Since my last “Licensing Expert” article for SBC News, the stand-out issues in UK gambling regulatory terms have been (a) the circumstances giving rise to the UK Government’s 20 April announcement of an independent review into the collapse of Football Index and (b) the sudden unexpected departure of Neil McArthur from his position as Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission …
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The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has published its latest ‘market statistics report‘, as it continues to monitor gambling trends under lockdown. The Commission has published its market statistics since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, tracking the UK’s gambling activity from March 2020 onwards. Publishing January and February statistics, the UKGC cites a continued decline in online gambling participation as …
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The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has taken regulatory action against Maltese igaming and sportsbook services operator Casumo, issuing fines totalling £6 million having uncovered a series of social responsibility and anti-money laundering failings. Following an audit of Casumo activities between October 2019 and 8 January 2020, the Commission found that the operator had failed to put into effect policies and …
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The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has issued its final call on evidence with regards to how it should reshape its research methodologies measuring UK gambling participation. The consultation was launched on 18 December 2020, with the Commission seeking input from diverse stakeholders on its approach to gathering data and information on UK gambling participation and problem gambling prevalence statistics. Closing …
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As I write this, the last week has seen a huge amount of information emanating from the Gambling Commission. We have seen it publish a short online survey, seemingly aimed at the general public, urging them to have their say on how gambling companies interact with their customers, with a particular focus on affordability. It runs until 9 February, the …
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The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has announced a ‘package of strict measures’ to be enforced as new protections and controls on online slots games. The decision follows feedback from its public consultation carried out in July 2020 around ‘making online games safer by design’ – in which the Commission reviewed the risk and intensive play elements of online slots. Following …
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The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has launched a further consultation seeking guidance on ‘how online gambling companies interact with their customers’. The Commission aims to gather wide-ranging insights and opinions from businesses, employees and their customers on ‘what protections should be offered by online gambling operators to prevent harms to their customers’. UK online gambling laws require licensed operators to …
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GambleAware has backed new findings published by the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), urging for more operators to provide customers flexibility in setting their own deposit limits. A BIT study, conducted on 1,700 bet365 customers, analysed whether behavioural tweaks on sign-up would impact customers’ playing habits, with a view to provide effective information on reducing player risks. The trial set out …
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Neil McArthur, Chief Executive of the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), has reminded licensed operators of their responsibilities and duties in protecting customers as the UK’s regional governments enforce tougher lockdown measures during the winter period. Writing to betting leadership, McArthur warned operators that “no one should be in any doubt about how closely we are monitoring issues or our willingness to …
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In the Gambling Commission’s March 2018 Online Gambling Review, published very shortly after Neil McArthur took over as its Chief Executive, the view was expressed that “overall, progress by the online industry to minimise harm has been significantly slower than we expected and required”. That set in motion a chain of events that has reached its zenith in the last …
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