European Casino Association vice-chair departs

Dietmar Hoscher has resigned from his role as vice chairman of the European Casino Association (ECA) with immediate effect.

Hoscher, who has stepped down from the position due to serious health reasons, had been involved with the ECA board of directors since 2011. He was re-elected three times and his current term was due to run until February 2021.

Within the ECA’s board, Hoscher oversaw two working groups that focused on responsible gambling and corporate social responsibility, as well as on legal and regulatory affairs.

During his time with the ECA, Hoscher was involved with a number of projects, including being the initiator of the ECA Responsible Gambling Framework, the first ever catalogue of responsible gambling measures and processes.

Hoscher also had a spell as the ECA’s head of legal and regulatory affairs, where he structured its information campaigns to raise awareness among the European Union institutions, regulators, non-profit organisations and other stakeholders in the sector.

In addition, he represented the ECA European Parliament hearings, including in the discussions about anti-money laundering.

“Mr Hoscher was an important leader within the ECA, always focused on the topics that challenge our industry – illegal, unlicensed gambling, money laundering, the protection of consumers, to name the most important ones,” ECA chairman Per Jaldung said.

“The sustainability of the licensed casino industry was a mission for him and he made sure the ECA became a member of the UN Global Compact as the first and only gambling trade organisation. He was a dedicated representative of the ECA brand and was invited as a speaker to many of the major gambling congresses worldwide.

“We will miss him, but we understand his decision. We wish him all the best for his future endeavours”.

In September last year, the ECA announced that Philip Easthill had stepped down as its secretary general, while the organisation also set out a new structure for its secretariat.

Following Easthill's departure, the ECA implemented a new structure whereby Veronika Tisold now acts as its executive director, with support from Casinos Austria's corporate social responsibility officer Hermann Pamminger as senior advisor.