The United Kingdom’s Gambling Commission (UKGC) has announced that it will overhaul its licensing processes. According to the authority, the current dedicated account manager model is not efficient enough.
The UKGC Will Reallocate Its Resources
The UKGC explained that operators will no longer have individual points of contact. Instead, licensing will consist of four sub-groups, each of which will be responsible for different areas of work.
First of all, the Operating License New Group, as the name suggests, will process new operators’ license applications. The second group is the Change of Corporate Control Group. The latter will govern all applications relating to changes of ownership and control for UKGC’s licensees. The third one is the Operating license Vary Group which will process applications relating to changes to existing operators’ licenses. Lastly, the Personal License Group will process all applications relating to personal licenses.
Not Much Will Change for Operators
The UKGC noted that it is changing the licensing process to make the best use of its resources. The regulator believes that its previous workflow wasn’t optimal and could’ve been better. Therefore, the authority hopes that separating licenses into four sub-groups will help it improve its productivity and process applications more quickly.
The British regulator also hopes that the four sub-groups will be more efficient when resolving queries.
Not much will change in the process of submitting an application. The application process will more or less remain the same. As usual, companies that offer online services must make their applications online. In case an operator does not offer online services, they can apply for a license by messaging the UKGC on its official email.
The regulator warned that it no longer accepts applications by post.
British Gambling May Soon Change
The licensing process changes come amid the UK’s ongoing Gambling Act review. The white paper should go live in the next few weeks, although the DCMS is yet to provide a release date. The alleged indecisiveness of the DCMS sparked disgruntlement among certain parties. Despite that, the body insists that it is best to proceed carefully and do everything right.
Many hope that the white paper will pave the way for the introduction of stake limits, advertising and sponsorship restrictions and a universal levy for gambling operators. However, it recently became a subject of controversy as some people feared it might be watered down amid pressures from the gambling industry.
According to reports, various government departments are currently reviewing the white paper. The DCMS confirmed that it will not be released this week but added that its release “is imminent.”