SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The Gambling Commission has been named as the competent authority for Alternative Dispute Resolution Entities who handle disputes relating to gambling under Europe’s Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Directive which will be implemented by July 2015.
This means that all ADR entities that handle, or wish to handle, gambling disputes will have to:
- demonstrate to the Commission that they meet the requirements of the Directive such as those relating to independence;
- gain approval from the Commission to handle gambling disputes
- meet the information requirements of the Directive, such as having a separate website and providing information to their competent authority (the Commission).
Gambling operators will have to ensure that they use ADR entities approved by the Commission.
The Commission will provide further information on the timetable and process for approving ADR entities as soon as possible. The government will need to make some final decisions and pass legislation to name the Commission as the competent authority before the Commission can proceed formally. However the Commission said it will be having informal discussions with ADR entities to prepare for this process.
This is good news for established ADR bodies such as the Independent Betting Adjudication Service (IBAS) as it ensures that gambling operators will have to take the appoint of an ADR entity more seriously in the future.
