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 …
Read More »
Last week, I chaired an excellent gambling conference on the subject of “Player Protection”. The event was attended by a broad cross-section of stakeholders – licensed B2C operators (both land-based and remote and from different sectors of the industry), B2B gambling software and age/identity verification providers, gambling industry lawyers and consultants, gambling-related harm treatment providers, experts in gambling blocking and …
Read More »
The last month has witnessed the cessation of trading in the UK of two licensed betting operators, BetBright and 188BET, prompting questions that go to the heart of both (a) the contract between bookmaker and customer and (b) the role of the Gambling Commission, as regulator, when a bookmaker decides to void unsettled bets, resulting in a mass of complaints …
Read More »
Much has been written regarding the industry’s relationship with sports, none more so than football, where criticism has suggested measures must be put in place to curb what is seen as an over saturation of marketing, sponsorships and advertising. This topic is set to fall under the microscope at the sixth annual Betting on Football, taking place this week at …
Read More »
News from either side of the Atlantic Ocean within the last month shows a yawning gap between the UK on the one hand and the U.S. on the other, not only in terms of social responsibility and player protection requirements but also in relation to attitudes towards gambling generally. I am not for one moment suggesting that responsible gambling is not a matter of …
Read More »
SBC News has already reported on last week’s Gambling Commission “consultation response” confirming the forthcoming LCCP changes on age and identity verification for remote gambling. In adding my own take on those changes, I also include a comment below on another highly relevant matter flowing from this latest emanation from the UK’s gambling regulator, namely its encouragement to remote gambling …
Read More »
After a tumultuous 2018, what does 2019 hold in store for the UK sports betting sector? I have dusted down my crystal ball. It may be a bit cloudy in areas, with perhaps the odd crack beginning to show in parts, but here is my best bet on what the regulatory future may bring. On the plus side, I do …
Read More »
UK licensed B2C gambling operators are all hopefully aware of the LCCP changes that come into effect on 31 October. If not, they have a range of options to find out more before it’s too late, for example: the Gambling Commission has published on its website a summary of the key changes, originally announced in August, it has also now …
Read More »
The UK Gambling Commission’s Programme Director for Consumer Protection & Empowerment, Ian Angus, has recently made a speech in which he called for “a proper and constructive debate about gambling marketing and advertising, including sponsorship arrangements in sport”. His speech included the following stark message to holders of operating licences granted by the Commission: “My advice to you is this: a storm is gathering, …
Read More »
Amid the hopes and expectations of the industry’s future, deliberated at the Betting on Sports 2018 conference, was the hard reality of the ‘UK Tax Hike’ on online gambling services awaiting industry leaders. “Its seems a long distance now, the days of Tessa Jowell, the former Minister of Culture, Media & Sports under Tony Blair, stating that the UK would …
Read More »
SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry