The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has unveiled a new awareness campaign that will seek to raise awareness regarding gambling blocking tools.
The country’s gambling regulatory body shared it is still committed to enhancing its efforts to keep local customers well protected against gambling-related harm, now with a new consumer guidance campaign. The campaign is aimed at the general public, the watchdog revealed, as it seeks to raise the public’s awareness for services that allow British residents to fully ban themselves from gambling websites.
In the “Money and Rights” guidance campaign, consumers in the UK can learn more about their consumer rights and the chance to voluntarily opt-out of gambling operators whenever they find it hard to control their gambling habits. In order to help guide local customers, the UK Gambling Commission has provided British residents with a list of the entities that currently offer such exclusion services, including HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, Halifax, Santander, RBS, TSB, MBNA and the Bank of Scotland.
The UK gambling regulatory body addressed Monzo and Starling, which for the time being provide services allowing their customers to fully ban themselves from gambling services offered in the country. As Casino Guardian already reported, internet bank Monzo addressed the Government to recommend that more customisable banking tools are implemented, so that UK players are able to opt-out of gambling whenever they want to.
Millions of Brits Do Not Have Access to Gambling Blocking Feature
Monzo agreed on a partnership with TrueLayer aimed at protecting consumers against problem gambling and the possible harmful impact of compulsive gambling. While most banks on the territory of the UK already feature a tool allowing their users to ban spending on particular services by suspending certain transactions, there are still banks in the country that do not offer such solutions, leaving their vulnerable customers exposed to risks.
In July last year, the largest problem gambling charity organisation in the UK – GambleAware – raised a red flag on the matter, saying that 28 million residents in the UK were not able to access a gambling blocking feature that could help them stay away from gambling services. The newly-announced awareness campaign of the UKGC is aimed at addressing this problem exactly.
Keeping in mind the upcoming review of the Gambling Act 2005 and the criticism the UK gambling regulator has been recently facing, the UKGC has been willing to show that it does everything in the best interest of local gamblers.
The “Money and Rights” section of the Gambling Commission was launched at the beginning of 2021, seeking to provide the wider public with detailed information about their consumer rights and options when engaging with gambling businesses. The gambling watchdog, along with the Government, have placed the responsibilities of financial services to provide their customers with safer gambling protections have been seen as a key element of the ongoing review of the 2005 Gambling Act.
- Author
Daniel Williams
