The CEO of the UK gambling regulatory body, Andrew Rhodes, urged gambling companies to enhance their consumer protection measures.
The boss of the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) used the opportunity he had at the beginning of the week when he took part in the Westminster Media Forum Gambling Regulation Conference, to unveil some of the impact gambling has on society in the country. Mr Rhodes also spoke about important issues linked to the growth of the local gambling market and called for operators to make more efforts to offer safer and fairer gambling services to their customers.
As Casino Guardian previously reported, the country’s Government started reviewing the Gambling Act of 2005 in December 2020, as it is seeking to bring updates to the sector’s legislative framework in line with the expanding online market and address key issues, such as minimisation of gambling-related harm. At the Conference, which took place on June 13th, the CEO of the UKGC acknowledged that the Government was getting closer to issuing the results of the Gambling Act review but stressed that the watchdog will not use the delay as an excuse.
The Government was first expected to issue the much-awaited white paper following the gambling law’s review in the spring but it put off the procedure and is expected to unveil its findings any day now.
Gamblification, Loot Boxes and Customer Protection Among the Key Issues Considered by the UKGC, Rhodes Says
Speaking at the Westminster Media Forum Gambling Regulation Conference, Andrew Rhodes shared that it would be a great thing to see that the successful and innovative gambling sector in the UK provides its consumers not only with a variety of products and services but also do so in a responsible way and expand good practices.
The boss of the country’s gambling regulatory body noted that the UKGC is set to remain true to its principles and goals of making the local market safer and fairer. Mr Rhodes pointed out that he believes that the innovative gambling sector will be successful, especially in case the industry is able to reduce gambling-related harm and offer responsible play. He further warned companies that offer their services without a licence or in violation of responsible gambling practices in the country.
Gamblification of products has been another major issue that the CEO of the UK Gambling Commission spoke about at the Conference at the beginning of the week. Mr Rhodes revealed that video games’ in-game items, especially so-called loot boxes, have already attracted the attention of local lawmakers. He further shared that the regulator has also been concerned about the increasing popularity of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), “synthetic shares” and cryptocurrencies, as the differences between products were getting harder to define which, on the other hand, makes the regulation of the sector even harder.
Apart from all that, the boss of the UKGC explained that the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic are still present, which is one of the reasons why the country’s gambling sector is still growing. When it comes to problem gambling, Mr Rhodes confirmed information that only about 0.2% of the nation could be categorised as gambling addicts and said that is a good sign. Still, according to him, the figure must be taken with caution because it has been derived from official data provided by gambling companies, and the actual figure could be higher.
- Author
Daniel Williams
