Football Association’s streaming deal will be investigated by the UK Gambling Commission.
FA Streaming Deal Subject of Investigation
The Football Association’s (FA) deal that allows betting sites to stream its sports events has been heavily criticised by the public. Now, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) is getting involved, which may result in serious repercussions if it is discovered that anything untoward is taking place.
The UKGC will be looking into the issue. An investigation will be launched, which may result in companies being given warnings, receiving financial penalties or having their licenses revoked.
The whole situation started in 2017, when the FA entered into a deal with media rights company IMG. It gave IMG the rights to sell live streams of FA Cup events to betting companies around the world. Eventually, IMG sold the rights to seven bookmakers: Bet365, Betfair, William Hill, Coral, Ladbrokes, Unibet and Paddy Power.
Initially, the games were only available to only customers who have active accounts are available to view the football streams. This resulted in plenty of criticism of the Football Association, so the betting operators decided to allow the games to be viewed on a free platform.
“We expect gambling operators to ensure that when agreeing commercial deals relevant to sport, that such arrangements are consistent with keeping gambling safe. We are talking to a number of operators to ensure that is the case”.
Neil McArthur, Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission
One of Many Big Decisions Made by the UKGC Recently
In addition to announcing its investigation into the FA’s online streaming deals, the UKGC has also recently made the decision to ban credit card payments at all online gambling sites. The new measure will take effect starting April 14, 2020.
The decision was prompted by organizations GambleAware and Citizens Advice, which have been campaigning for many years to stop gamblers from essentially borrowing money to play casino games. Some of the biggest online gambling sites in the market will be affected, including brands like PokerStars, 888 and Betfair.
It was also decided that gambling operators must have a membership with GamStop. This responsible gaming organization allows players to exclude themselves from any online gambling sites that are members.
The UKGC is working hard to ensure that gambling is carried out responsibly across the United Kingdom, as well as confirming that gambling operators are doing their best to look after the best interests of players. By investigating online betting platforms’ streaming services and banning credit card payments at online gaming sites, the commission is taking big steps to keep the country’s gaming market safe.