Betting shops in the UK have once again been reported as first-class when it comes to preventing underage individuals from purchasing their products.
Independent analysts Serve Legal released some figures revealing some records on age verification checks, saying that they are better than the ones of convenience stores, petrol forecourts and supermarkets. Spot checks that have been specially designed to test whether customers were asked for age verification at some point of their visit were carried out by Serve Legal, with the outlets scoring a pass in case a customer is asked to provide proof for their age.
According to reports, the majority of UK betting shops (90%) have passed so far in 2021. In comparison, 83% of convenience stores, 77% of supermarkets and 76% of petrol forecourts have passed over the same period of time. Serve Legal further noted that the tests were first introduced, only 67% of betting outlets passed, which marks great progress for them in the last few years.
The abovementioned results have been acknowledged by the Betting & Gaming Council (BGC) – the trade body of the British gambling industry. As stated by Michael Dugher, the Chief Executive Officer of the BGC, the trade body’s regulated members do not tolerate any illegal activity and try to do their best in order to prevent underage betting.
UK Betting Outlets Remain Diligent and Focused on Customer Protection, BGC Boss Says
Mr Dugher also paid a tribute to staff members of UK high-street betting shops because of their resilience to endure all the challenges faced by the sector as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Also, he shared he is proud of the great progress accomplished by online gambling platforms, casinos and betting outlets and said that the BGC members would continue to build on their success.
According to the Betting & Gaming Council’s boss, they have managed to remain diligent and focused on customers’ safety in spite of all the pressure faced because of the Covid-19 crisis and the restrictions associated with it. He said he was delighted to see that the age verification systems used at the betting shops operated by the trade body’s regulated members remained robust.
Michael Dugher further shared that the measures taken in betting outlets across the UK were also mirrored in the actions taken by BGC members online, including the implementation of some new tools aimed at preventing underage individuals from being targeted by gambling adverts. British gamblers are also subject to new age verification checks on various websites and platforms, and campaigners enhance their efforts to make sure customers use only the services of regulated gambling operators and stay away from the black market.
Apart from that, the Young People’s Gambling Harm Prevention Program, which is run independently by YGAM and GamCare and funded by BGC members’ contributions, has been estimated at more than £10 million and features more proactive measures aimed at protecting young Brits from possible gambling-related harm.
- Author
Daniel Williams
