Gaming Associates supporting International Association of Gaming Regulators as year-long Titanium Sponsor

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The Backstory

A regulator network moves to year-round work

Gaming Associates’ Titanium Sponsorship of the International Association of Gaming Regulators comes as the group is trying to shift from an annual convening body into a more active global forum for policy coordination. The sponsorship is tied not only to the IAGR Annual Conference in Lima, Peru, in October, but also to regulatory initiatives, educational programs and committee work that increasingly define the association’s role between conferences.

The timing matters. Gambling regulation is being stretched by new product categories, cross-border digital platforms and markets that are legalizing or expanding at different speeds. Regulators are facing similar problems but often with different laws, enforcement tools and political pressures. IAGR’s pitch is that a stronger international network can help jurisdictions compare approaches, reduce duplication and develop more consistent responses to technology-driven risks.

Gaming Associates fits into that agenda as an independent testing, inspection, certification and auditing business working across igaming, lottery, sports betting, e-commerce and information technology. For regulators, such technical expertise has become more central as oversight moves beyond licensing operators and into questions of platform integrity, data flows, cybersecurity, geolocation, player protection tools and auditability. The sponsorship therefore reflects a broader trend: regulatory associations are drawing more support from specialist compliance and technology firms as gambling markets become more complex.

Mullally’s appointment set the stage

The sponsorship follows IAGR’s decision to appoint Kevin Mullally as its first chief executive, a structural change that signaled a more formal operating model for the association. In February, IAGR said Mullally would lead board-approved strategy, strengthen operations and expand partnerships aimed at common regulatory challenges. That appointment provided the organizational base for the year-round program now being supported by Gaming Associates.

Mullally brought experience across public regulation, commercial compliance and emerging-market governance. Before joining IAGR, he led the United Arab Emirates’ General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority and previously served as executive director of the Missouri Gaming Commission. He also spent 17 years at GLI as general counsel and founded The Mullally Group, advising governments and regulators on governance frameworks. That résumé put him at the intersection of regulator, adviser and technical compliance work.

His move to IAGR came as the association emphasized collaboration across jurisdictions and practical solutions rather than abstract policy statements. The group has pointed to the Lima conference as a forum for regulators dealing with expanding markets, particularly in Latin America. The current sponsorship builds on that strategy by giving IAGR more capacity to support working groups and educational initiatives before and after the annual event.

The connection between leadership and sponsorship is direct. A chief executive can convert board priorities into programs, but those programs require funding, content and outside expertise. Gaming Associates’ support gives IAGR resources to develop that infrastructure, including its Technology Working Group, Model Rules Committee and Illegal Gambling Working Group. Those areas mirror the pressure points now confronting gambling regulators worldwide.

Prediction markets sharpen the policy challenge

Few issues illustrate the need for cross-jurisdictional coordination more clearly than prediction markets. The rise of platforms allowing users to trade contracts linked to sports, elections and other events has reopened a basic regulatory question: when does a financial product function like gambling? The answer differs by jurisdiction, creating tension between financial regulators, gambling authorities, sports integrity bodies and consumer-protection agencies.

The World Lottery Association recently urged regulators to treat sports-linked prediction markets like sports betting, arguing that the risks are comparable even when products are classified as financial instruments. In its paper, the association said monthly spend on prediction markets had surged, estimating activity of more than US$13 billion in the second half of 2025 and about US$26 billion in January 2026. It warned that consumer protection, integrity monitoring and harm-prevention safeguards should apply regardless of legal classification.

That position underscores why IAGR is trying to expand its working groups. Prediction markets can sit outside the monitoring systems used by licensed sportsbooks, raising questions about suspicious activity reporting, insider information and market manipulation. Regulators also must consider whether existing gambling laws apply, whether financial-market exemptions are being used to avoid state-level gambling rules and how enforcement should operate when platforms serve users across borders.

The issue has already become a political conflict in the United States. A group of Democratic senators sought to block the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from using federal funds to challenge state and tribal enforcement actions against online prediction markets. As reported in the US funding dispute over CFTC prediction-market cases, lawmakers argued the agency’s litigation could undercut state consumer protections and tribal gaming prerogatives. That fight shows how quickly novel products can become jurisdictional disputes, not just compliance questions.

New markets raise the stakes for regulatory design

At the same time, newly regulated markets are becoming more ambitious from the outset. The UAE is one of the clearest examples. Its General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority has begun building a tightly controlled commercial gaming framework, starting with lottery and later adding internet gaming and sports wagering licenses. Momentum Group’s licensed entities are now being moved into a joint venture with Fanatics, giving the US digital sports platform a foothold in the market.

The Fanatics-Momentum UAE joint venture demonstrates the type of market development that international regulator forums are watching closely. The transaction combines a local license holder with a major international consumer and technology brand. For regulators, that creates opportunities for controlled growth but also requires scrutiny of ownership, technology systems, player protections, marketing practices and operational resilience.

The UAE case is also relevant because Mullally previously headed the GCGRA. His experience there gives IAGR insight into how a new jurisdiction can design licensing, compliance expectations and supervisory structures before a large market fully develops. That matters for other regions considering legalization or expansion, including parts of Latin America, where the Lima conference is expected to focus on markets growing in scale and complexity.

Technical assessment bodies such as Gaming Associates have a role in these environments because regulators need confidence that platforms comply with standards before and after launch. Certification and auditing are not substitutes for lawmaking, but they can make rules enforceable by translating policy requirements into testable systems. As markets add online casino, sports wagering, lottery products and content platforms, that bridge between regulation and technology becomes more important.

Integrity and consumer protection converge

The regulatory agenda is also being shaped by the relationship between sports, betting and mainstream entertainment. Major leagues and betting operators have normalized commercial partnerships, increasing the need for responsible-marketing standards and integrity controls. MGM Resorts International and BetMGM’s renewed partnerships with Major League Baseball are a case in point, extending brand marketing across MLB platforms, digital content and co-branded casino games.

As BetMGM and MGM renewed their MLB agreements, the companies emphasized innovation, integrity and responsibility. Those themes have become standard in regulated sports betting, but regulators still must assess how advertising reaches consumers, how data-rich sports products are used and whether partnerships blur lines between fandom and wagering. The growth of such partnerships adds another layer to IAGR’s work on model rules and regulatory consistency.

The convergence of sports media, betting, prediction markets and online gaming means regulators can no longer treat each category in isolation. Sports integrity concerns link sportsbooks and prediction platforms. Consumer-protection issues connect lottery, casino and financial-style event contracts. Technology standards affect all verticals. IAGR’s expanded program appears designed around that reality, with working groups that can address cross-cutting risks rather than narrow product silos.

Why the sponsorship matters now

Gaming Associates’ sponsorship is therefore more than conference backing. It supports IAGR at a moment when gambling regulation is becoming more technical, more international and more contested. The association has new executive leadership, a broader program of committees and an annual conference positioned around shared challenges in expanding markets. The addition of a year-long sponsor gives those efforts more institutional support.

The stakes are practical. Regulators are being asked to approve new operators, police illegal gambling, assess technologies, respond to political pressure and protect consumers in markets that often move faster than legislation. They also need to coordinate when products cross borders or fall between financial and gambling classifications. Without forums for shared learning, each jurisdiction risks repeating the same mistakes or being outpaced by operators with global scale.

For Gaming Associates, the sponsorship places the company close to the policy conversations shaping future compliance requirements. For IAGR, it helps fund the educational and collaborative structure needed to remain relevant beyond its annual conference. For regulators, the value will depend on whether that support produces usable guidance, stronger peer networks and more coherent approaches to the risks now reshaping commercial gaming.