Public Gaming Magazine January/February 2016

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26 // PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL // January/February 2016
PUBLIC GAMING
INTERVIEWS Thierry PUJOL
Director of Sport Integrity & Special Advisor to the President of FDJ
(La Française des Jeux), the French National Lottery
Chair of the Security and Risk Management Committee
for the World Lottery Association (WLA)
Vice Chair of the Public Order and Security Committee
for the European Lottery Association (EL)
• •
Paul Jason, PGRI: You serve as Chair
of Security and Risk Management at the
WLA. You served in that same role at FDJ
for the last ten years. But you recently shift-
ed your role at FDJ to focus on sports bet-
ting. Why?
Thierry Pujol: Sports betting has
become such an important part of the
portfolio of games that many lotteries
offer. This is the reason why FDJ has de-
veloped its activity with Sport Integrity
related to Sports betting. Our sports bet-
ting turnover reached almost €2 billion
in 2014. We are the largest land-based
betting operator in Europe. The business
of protecting the security and integrity in
the sports betting space is quite different
than it is for other game categories. To be
successful, we must engage the active co-
operation between jurisdictional authori-
ties from countries all across the world.
And we must confront the most advanced
methods of cyber-crime. Protecting
the security and integrity of sports and
sport betting represents a most interest-
ing and unique challenge. I believe that
the solutions to these issues as regards to
sports betting will provide a platform for
managing security and integrity for all
internet-based and land-based wagering-
games in the future. That’s important.
The current position of Director of
Sports Integrity evolved from the fact
that La Française des Jeux is very in-
volved in the efforts to protect the secu-
rity and integrity of sports betting. That
objective begins with having the ability
to monitor sports betting activity across
the world. The EL (European Lotteries)
and the WLA (World Lottery Associa-
tion) are working together to implement
a global policy to accomplish the objec-
Setting the Standards for a Global, Integrated Games-of-Chance Industry
PGRI Introduction: Thierry Pujol was appointed to the position of Director of Risk Management and Security for La
Française des Jeux in 2005. He became a member of the Managing Board of FDJ at the same time. Thierry was given
the new assignment as Director of Sport Integrity and Special Advisor to the President of FDJ in July of this year.
Thierry’s dedication to service is reflected in the leadership roles he performs for the World Lottery Association (WLA)
and the European Lottery Association (EL). Security and integrity is a genuinely mission-critical priority, the most criti-
cal component to player trust, and ultimately to brand equity. Thierry’s impact on this mission has helped to shape
the industry, and the leadership role that government-gaming holds within the global community of games-of-chance
operators. As Chairman of the World Lottery Association’s Security and Risk Management Committee (SRMC), Thierry
works collegially with the members of the committee from lotteries all around the world to develop and constantly
improve security standards.