UKGC Publishes Modifications to Social Responsibility Aspects of the LCCP

After completing the public consultation process pertaining to the proposed social responsibility provisions of the Licence Conditions and Code of Practices (LCCP) under the new gambling regime, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) published last week, a revised version of the LCCP containing the social responsibility aspects that passed approval for implementation, starting May 08, 2015.

The recently published LCCP document presented the social responsibility aspects under Part II Code of Practices, by shading the social responsibility provisions in blue, to make a clear distinction between mandatory and recommended socially responsible actions.  Any breach of those deemed as required will subject the operator to UKGC’s review that could result to possible suspension, licence revocation, or imposition of monetary penalty, as well as place the operator under risk of prosecution.

The Code of Practices set out in un-shaded boxes are ordinary provisions that licensed operators can adopt as good practices, or replaced with alternative approaches demonstrated as reasonable under the operator’s circumstances, or as methods that are in effect similar to those recommended as good practices by the LCCP.

The blue-shaded social responsibility provisions mainly require land-based and Internet-based gambling operators, including lotteries, to institute policies and procedures, provide information, and if necessary integrate tools and other elements, including financial contributions. The mandatory social responsibility provisions of the Code of Practices, aim to ensure that gambling operators will achieve commercial success from offering gambling products and services to legal aged-gamblers, who spend only money they can afford to lose.

First and foremost, the LCCP makes all licensed gambling operators responsible for the conduct, compliance, and any breach of licence conditions committed by a third party contractor, including affiliate contractors that advertise and provide links to an operator’s licensed remote gambling websites.

Social responsibility in running licensed offline or online gambling operations covers concerns or actions such as:

• Those instituted for the protection of children and of persons susceptible to the harms posed by gambling, as means to prevent underage gambling and adverse gambling behaviors or addiction.
• Those observed and used for identifying individual customers, particularly their age, location and suitability to engage in gambling activities or in entering into gambling transactions;
• Those that provide customer interaction, self-exclusion, time-out facilities, alerts, or warnings about monetary thresholds directed at customers and gambling staff;
• Those that govern the extension of credit to customers or the use of credit cards as method of placing funds into an individual’s betting or gaming account;
• Those that present evidence to the UKGC that steps have been taken to ensure that their respective gambling facility/ies operate under fair and open terms, including features or functionalities that work in conjunction with the offering of rewards, bonuses, and amenities such as free alcoholic drinks, especially as to when and where such offers should be extended.
• Those that should be observed when providing customers with information, particularly the operator’s rules, the manner by which games are supervised and the procedures for handling customer complaints or disputes.
• Those that govern the promotion of the gambling facilities and products, which the LCCP publication made clear should in no way involve encouraging players to engage in betting activities beyond the period or for more than the amount of money, a player usually do so or has previously established as limit. Marketing offers must not mislead in accordance with the rules instituted by CAP or BCAP.
• Those that carry out local risk assessments that take into account major changes in a gambling venue’s local circumstances.