Jean-Luc Moner-Banet elected President of the World Lottery Association (WLA)

Loterie Romande’s CEO, Jean-Luc Moner-Banet, was unanimously elected on Wednesday, 12th September, as President of the World Lottery Association (WLA). He has been active on the WLA’s upper echelons, serving on its Executive Committee since March 2008. Loterie Romande is delighted at his election as, for the very first time, Switzerland will hold one of the topmost positions of importance and influence on the global stage for lotteries and lottery companies.

During the World Lottery Summit 2012 (WLS 2012), held between 9 and 12 September in Montreal, Canada, all lottery companies that are members of the World Lottery Association participated in elections to renew the WLA’s governing bodies. Jean-Luc Moner-Banet, first appointed to the WLA’s Executive Committee in March 2008, had put himself forward as a candidate for election as President. His great wealth of experience in the realm of lotteries and his dynamic vision of the key issues at stake on the international stage, particularly in the arena of sports betting, persuaded the assembled members to appoint him to the WLA’s highest office for a term of two years.

For the record, the WLA numbers approximately 150 official lottery companies (authorized State lotteries) from 82 countries around the globe, most of whose revenues (over 200 billion francs) are redeployed for public utility. The WLA is the world body and authority for all subjects related to lotteries, overseeing compliance with the system of legal concessions and supervising the integrity of games and sports betting, and implementing the most exacting standards with regard to responsible gaming as the industry strives to prevent and combat gambling addiction. The WLA plays a highly significant role in a landscape that is evolving rapidly, acting as an international forum where experience and creative ideas relating to future development of lotteries operating for the public benefit can be freely exchanged.

Loterie Romande is delighted with Mr Moner-Banet’s election as, for the very first time, Switzerland will hold one of the topmost positions of importance and influence on the global stage for lotteries and lottery companies. In an era when private companies active on the Internet, often operating illegally, are challenging the operating business model of State lotteries worldwide with their exclusively public-utility role, Switzerland will have an active voice in the all-important debate on this fundamental issue and be able to forge a professional network at the very highest level. This cooperation is likely to prove particularly fruitful considering the reform underway to Swiss Federal legislation on lotteries and betting as it will allow the integration of an international perspective and global regulatory best practices into the current drafting of the new law.

The Board of Directors of the Loterie Romande have encouraged Jean-Luc Moner- Banet to accept this new mission, which will not affect his responsibilities as CEO in any way. In order to avoid any conflict of interest and to dispose of the necessary time required for this new presidency Jean-Luc Moner-Banet will resign from his current mandate as Member of the European Lotteries’ Executive Committee and President of the specialised committee for sports betting.