The National Casino Forum (NCF) that currently represents the land-based casinos in the UK, unveiled a detailed response for the Call for Evidence made by the Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) in December 2016.
At the end of last year, the DCMS rolled out a Call for Evidence, to which the NCF made some proposals for future modernisation of the local casino industry. Unfortunately, none of these proposals have been included in the consultation paper. As a response, the National Casino Forum issued a statement as a response to Deparment’s review into UK gambling industry fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) and social responsibility measures, which was published a couple of days ago.
NCF Response to DCMS Industry Review
The National Casino Forum, representing UK land-based casinos, shared its disappointment with the recently unveiled review of the local gambling sector. According to the NCF, the review would make optimisation and modernisation of the industry by blocking certain innovation, nevertheless it is aimed at welcoming certain progress of the casino sector which is primarily focused on customer protection.
The National Casino Forum said that there was a chance for modernisation of the UK casino industry, which could have given the local customers a larger variety of choices, but unfortunately that chance was never been taken. In addition, machine gambling could have been recognised by customers as the best way to place safe bets in regulated and monitored venues.
According to the Forum, the current regulatory framework has been long discussed between the Department for Culture, Media and Sports and local casino operators, and the negotiations were making a satisfactory progress.
An acknowledgement was made by the Department that machine allowances in casino venues which were first licensed under the provisions of the Gaming Act of 1968, are considerably lower in comparison to the ones provided in other countries in Europe and foreign territories. Also, the National Casino Forum further expressed its disappointment with the fact that the country’s authorities have perpetually been denying local customers the variety of opportunities they can actually find in overseas markets, and this ended up making local casinos not so attractive to both local residents and tourists.
As the national casino operators Forum explained, casinos in the UK have always been put on top of the regulatory framework working the legal landscape due to the fact they have always been under tight control and supervision. The country’s casino industry, however, has always been engaged in popularising responsible gambling and gambling awareness.
FOBTs Issues Have Nothing to Do with Casinos, Says NFC
On the other hand, the National Casino Forum shared its opinion on the controversial issues related to fixed-odds betting terminals, saying that the problems which have been widely discussed and addressed in the Government’s review are not the leading ones in the UK casino sector. The organisation reminded that currently there are approximately 34,000 cateory B2 machines in the country, with only 180 of them being located in the UK casinos. In addition, according to data provided by the NCF, the average amount which players spend per play at the casino-situated fixed-odds betting terminals is far smaller than the maximum stake allowed. Furthermore, the Forum also reminded that there have hardly been any issues related with the machines, which came as a proof that FOBTs are actually suitable to be part of the offerings of local casinos.
The NCF also blamed the Department for Culture, Media and Sports for dodging the opportunity for a wider reform of the Gambling Act of 2005, which it described as no longer suitable for serving its purposes. According to the organisation, the DCMS review actually increased the chances for new regulations to be discussed, but that would most likely increase the gambling companies’ expenses.
The National Casino Forum also expressed its intentions to take part in the 12-week consultation following the DCMS review and said that it shares the aim of the Government to increase customer protection.
- Author
Daniel Williams
