The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is reaching out to the gaming industry for consultations on its much anticipated, and long delayed, gambling reform white. Input from gambling stakeholders is the next step in a process that’s dragged on since before the Pandemic and whose contents will have a very significant impact on how operators conduct their business.
As a whole, the white paper is focused on reform in six basic areas including financial risk and vulnerability, remote games design, improving consumer choice on direct marketing, strengthening age verification in premises, personal management licences and regulatory panels. Though all are important, industry stakeholders are particularly concerned with how financial risk and vulnerability are regulated. Operators are looking to find a sweet spot between how they evaluate customer risk today, and what the UKGC has in mind for the future. Regulators have suggested a £500 ($648 USD) annual net loss £1000 ($1296 USD) daily net loss for players.
Another area of concern for operators are new proposed maximum stakes for online slots. Regulators are looking to fix that number somewhere in the £2 ($2.59 USD) and £15 ($19.45 USD) range. The Commission is also considering lower maximum slot stakes for younger players.
“These consultations offer the opportunity for people to have their say on proposals aimed at empowering and protecting consumers. Many of these proposals have already had a significant amount of engagement and scrutiny, and the Government’s White Paper sets out the policy positions,” the Commission’s Executive Director for Research and Policy, Tim Miller said in a statement posted on the Commission’s website.
Thought the White Paper promises significant changes for online gamblers and operators, Miller pointed that it wasn’t meant to throw a wet towel on a good time adding, “We want to protect people from harm while making sure everyone who loves a flutter can continue to do so enjoyably.”