactions between investors, consumers and intermediaries. This is why the Commission aims to work together with its partners in the G20 and international standard-setters.
CYBER SECURITY IN THE FINANCIAL SECTOR
How will the Action Plan help increase cyber security in the financial sector?
Current EU rules on financial services already contain specific provisions that aim to strength the integrity of existing financial information and communication technology (ICT) systems, assets and networks, as well as their governance. Nevertheless, repeated cyber-attacks over the past years have exposed vulnerabilities and deficiencies that continue to exist within the European financial system.
Cyber resilience is strengthened considerably through market participants maintaining basic precautionary standards – or ‘cyber hygiene’ – namely the installation of firewalls, regular security scans or the selection and maintenance of password. The Action Plan sets out to carefully study in how far supervisory practices could increase cyber resilience.
The FinTech public consultation showed that are still barriers to information-sharing among financial market participants as well as with public authorities, which in turn lowers cyber security. This is why the Commission has decided to organise a workshop to better understand the perceived barriers and challenges limiting information sharing on cyber threats among financial market participants, as well as to identify potential solutions.
In parallel, the Commission will also assess whether current rules related to cloud services are still fit for purpose and whether they provide adequate protection.
What are cyber resilience tests and why should they be done at European level?
To discern and address flaws in European cyber defence, supervisors are increasingly carrying out cyber resilience tests. Carried out on a national level, these tests provide guidance on how to detect and respond to a range of simulated cyber-attacks. However, the absence of a coordinated EU response risks creating piecemeal solutions, whereas many financial institutions and market infrastructures operate across borders. This is why the Commission will ask European Supervisory Authorities to assess the costs and benefits of developing a coherent cyber resilience testing framework at EU level.
Blockchain standardisation
Why do we need European action on standardisation?
Blockchain standardisation is key to ensuring interoperability between services and platforms among financial market participants, in other words, enable technologies and applications to ‘talk’ to each other. This is why the Commission is liaising closely with the International Standards Organization’s (ISO) Technical Committee 307 (ISO TC 307) on Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies in its work on blockchain. However, European specificities may not be adequately addressed by the ISO, which is why the European Committee for Standardisation has created a focus group on blockchain that sets out to draft a European white paper on blockchain standardisation.
MEMO/18/1406
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Source: European Gaming Media and Events
A partnership between game developer Turbo Games and iGaming solution provider and aggregator Slotegrator began in November 2022 via the APIgrator game integration solution. Since then, the collaboration has been developing successfully — and now it’s time to analyze what made it successful.
Turbo Games has noticed how the new technologies spreading throughout the industry can work for the good of brand transparency and player loyalty: “We can already see how blockchain technology has made it possible to make betting checks more accessible to players. All you need is a blockchain-hash and a decoder service. We think we will continue to move in this direction. Many traditional online casinos do not offer the possibility to check the bet. Sooner or later we all have to come to this. Perhaps the development of artificial intelligence will help here, because we are already seeing its involvement in all spheres of human life.”
Turbo Games specializes in provably fair games. Provable fairness is a concept where players can verify their wins or losses using blockchain technology — the outcome of the game is dictated by a smart contract and is absolutely random, barring the possibility of any human involvement. Using cryptographic hashing algorithms, the gambling site and the player’s device both generate seeds (random strings of numbers). Players receive a key that allows them to check the results; if the results are the same as the game round they witnessed, it proves that there was no foul play.
According to statistics from Turbo Games, the audience for provably fair games is mostly between 18 and 25 years old. However, there are also players aged 35-40 who prefer traditional games but would like to try something new, and have turned their attention to provably fair games.
There are good odds that the technology of provably fair games will become more popular, if not even commonplace, because it gives players a feeling of transparency and proves that the business is trustworthy without the need to search through dozens of reviews. Whereas many innovations in iGaming simply add entertainment, provable fairness addresses security concerns and reassures players that they’re not being exploited, which is invaluable.
