The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) remains focused on implementing further pressure on the local gambling industry. The latest addition to the strict regulatory measures faced by the sector is a pilot programme of a “single customer view” that all gambling companies will be required to share.
At the time he appeared before the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) on October 18th, the CEO of the UK gambling watchdog, Andrew Rhodes, announced that the programme’s trial is currently pending. The trial, which will put player data into a single pool that all operators will be able to access, is set to begin in the next few months.
Problem gambling also seems to be one of the hottest topics in the UK, despite multiple studies that have shown gambling addiction is virtually non-existent in the country. As Mr Rhodes confirmed, the UKGC remains focused on its efforts to introduce procedures and policies that might ultimately suppress the legal gambling sector in the country instead of enhancing it.
The CEO of the country’s gambling regulatory body remains optimistic about the outcome of the pilot program, describing it as a significant shift in gambling safety and highlighting the fact that it could seriously help reduce gambling-related harm.
Mr Rhodes also spoke on another hot-button topic in the UK – gambling sponsorship agreements in sports. He noted that if it were up to him, he would ban such deals, saying that foreign gambling companies that target non-UK markets should not be allowed to be appointed as sponsors of UK clubs.
Oversight of Potential Gambling-Related Harm Needs to Be Enhanced, UKGC Says
As it became clear during Andrew Rhodes’ speech at the IAGR, customer data will be available throughout the entire gambling sector in the country thanks to the single customer view that the trade body of the local gambling industry – the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) – helped develop. For the time being, data such as session duration, customer gambling spend, and other statistics, are operator-specific.
The UK Gambling Commission shared that the goal of the aforementioned program is to enhance the oversight of potential gambling-related harm in the country in time, rather than letting customers’ compulsive gambling deteriorate and result in more serious consequences. Apart from that, if one gambling platform suspends a player over a potential spending issue, that patron is able to currently easily access another platform. The implementation of the single-view data will provide gambling companies with the chance to identify players who jump from one platform to another in order to circumvent restrictions.
As previously reported by Casino Guardian, the UKGC has presented data showing that the problem gambling rate in the country is currently around 0.2%, with the figure marking a 50% reduction from 2021 which happened without the introduction of stricter regulatory measures. According to a separate study held by Public Health England (PHE), the gambling addiction rate in the UK amounts to 0.5%.
Gambling Companies Play Major Role in the UK Economy
The timing of the International Association of Gaming Regulators’ meeting coincided with the Safer Gambling Week in the UK and Ireland, which highlights the need to ensure safer gambling for local customers.
According to reports, the gambling and betting sector in the UK was worth more than £14 billion in 2021, making the industry a massive part of the country’s economy. Moreover, gambling companies are fully aware of the significant role they play in the local economy, and as such, they have rolled out various initiatives on their own to promote safer gambling among their patrons.
The “independent regulatory body” Senet has been established by a number of British gambling companies, including Ladbrokes, Coral, William Hill, and Paddy Power, to promote responsible gambling. The body is also aimed at popularising a socially conscious gambling sector. This initiative resulted in the creation of the Multi-Operator Self-Exclusion Scheme (MOSES) back in 2016, which helps gambling companies to increase their customer’s awareness of gambling-related harm. Since then, operators have rolled out additional safer gambling measures for both their retail and online services.
- Author
Olivia Cole
