Last year, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission and other gambling-related authorities in the UK implemented a number of measures that were designed to foster responsible gambling. These measures have had varying degrees of success which leaves room for improvement. Fortunately, the gambling commission is not backing down on its quest to clean up the gambling industry in order to make it safe and sustainable.
Recently, Neil McArthur, the gambling commission’s chief executive officer, came to the defense of the gaming industry. This was during the annual CMS law conference in London. Even though he suggested that some of the recent media attacks on the industry were unnecessary and probably full of exaggeration, he also went ahead to urge the gaming licensees in the country to work harder towards their responsible gambling efforts.
He further pointed out that consumer confidence in the gaming industry had dwindled over the past several years. This can be attributed to increased cases of violations related to advertising and responsible gambling that were committed by the gaming operators. Clearly, a lot needs to be done.
The UK’s All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Gambling Related Harm has been very critical about the UKGC’s role in regulating the industry. They called the gaming commission out for being over-familiar with some of its licensees hence the laxity in dealing with offenders. In 2020, the parliamentary group will be focusing on the review of the 2005 Gambling Act which they hope will help streamline things quite a bit.
Licensees Reminded About Ownership Disclosure
One of the things that the United Kingdom intends to lay emphasis on this year is the need for its licensees to demonstrate the source of the funds they use to fund their operations and make major acquisitions. This comes in the heels of a recent revelation that MaxEnt Ltd., one of its licensees, had undergone a change of ownership without alerting them.
The UKGC revoked the company’s license and dug deeper through an investigation into the source of funds the company used to acquire and operate the gaming business. Naturally, this means that some other companies may soon also come under the spotlight for similar violations.
GambleAware and FSA Launch Safer Gambling Hub
In a bid to contribute to the ongoing fight to promote safer gambling, GambleAware has partnered with the Football Supporter’s Association (FSA) to launch a digital ‘safer gambling hub’. This digital hub is part of the BeGambleAware campaign and is one of the ways of informing football fans about the risks of impulsive betting.
Even though this might seem like a small step, it is definitely going to matter in the long term as the UK continues to wage ware against increasing cases of gambling-related harm. So far so good.