Jeremy Locke, the newly appointed president of the North American Gaming Regulators Association (NAGRA), has emphasized the importance of building stronger connections with gambling regulators in Europe.
Speaking on a podcast hosted by the British Gambling Commission, Locke said greater international collaboration is essential to tackling shared challenges on both sides of the Atlantic.
Locke, who also serves as chief operating officer for compliance at the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and formerly held the position of NAGRA vice president, appeared alongside Jamie Wall, senior manager of international regulatory partnerships at the British regulator.
Locke said:
Over the past five or six years in North America, we’ve seen an explosive modernization and transformation of the gambling industry. Regulators across the continent have quickly realized that the world has become much smaller.
He pointed out that the rapid expansion of regulated sports betting in North America has significantly increased wagering on European sporting events, creating a need for coordinated oversight to maintain integrity across jurisdictions.
Locke explained:
We’re seeing UK and European events that North American markets are betting on. When integrity alerts are raised, we all need to work together. The UK might have its own integrity team reviewing the same incident, but we can respond much more efficiently and effectively if our efforts are aligned.
Locke said NAGRA chose to partner with the Gambling Commission to work alongside industry leaders and learn how to adapt regulatory frameworks to the fast-changing gambling environment in North America. He called for stronger cross-continental cooperation, noting that while a single, unified regulatory model may be unrealistic, greater alignment could simplify compliance for operators and boost regulatory efficiency.
He added that closer alignment would save time for regulators across jurisdictions:
My experience with NAGRA has shown me that even small differences between states can make coordination difficult. We need to create more seamless regulatory processes in integrated markets. Standards should remain high, but operators should also find it easy to understand the requirements. There’s no pride of ownership in any of these models. Everyone is willing to share so that other regulators can adapt the approach to fit their own context.