Provably fair games are beneficial for both players and online casinos. Vadim Potapenko, Head of Sales at Turbo Games, comments: “It often happens that the users are not satisfied with the result, because gambling is not only about big wins, but also possible losses. By allowing them to check the fairness of a bet, we make life easier for platforms and players. Of course, this allows us to communicate with partners and users that we work honestly and that’s why they should trust our games.”
Ayvar Gabidullin, Business Development Manager at Slotegrator, adds that “this type of game is now becoming more and more popular and has great potential for both players and game providers in the future. On the part of the player, the advantage is that the player can always be sure that his game is fair and he can independently check any of his bets. And for the game provider, this also simplifies the process of implementing casino games, since now it will not be necessary to obtain the appropriate certificates from independent laboratories before launching new games, they can immediately enter the market with these games and where anyone can check the result and make sure that that there is no cheating with players. Many game providers are starting to look towards this type of game. And as far as I see, many operators are starting to think about adding these games.”
What do players in 2023 need? The iGaming industry is all about reputation and trust. Players have a huge number of platforms to choose from, making them pickier and pickier. There’s an abundance of forums where players leave reviews, so if players view a brand as untrustworthy, there are plenty of places they can share their opinion. Provable fairness not only stops that from happening, it provides evidence to the contrary, giving players something else to talk about.
Slotegrator also recommends investing time and effort into localization and creating an effective and detailed marketing strategy — before trying provably fair technology players need to get to the platform, and there is no acquisition without marketing.
ABOUT SLOTEGRATOR
Since 2012, Slotegrator has been one of the iGaming industry’s leading software and business solution providers for online casino and sportsbook operators.
The company’s main focus is software development and support for online casino platforms, as well as the integration of game content and payment systems.
The company works with licensed game developers and offers a vast portfolio of casino content: slots, live casino games, poker, virtual sports, table games, lotteries, casual games, and data feeds for betting.
Slotegrator also provides consulting services in gambling license acquisition and business incorporation.
More information: https://slotegrator.pro/
ABOUT TURBO GAMES
Turbo Games — a provably fair games provider that belongs to Turbo Stars company — has an ambitious goal to establish widespread recognition throughout the iGaming world. Even though it is young, the company consists of professionals who have been working on the brand for over five years and are even planning to introduce a new brand for a wider audience soon.
Turbo Games also works in Europe, India, and South Africa, where the company sees the most potential and expects the same “hype” as in Brazil.
The portfolio of Turbo Games consists of 21 titles, including well-known games like Mines, Crash X, DoubleRoll, Hi-Lo, and Plinko. The studio releases a game every month. However, not all games are developed from scratch. Wicket Blast and Spin Strike, the last two releases, are based on cricket and the Indian Premier League. Crash X remains the most popular fast game in the Turbo Games portfolio, and the studio reports that crash games enjoy stable levels of popularity. Overall, the main focus of the brand is provably fair games.
More information: https://turbogames.io/
Looking to take your career to the next level in the games industry? Then, Nordic Game Talents is the place to be! Games Factory Talents has teamed up with Nordic Game to bring you Nordic Game Talents.
From Oct 27-29, the online and interactive event is dedicated to recruitment and career building in the creative & games industry within the Nordic region. The event empowers participants to be part of a bigger community and motivates them to explore new paths in achieving their career goals.
Hiring creative & games studios – Supercell, Funcom, Panzerdog, Tactile Games, Gamecan, Fingersoft, Dazzle Rocks, Redhill Games to name a few from the Nordic region will be participating in the event. These studios will share information on their latest projects, work culture and what it takes to be part of their team. The individual games associations from Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Estonia will share insights through live sessions on the booming games industry in their respective countries. Career development topics pertinent to job seekers like – How to have a successful first interview, Creative Portfolio reviews will also be discussed.
Experienced game industry professionals and individuals beginning their careers from around the world are welcome to join the event. One-to-one interviews with the hiring studios can be scheduled through the event platform. A great opportunity to get to know the studios and network with game professionals from around the world.
Participating in the event
As a job seeker attending Nordic Game Talents, take a few minutes to fill out a simple registration form. After filling the registration form you will receive a link to the online event platform – PINE, to join the event on 27th October. Participants joining Nordic Game Talents will also receive a free-of-charge pass to the Nordic Game Conference.
To view the complete agenda, please click here and to learn more about the event please visit Games Job Fair
About Games Factory Talents
A Helsinki-based talent attraction agency dedicated to the games & creative industry. Our services include direct recruitment, organizing game job fairs and managing a community of game industry professionals through our GameDev Talent Board.
To learn more about Games Factory Talents visit – Games Factory Talents
810 THE SPREAD
Cumulus Media Launches 810 THE SPREAD, the Bay Area’s First Sports Station Focused on Sports Betting
Cumulus Media (NASDAQ: CMLS) announces that it has launched the Bay Area’s first Sports radio station focused on sports betting, 810 THE SPREAD. The new station brings sports and sports betting news, information, and insights to the burgeoning and underserved sports betting audience in San Francisco. 810 THE SPREAD will deliver behind-the-book perspectives from experts in a highly entertaining and engaging format. 810 THE SPREAD goes live today on the legendary 810am frequency that has been the 80-year home of historic Talk Radio KGO-AM. Cumulus San Francisco also launched the station’s new website at www.810thespread.com. Kevin Graham, Program Director of Cumulus’ sister sports stations KNBR 680AM/104.5FM and 1050 KTCT, adds Program Director duties for 810 THE SPREAD.
Larry Blumhagen, Vice President/Market Manager, Cumulus San Francisco, said: “810 THE SPREAD joins our sports brands KNBR 680AM/104.5FM and 1050 KTCT for a trifecta of dynamic sports content across four signals and streaming everywhere. We are excited about this new chapter and look forward to serving the Bay Area’s passionate sports fans in an incomparable way.”
Blumhagen added: “This is a bittersweet day for us, as it’s hard to say goodbye to the legendary KGO, which has been a part of listeners’ lives for so many years. We want to thank all the people who have been a part of KGO’s historic run these many years – and the listeners who loyally tuned in to the station. Times change, and we must change with them.”
Kevin Graham, Program Director, 810 THE SPREAD, said: “810 THE SPREAD will be the Bay Area’s best bet for sports fans and sports betting enthusiasts, and we are pleased to introduce sports-betting radio to our community. The station will feature a lineup of expert personalities that deliver unique sports talk and sports betting insights that entertain, inform, and engage, along with Cal Football and Basketball as well as select professional and college sports play-by-play events. While 810 THE SPREAD will feature specific gambling information, we believe our entertaining presentation will make it a favorite for all Bay area sports fans and a perfect complement to the legendary KNBR and KTCT. With its addition, it truly shows Cumulus’ commitment to the Bay area as ‘The Sports Leader’!”
The weekday programming lineup for 810 THE SPREAD includes:
6am-9am – Bet QL Daily – The must-consume show for sports fans and betting fans alike. Hosted by Joe Ostrowski, Joe Giglio, and Erin Hawksworth.
9am-12pm – Jim Rome - Aggressive, informed sports opinions, rapid-fire dialogue, and plenty of sports smack. As one of the most prolific sports talk hosts in America, Rome draws massive tune-in with legions of fans known as clones, who live for Rome’s take on the day’s largest issues in sports.
12pm-4pm – You Better You Bet – Nick Kostos and Ken Barkley have you covered for the best bets on the biggest matchups, the latest line movement and updates in the futures market. We’ll have up-to-the-minute coverage of backdoor covers and bad beats, and the cheers and tears that come with them. It’s sports betting conversation like you’ve never heard before.
4pm-8pm – Bet MGM Tonight – Live sports betting updates for all the night’s games as they happen – plus live “look-ins” for Major League Baseball games in progress. Get the latest scores, sides, totals, props, parlays, futures, and much more with hosts Quinton Mayo, Trysta Krick, and Ryan Horvat.
8pm-12 Midnight – CBS Sports Radio
BetQL Network programming is provided by Cumulus Media’s Westwood One through a partnership with Audacy.
For more information or to stream 810 THE SPREAD, visit: http://www.810thespread.com.
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