It is not uncommon for gambling regulatory bodies to be facing criticism from certain players in the industry while doing their job to ensure operators follow the rules. This time, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), which has a solid record of going after gambling companies when they fail to meet their licence conditions or violate the country’s gambling laws, is also receiving attacks from some political figures, with one legislator calling the regulator “out of control”.
Despite the fact that the major gambling regulator in the UK has collected more than £810 million in fines and penalties from gambling operators that fail to comply with the rules over the years and has been striving to guarantee a more restrictive policy, Philip Davies MP does not believe that the UK Gambling Commission is useful enough.
The lawmaker has criticised the regulator, saying that it has possibly outgrown its overenthusiastic approach to regulating the industry. According to Mr Davies MP, the UKGC was also too harsh with Joe Beevers, a bookmaker and poker player. According to him, not only did the Gambling Commission want Mr Beevers to prove his own financial state but also one of his friends who may have paid him to gamble, by asking him to provide bank statements for all of them.
As a result of the watchdog’s requests, Beevers decided to close two of his online gambling accounts. Still, he has a lot of other options to continue gambling if he decides to do so, including some offshore platforms.
Lack of Timely and Adequate Gambling Reforms by the Government Requires UKGC Initiative
According to Philip Davies MP, who is the vice chair of the Parliamentary All-Party Betting and Gaming Group, the UK gambling regulator is getting out of line by requiring the provision of sensitive financial information for local gamblers. He no longer believes that the UK Gambling Commission is fit for its regulatory purpose.
However, as mentioned above, Mr Davies MP has not been the only one to believe that the gaming regulatory body might need to take a different direction in its regulatory practices. The Thoroughbred Group’s chief executive officer Charlie Parker shared that the gambling industry regulator is acting bizarrely. Harry Findlay, a British professional gambler known as the author of the book “Gambling for Life: The Man Who Won Millions and Spent Every Penny”, believes that the Gambling Commission does not know what it is doing.
For the past few years, the Government has been working on new gambling legislation but, as Casino Guardian reported, the presentation of its white paper has been delayed several times so far. The lack of timely and adequate gambling reforms by the UK Government seems to have required the UKGC to take the regulatory initiative into its hands. According to data provided by Arena Racing Company, the regulator’s impact on the industry has already been felt. In 2022, the turnover generated by betting on horse races declined to £800 million, which led to a £40-million hole in the budget of the sport.
On the other hand, the implementation of the online slot spending limits at £2 resulted in a £1.2-billion loss, with the online gambling companies operating in the UK continuing to report losses throughout 2022. Apart from that, a number of companies have already decided to cease their operations in the UK after noting that it had gotten harder for them to generate profit under the tightening regulation of the Commission.
It is not all bad for the industry. The good news for the gambling sector of the UK is that the Government seems to be more friendly to the gambling industry than the local regulatory body, with lawmakers rumoured to have adopted a “common sense approach” in the pending white paper that is expected to be finally published in the weeks to come.
- Author
Daniel Williams
