The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has revealed that it remains committed to establishing a safe, transparent and strictly regulated gambling sector. The British gambling watchdog also shared that it will roll out a new consultation regarding the financial risk threshold.
During the Know Now Conference 2021, which has been particularly focused on social responsibility measures for gambling companies, the UKGC explained that, unfortunately, some gambling companies are still not as committed to promoting responsible gambling as they are supposed to. This is exactly why Tim Miller, the Executive Director of the gambling regulator, warned operators that continue to ignore the aforementioned responsibilities that they will face a penalty.
Mr Miller explained that the UKGC did a substantial evaluation of land-based and online businesses throughout 2020. The regulator had to process some of the assessments digitally due to the coronavirus pandemic, which highlighted the need for the improvement of some online services.
The Gambling Commission has found that a lot of gambling companies still accept large bets from new customers without evaluating their financial background, gathering proper source of funding or interacting with these customers, with Mr Miller criticising such operators for that. This was also the reason why the UKGV has made a decision to roll out the consultation on thresholds that will help the regulator identify important financial dangers, including major consumer money losses.
UKGC Not to Hold Consultations on Issues Included in the Government’s Gambling Act Review
The UK gambling regulator’s Executive Director has explained that the aforementioned measures are a necessity caused by the lack of consideration and responsibility demonstrated by some businesses. The Gambling Commission remains mindful of the ongoing Government’s review of the country’s Gambling Act and does not make any plans on holding consultations on matters that are part of the review.
According to Mr Miller, the gambling operators with multiple failures to comply with the already existing rules of the UKGC have lighted the need for stricter requirements to make the businesses stick to responsible gambling rules and regulations.
The UK gambling watchdog remains committed to its role of issuing gambling permits and regulating the country’s gambling sector, so it cannot stay inactive at times when some operators seem to value their financial gain more than the safety of their customers. So, Mr Miller noted that, currently, it is extremely important for the British gambling sector to see the UKGC make sure operators match the high standards that have already been established for the industry.
The Executive Director of the UK gambling regulatory body is known as a supporter of strict regulation of the sector in order to make sure that British customers are provided with safe, transparent and fair gambling services in the country. Only a few months ago, at the CMS Conference, he once again noted the importance of all the efforts aimed at creating an exemplary gambling ecosystem.
Still, there is a lot of work to be done by both gambling operators and the country’s gambling watchdog, as the UKGC has found out that many British gamblers are not familiar with the safer gambling tools that are available to them and aim at protecting them against possible gambling-related harm.
- Author
Daniel Williams
