Earlier this week the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it is taking a hard line when it comes to online casinos that make withdrawing deposits tough for consumers. The CMA singled out two UK-facing operators, Jumpman Gaming and Progress Play for making changes to their policies to make them more consumer-friendly.
Word of the agreement between the operators and the CMA was announced on the agency’s site and contained some not-too-subtle warnings for other operators who play fast and loose with their players’ money. These indiscretions took the form of deposits that could not be withdrawn all at once to the practice of having players forfeit their cash if they failed to respond to requests for identity checks soon enough. Both sites also penalized players who hadn’t logged into their accounts for extended periods.
In a report posted on their website, George Lusty, Senior Director for Consumer Protection at the CMA made it clear that while Jumpman and Progress Play were not the only online casinos being singled out at this time for these practices, they were definitely not the only ones engaging in them saying:
Jumpman Gaming and Progress Play are the first to commit to scrap their unfair withdrawal rules, but we expect companies across the sector to follow suit so no-one gets caught out with unfair terms and conditions when gambling online.
Paul Hope, Executive Director, Gambling Commission chimes in his support for the action saying:
We support the outcome of the CMA’s investigation, and we’re pleased that both of the operators involved have committed to making changes that will make it fairer and simpler for customers to withdraw funds from their online gambling accounts.
The actions undertaken by the CMA are part of a larger effort by the British government to force online casinos into accepting more consumer friendly practices that’s been ongoing for the past couple of years.