Today, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has unveiled new rules on action for gamblers who are considered at risk of being most affected by gambling-related harm.
The gambling regulatory body of the UK announced that the new rules are scheduled to come into effect on September 12th, 2022. The UKGC further noted they are expected to ensure better protection for more vulnerable customers who are at risk.
Apart from the rules themselves, the UK Gambling Commission is also expected to issue new guidance for companies operating in the sector in June. The guidance will be aimed at helping online gambling businesses better understand the latest requirements and make sure they are in line with them. The UKGC also pledged to engage with operators to help them enable the new rules and take account of queries regarding these requirements the country’s gambling regulatory body usually receives after publication.
Andrew Rhodes, the CEO of the UKGC, explained that the gambling watchdog found that some operators were still not making enough efforts to prevent gambling-related harm. He further noted that the new rules have been developed following a lengthy consultation process and are now aimed at making their expectations to operators even more explicit. Mr Rhodes explained that the Gambling Commission expected operators to identify and tackle the harm inflicted by gambling in a fast and effective manner and would take action against companies that failed to do so.
The UK Gambling Commission plans to continue working closely with the Department of Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) and take account of the Gambling Act Review of the UK Government in order to make sure its regulation of the local gambling sector is timely, proper and adequate.
Online Gambling Companies Required to Monitor Specific Indicators to Tackle Gambling-Related Harm
As mentioned above, the tougher requirements unveiled by the UK Gambling Commission on the online gambling sector follow an extensive consultation that was rolled out to address iGambling operators’ failures to comply with the country’s gambling watchdog policies and rules.
The UKGC’s consultation and call for evidence received about 13,000 responses, with the regulatory body having carefully considered all proposals in order to make sure that robust and yet proportionate changes in the requirements to operators were made.
Under the newly-introduced rules for online gambling businesses, operators will be required to monitor a certain range of indicators, including customer spending, time spent on gambling, patterns of spending, as well as customers’ gambling behaviour, account indicators and the use of management tools. This is the data that will have to be monitored by online gambling companies as a minimum to identify gambling-related harm.
Online gambling businesses will also have to flag indicators of gambling harm and take action as soon as they find such harm is being inflicted on their customers. They will have to roll out automated processes for strong indicators of gambling-related harm. Gambling companies that offer British customer-facing products online will have to make sure that they do not reach at-risk customers with any marketing materials promoting their services.
As far as customer interactions are concerned, online gambling operators will have to ensure they interact with their customers adequately at least at the level of problem gambling. They will also be required to evaluate their interactions and evidence such interaction evaluation to the routine casework of the UKGC.
The UKGC revealed that over the next phase of its programme aimed at making the country’s online gambling sector safer and fairer it will have further consultations on identifying financially vulnerable customers and reducing significant unaffordable spending on gambling products and services.
- Author
Daniel Williams
