UK government and Gambling Commission begin white paper consultations
First round of consultations to examine six key areas related to the proposals outlined in the white paper to overhaul Britain's gambling laws
The UK government and the Gambling Commission (GC) have called on a range of industry stakeholders and treatment providers to supply evidence as part of the white paper into the Gambling Act 2005 review.
These discussions form a part of the objectives of the white paper, which was finally published at the end of April after getting underway in 2020.
These consultations will focus on six key areas: financial risk and vulnerability, remote games design, customer choice on direct marketing, land-based age verification, personal management licences and regulatory panels.
As part of the financial risk and vulnerability focus, there is a requirement for operators to conduct risk-based checks if a player meets certain loss criteria.
There are “light touch” background checks for players who accrue a net loss threshold of £125 in a rolling month or a yearly net loss of £500. Net loss is deemed deposited losses rather than re-staked winnings.
The proposal is for “enhanced spending checks” on those players who have a net loss of £1,000 in a rolling 24 hour period or a £2,000 net loss in a rolling 90 days. The thresholds would be halved for under 25s.
As part of the same focus area, there is a recommendation for maximum stakes on slot machines of between £2 and £15 per spin, with options to introduce further protections for those aged between 18 and 24.
These protections could be a lower limit of between £2 and £4 or a requirement for operators to consider age as a risk factor for gambling-related harm.
As part of the consultations, operators can also comment on the suggestion to clarify and expand operator staff management roles required for a personal management licence.
The consultation on stake limits will close on 20 September, the consultation on land-based operations will end on 4 October, and the financial risk consultation will conclude on 18 October.
A statement from Stuart Andrew, the UK’s gambling minister, reiterated that the purpose of the white paper is to update “our decades old gambling laws to make them fit for the smartphone era”.
He continued: “Slot machines in casinos, arcades and betting shops have strict stake limits, but very similar games online have none, which can lead to very large and rapid losses of money.
“Today we are launching a consultation for a range of views on what the stake limit should be. I encourage you to have your say.”
Tim Miller, GC executive director for research and policy, explained how pivotal these consultations are in the context of the next stages of gambling reform.
“These consultations offer the opportunity for people to have their say on proposals aimed at empowering and protecting consumers,” he said.
“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.
We are pleased to now focus consultation and engagement on the detail of how such protections and controls can be implemented in practice. Today’s launch is a key moment in turning the commitments in the white paper into reality,” Miller concluded.
Later this summer, the government is set to launch a consultation on the details of the new operator levy, which is a charge on firms to fund research, education and treatment (RET) for gambling-related harms.
The consultation will explore options for the design of the levy, the amount to be collected, funding distribution and governance.
On the RET consultation, health minister Will Quince said: “Harmful gambling has widespread impacts. It affects more than people’s money but their relationships and health as well.
“We are working to protect people from the damaging impacts of harmful gambling by improving treatment options with specialist NHS gambling addiction treatment services.
“Seven new gambling clinics will open this summer bringing vital support to more parts of the country, on top of the eight that are already open. We will be working to better understand the evidence received in order to inform our approach.”