In last month’s “Licensing Expert” article for SBC News, I talked about a possible link between erosion of parliamentarians’ trust in the Gambling Commission and erosion of the Commission’s trust in the gambling sector. Since then, more recent events have served to underline even more the extent to which trust in both the regulator and the regulated has so regrettably …
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UK gambling regulatory developments during the last month or so have led many to query the reason behind the Gambling Commission’s decision to publish (on 12th May) additional customer interaction guidance for remote operators. What some have found puzzling is not only the range of topics covered in that additional guidance but also its prescriptive nature, particularly bearing in mind …
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This is a pivotal moment for the online gambling sector. It’s not a moment it could have foreseen, nor is it a moment it has actively sought! However, whilst it has not been slow to identify an unexpected opportunity to market its non-sports betting wares to a new audience, it is essential that it fully recognises the associated threats to …
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If the gambling industry buzzword for the last two years has been “collaboration”, it looks as if this year’s might well be “consensus”. Speaking personally, I am all for that. It’s a word that featured prominently in speeches by former Labour Party Deputy Leader, Tom Watson, and Gambling Commission CEO, Neil McArthur at ICE on 4 February. Watson used it …
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As I write this, we are just two weeks into the new year – or indeed the new decade, as some would have us believe. Either way, what a start it’s been for the UK gambling industry! We ended 2019 with confirmation that the newly elected Conservative Party government intends to act speedily to fulfil its General Election manifesto promise …
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The announcement by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) that Gibraltar-based Betfred.com is the most recent recipient of a hefty financial penalty for AML failings has served to raise once again the question why so many overseas-based remote operators have run into such problems with the UK regulator. In the Betfred case, it has not just been a case of concern …
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The Gambling Commission has recently announced that it is reviewing the operating licences of (a) FSB Technology (UK) Limited (who voluntarily suspended activities on their Blackbet white label website) and (b) EveryMatrix Software Limited (in relation to which the Commission also suspended their ability to offer B2C remote betting and casino gaming, including pursuant to white label arrangements). Following on, as they …
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The UK Gambling Commission has recently announced forthcoming changes to its Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (“LCCP”) intended to: raise standards for alternative dispute resolution – coming into force on 31 October 2019, strengthen requirements on how licensees identify and interact with customers who may be at risk of or experiencing gambling harms – also coming into force on 31 October 2019 …
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Did you know that it is nearly 61 years since the first successful recognizably modern credit card – the BankAmericard – was introduced? It was not until 8 years later, in 1966, that Barclaycard launched in the UK the first credit card outside the USA. Credit cards have been controversial from the outset because of the potential harms that arise …
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I have lost count of the number of times over the last year that I have urged clients, potential clients, conference audiences (and, quite frankly, anyone else involved in the UK gambling industry who is prepared to listen) to read the Gambling Commission’s first-ever Enforcement Report, published back in June 2018. I’ve told them that it is essential reading material …
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