Two online gambling operators are to remove restrictions on cash withdrawals as a result of the latest CMA enforcement action in the industry.
As Casino Guardian already reported, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published the results of its probe into the UK gambling industry, which was primarily set to investigate whether online gambling operators use unfair terms and practices to hold customers’ money withdrawals back.
The CMA revealed that two online gambling firms – Progress Play Limited and Jumpman Gaming Limited – have formally agreed to remove controversial terms and conditions which prevented their customers from withdrawing their money.
The investigation of the business competition watchdog showed that the customers of the two above-mentioned companies could be forced to withdraw their money in several portions. According to regulators, such policy, however, could lead to customers start gambling more instead of simply making a withdrawal. Apart from the removal of these terms, both Progress Play and Jumpman Gaming have agreed to stop using unfair terms under which the two operators were able to gather so-called dormant account fees. The latter has given the companies the right to confiscate money from so-called “dormant accounts” in case their owners had not logged in for a certain amount of time.
Furthermore, Progress Play has agreed to stop confiscating funds from players’ accounts in case that users do not meet their identity check rules within a certain timeframe. The operator agreed that money should not be confiscated from someone’s account simply because the user fails to provide the required information within a specific timeframe, even in case that identity checks are part of the companies’ policy set to prevent fraud and money laundering.
CMA and UKGC Work Together to Ensure Fairness and Transparency
With the number of people who choose to gamble online, the Competition and Markets Authority, which is responsible for monitoring and control of business competition in the country, has started an investigation of the sector, worth £4.9 billion. The probe came after the major gambling regulatory body – the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) – shared some concerns of potential breaches of consumer law in terms of withdrawals, saying that some companies could have been using unfair practices to hold back money withdrawals from customers’ accounts.
The CMA has been working hand in glove with the UKGC to improve some of the existing terms and conditions in the online gambling sector and to make sure that companies which operate digital gambling platforms do not break consumer protection legislation.
The business competition watchdog started the investigation into the online gambling industry’s compliance with customer protection laws back in October 2016. The main pieces of consumer protection law which were relevant to the CMA probe into the online gambling industry are Part 2 of the Consumer Rights Act of 2015 (CRA) and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations of 2008 (CPRs). Certain unfair commercial practices are prohibited under the CPRs, while the CRA banns operators from using unfair contract terms in consumer contracts and requires fairness and transparency of the terms.
- Author
Olivia Cole
