The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has announced new additions to its licence conditions and codes of practice (LCCP) centered largely around customer affordability and operator communications.
Other changes in the LCCP includes clarifying the role of an alternative dispute resolution (ADR), strengthening requirements on how licensees identify and interact with possible problem gamblers and improve the transparency of funding for research, prevention and treatment.
Paul Hope, UKGC’s executive director, said: “These changes have been designed to make gambling fairer and safer for consumers and we expect gambling firms to meet their responsibilities in these areas.”
New requirements from the regulatory body focus on improving operators’ actions in identifying with customers who may be at risk of or experiencing harms associated with gambling.
Operators will also have to assess the impact that customer interaction has on an individual consumer and the effectiveness of businesses’ overall approach.
Alex Lafferty (Director of Gaming, GBG) described the changes as a “clear effort” to improve the safety of gambling and this acts as “just the beginning” of the agenda on affordability.
He elaborated: “Solutions have been proposed around things like geo-affordability, but to my mind while this can paint part of the picture, certain places – like London or Manchester – have multi-million pound properties in the areas such as social housing, so relying on it as a holistic measure would be a mistake.”
“Rather, linking geo-affordability with more granular financial information like Current Account Turnover (CATO) would drive more informed decisions for operators.”
The Gambling Commission will also enforce new rules on operator responsibilities to contribute on research, prevention and treatment projects in line with the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms.
“Affordability has been a key metric across industries like finance and insurance for years, so it is fair to say that the online gaming space is playing catch up,” continued Lafferty.
“With that in mind, it makes sense that requirements around consumer protection will only become more stringent with time, as they have in other sectors.”
