UKGC Launches Consultation for Proposed Amendments to Social Responsibility Provisions

In order to improve the social responsibility provisions, which the UK Gambling Commission is set to impose under the new gambling regime, the commission has published proposed amendments to the .Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (‘LCCP). The amendments though has to pass public consultation considering that the success of its operations depend on the public’s confidence on efforts to minimise, if not prevent the harms that gambling products can cause or do.

The UKGC maintains that public tolerance toward gambling and the industry’s aim for growth is founded on the premise that gambling operators achieve commercial success only from the “good money coming from normal leisure gamblers choosing to spend money they can afford to lose.” The premise includes minimising the collection of money regarded as tainted or bad, if the money gambled comes from those with problem gambling behaviour, or from criminals and other elements of a black economy.

The existing LCCP places on the shoulders of operators, the primary responsibility for  keeping crime out of gambling, for ensuring fair and transparent gaming, as well for providing protection to minors and to those susceptible to the harms of gambling. The UKGC on the other hand, grants gambling permits in accordance with those licensing objectives.

However, the Gambling Commission strives to come up with the right balance to avoid imposing regulations that could result to mere tick-box actions and to discourage operators from resorting to the use of inefficient systems, to cut corners, and to ignore good practices in instituting responsible gambling measures.

In having a clearer picture of some of the key risks that gambling facility operators must address, the Commission has put forward changes to the current LCCP, which include but not limited to the following:

• Changing the use of class order system to considering measures that require planning permission on a wider range of conditions, when granting permits for converting business venues into retail betting offices;
• Changes that restrict the use of cash as bets in B2 gaming machines, by requiring specific authorisation for betting transactions in excess of £50; without which, a B2 machine player can no longer insert cash into the terminal.
• Changes that would ensure that gambling machines in general, are made available only in licenced environments deemed as appropriate for gambling as a primary activity.
• Implementation of the EU Directive on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and the Regulation on Online Dispute Resolution, to which the UK Gambling Commission could possibly become a competent authority under the said directive.
• Changes to certain social responsibility codes of the LCCP that would strengthen protection further, if made mandatory, rather than adopted as voluntary for the industry. Such changes include:

1. Requiring pre-commitment from all customers of B2 machines in betting outlets by setting financial and/or time limits before engaging in play;
2. Requiring large operators to implement third-party testing of measures against underage access to gambling;
3. Mandating operators to participate in the development of cross-operator and cross-sector self-exclusion schemes, once such schemes are developed.

The aforementioned proposed changes are only a few of the items presented for consultation and discussion. The consultation document published by the UKGC included questions aimed at eliciting public views about specific controls that operators must put in place to ensure the prevention of underage gambling, and in disseminating information that will enable players to make informed decisions.