Although there is no agreed definition for regulatory sandboxes worldwide, there is broad consensus that through sandboxes businesses are usually granted some regulatory relief for a limited timeframe in order to test new, innovative business ideas. Some regulatory sandboxes also give an opportunity to regulators to reflect on whether some of the existing regulatory frameworks need to be modernised, or brand-new legislative action is needed.

A new Cullen International Global Trends report outlines there has been a proliferation of regulatory sandboxes in the past few years, and this trend continues.

The report proposes a taxonomy for regulatory sandboxes and discusses several aspects relevant for their functioning.

A possible, simplified mapping of existing regulatory sandboxes can be conducted by analysing their core mission on one side, and their geographic reach on the other.

The report includes examples of regulatory sandboxes across different continents, and fields where sandboxes are used to spur innovation and new business models in the digital economy.

A more detailed analysis of selected, recently proposed regulatory sandboxes, some of them trans-national in scope, is also included in the new Global Trends report.

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