Regulating the Game 2027 targets cross-border gambling crime
Senior officials from Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Canada and the UK will examine regulatory challenges, financial crime and illegal gambling in Sydney.
Key takeaways:
Stephen Dametto, commissioner of the New South Wales Crime Commission, has been confirmed as a speaker at Regulating the Game 2027.
The conference will take place from March 8 to 10, 2027 at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth in Australia.
Confirmed speakers include AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas and regulatory leaders from Singapore, New Zealand and Australia.
Canada is the second most represented jurisdiction on the programme so far, with a dedicated session on its changing gambling market.
Nominations for the 2027 RTG Global Awards close on December 21, 2026, with winners to be recognised on March 9, 2027.
Press release.- Regulating the Game 2027 will bring together regulatory, law enforcement and financial intelligence leaders from several jurisdictions to examine illegal gambling, money laundering and cross-border enforcement, with NSW Crime commissioner Stephen Dametto among the confirmed speakers. The conference will take place in Sydney from March 8 to 10, with sessions spanning regulatory practice, market oversight and financial crime, alongside a dedicated programme examining Canada’s evolving gambling landscape.
The seventh edition of the conference will be held from Monday 8 to Wednesday 10 March 2027 at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth. The 2027 speaker programme has been built around the pressures now bearing on regulated markets, chief among them the scale and persistence of illegal supply and the financial crime that moves through licensed channels.
NSW crime commissioner Stephen Dametto is among the confirmed speakers.
Law enforcement and financial crime
The New South Wales Crime Commission is the principal standing body in the state for the investigation of serious and organised crime and the recovery of criminal assets. Its 2022 inquiry into money laundering through electronic gaming machines in hotels and clubs set out in detail how criminal proceeds move through a licensed venue network. Stephen Dametto was appointed commissioner in February 2026 after close to three decades in Australian and international law enforcement, including service as an Assistant Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police and senior operational roles in the United Kingdom.
He is joined by Brendan Thomas, chief executive officer of AUSTRAC. The agency holds the national picture assembled from the sector’s own reporting, and what it draws from that reporting is of more practical use to operators than a restatement of their obligations. AUSTRAC can say what the reporting reveals about how money laundering is actually moving through gambling businesses, how the sector’s exposure compares with banking, digital currency, real estate and the professions brought into the regime during 2026, and where the vulnerabilities across the wider economy now sit.
Regulatory leadership across jurisdictions
Also confirmed are Daniel Tan, chief executive of Singapore’s Gambling Regulatory Authority; Paul James, secretary for internal affairs and chief executive of the Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua, which is implementing New Zealand’s licensing of online casino gambling; Vicki Scott, director gambling at the Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua; and Carolyn Lidgerwood, authority member of the Australian Communications and Media Authority, which enforces the Interactive Gambling Act and administers the blocking of illegal offshore gambling sites. They join Tim Miller, founder and managing director of GamReg Consulting and formerly executive director of the UK Gambling Commission, confirmed in September as a keynote speaker, a conference chair and a member of the independent judging panel for the 2027 RTG Global Awards. Daniel Tan and Carolyn Lidgerwood will also deliver keynote addresses.
A substantial Canadian presence
After Australia, Canada is the most heavily represented jurisdiction on the 2027 programme so far. Paul Burns, President and chief executive officer of the Canadian Gaming Association, and Amanda Brewer, the Association’s senior vice president, policy and communications, are both confirmed, alongside Peter McMahon, chief executive officer of the Commercial Gaming Association of Ontario. They are joined by Tracy Schrans, president and chief executive officer of Focal Research Consultants, and Dr Melissa Salmon, the firm’s Senior Research Lead. Tracy Parker of the Responsible Gambling Council returns to the independent judging panel for the 2027 RTG Global Awards.
A dedicated session, Canada’s Gambling Landscape at a Crossroads: Defining Success in a Changing Environment, will examine sector stewardship in Canada and what success looks like for a market reshaped by new regulatory models, technological change and rising expectations of accountability. Canadian regulation sits across federal and provincial lines, with Ontario having built a commercial online market from a standing start, and the Australian audience has had few opportunities to examine that experience at close range.
Paul Newson, founder of Regulating the Game and Principal at Vanguard Overwatch, said: “The international dimension is what lifts the programme. When heads of agencies from several jurisdictions take part, delegates see the same problem addressed from different regulatory and political starting points, and that is where assumptions and practices get examined. Regulation is a state and national function applied to problems that cross borders and present much the same challenge and complexity wherever they arise, and the people responsible are too often working through it in isolation instead of marshalling multilateral capability. Bringing them together to share their strategic lens, expertise and insight builds a better understanding of what the sector is dealing with and supports more cogent responses to common challenges.”
Pitch!
Pitch! moves to the main conference plenary for 2027. Presenters have ten minutes in front of the full delegation to set out an idea and persuade the room of it: what it is, how it works and what it has delivered. The format is open to products and services, to research, and to regulatory and policy initiatives, and the audience is the one RTG convenes for the conference itself, with regulators, operators, compliance leaders, researchers and advisers in the room. BNDRY won the 2026 Pitch! at the Sydney Opera House with an anti-money laundering compliance platform built for Australian pubs and clubs. Expressions of interest for 2027 are open now.
Awards nominations close December 21
Nominations for the 2027 RTG Global Awards remain open until December 21, 2026, across twelve categories spanning regulatory practice, integrity, harm prevention and sector contribution. Among them are the Black Market Disruption Initiative, which recognises work to counter illegal and unregulated gambling, and the Sport and Wagering Integrity Initiative, which recognises achievements in strengthening integrity. Nominations are open worldwide to individuals, organisations and initiatives, and both self-nominations and third-party nominations are welcomed. Finalists will be announced on February 1, 2027, and winners recognised at the RTG Global Awards Gala Dinner on the evening of March 9, 2027.
Event Details
Regulating the Game 2027 Sydney
March 8 to 10, 2027
Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, Sydney, Australia
Call for Speakers closes December 11, 2026
RTG Global Awards nominations close December 21, 2026
RTG Global Awards Gala Dinner: March 9, 2027
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
When is Regulating the Game 2027? Regulating the Game 2027 will run from March 8 to 10, 2027, at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth in Sydney, Australia.
Who is speaking at Regulating the Game 2027? Confirmed speakers include Stephen Dametto of the NSW Crime Commission, Brendan Thomas of AUSTRAC, Daniel Tan of Singapore’s Gambling Regulatory Authority and senior officials from New Zealand, Australia and Canada.
What topics will Regulating the Game 2027 cover? The programme will address illegal gambling, financial crime, regulatory enforcement, gambling integrity and harm prevention, as well as regulatory developments in Canada.
When do nominations for the 2027 RTG Global Awards close? Nominations close on 21 December 2026 across 12 categories. Finalists will be announced on February 1, 2027, and the winners will be recognised at the gala dinner on March 9, 2027.
