The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) of the UK has chosen the online self-exclusion body GAMSTOP to run a single customer view (SCV) trial – a project that is aimed at reduction of gambling-related harm that has raised some concerns.
As revealed by the trade body representing the UK gambling sector, the idea of the single customer view is to prevent individuals, who have displayed signs of severe gambling addiction or are considered at risk of being affected by gambling-related harm, from moving to another gambling operation without an intervention.
In October 2021, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) advised the country’s gambling regulator that such a system could work under data protection law. The move prompted Chris Philp, the UK Gambling Minister, to address the gambling industry and warn operators that they were expected to deliver a meaningful solution as soon as possible.
Now, to make sure the single customer view system works properly, the Betting and Gaming Council is set to make an investment of as much as £1 million. As mentioned above, the trial is set to make sure that British problem gamblers are kept safe by all gambling companies that are licensed and regulated on the territory of the country.
As part of the system, GAMSTOP will get access to customers’ data gathered from the time they spend with various gambling operators. This is supposed to prevent compulsive gamblers from switching operators in an effort to avoid intervention. In addition, the data will provide an insight into customers who gamble on various platforms and are considered at risk of being affected by gambling-related harm.
As revealed by the BGC, the intervention will include safeguards established for the customers who are less exposed and stricter measures, including bans, for the customers who are considered at high risk. Bans would be imposed to prevent gamblers from playing with any of the gambling companies regulated in the UK.
Single Customer View Trial Set to Take Place by the End of March After Being Delayed by Almost 2 Years
The Betting and Gaming Council announced that the trial of the single customer view is set to take place by the end of March 2022.
The trial of the system has been delayed for about a couple of years because of data sharing concerns raised by the Information Commissioner’s Office. Although the move was postponed, work on the project has been resumed and the BGC shared that its team is moving forward to make sure it is well-positioned to test the system before the end of March this year.
The implementation of the single customer view was first considered in 2022 when the former Chief Executive Officer of the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), Neil McArthur, suggested that a single customer view backed by the financial sector will be beneficial for the local gambling industry. This concept also got the approval of Minister Philp.
As mentioned above, the implementation of the single customer view was blocked by the Information Commissioner’s Office at a later stage because of concerns regarding customer data sharing and caused the delay. The Office, however, changed its opinion by October last year, and officially backed the roll-out of the trial.
According to experts, GAMSTOP is actually one of the best choices that could have been made by the Betting and Gaming Council when it comes to running the trial of the single customer view. The company’s self-exclusion platform aimed at problem gamblers in the UK has so far received positive feedback for its hard work and excellent results.
- Author
Olivia Cole
