The UKGC is set to implement widespread changes across the industry with ‘light touch’ affordability checks being triggered after a spend of £150 a month.
With the intention of ‘boosting safety and choice for consumers’, the new measures are following a myriad of white paper consultations and will be implemented in four stages: August 2024, November 2024, January 2025 and February 2025.
In a bid to smooth the transition process as much as possible, these checks will initially come into force at £500 a month from 30 August 2024, before reducing to £150 a month from 28 February 2025.
Off the back of consultation feedback, the Commission will carry out a pilot to test the details of frictionless assessments in practice, working with credit reference agencies and gambling businesses to examine the potential consumer impact.
The initial pilot period for these new measures will involve the biggest operators, in order to enable the UKGC to gain the deepest possible understanding over their impact.
Furthermore, new regulations will also impact game design – reducing speed and intensity of online slots, as the UKGC underlines it is seeking to make them ‘fairer and increasing consumer understanding about game play’.
The extension of rules will reduce the speed and intensity of online slots and games as well, ending operator-led functionalities which facilitate playing multiple simultaneous products such as roulette and blackjack tables. Slam stops will also be curtailed as a result of the guidelines.
The regulations aim to end the ‘illusion of control’ when it comes to igaming in a bid to harmonise the guidelines across the igaming space.
Rules that currently apply to online slots will also be applied to other games, eradicating audio or visual celebrations of returns less than or equal to stake. These additional changes will come into force on 17 January 2025.
Additionally on this date, changes around marketing will be implemented, with operators being required to enable players to opt-in to the channels that they want to receive marketing from.
Andrew Rhodes, Gambling Commission CEO, commented: “As a gambling regulator it’s vital that the introduction of new rules is based on evidence and takes into account the views of consumers and other interested parties.
“We have listened to the views expressed in our engagement and in the consultation responses, and we have made changes while still ensuring that we deliver meaningful protections.
“We are also pleased to be taking forward a pilot of financial risk assessments and data collection, which together will ensure that we can make informed decisions about how these assessments can be implemented in a way that supports both consumer freedom and protections.
“We have to get the balance right between protecting people from the potentially life-ruining effects of gambling-related harm and respecting the freedom of adults to engage in an activity that the vast majority do so without experiencing harm.”
Updating the media, the UKGC’s Tim Miller was keen to emphasise the importance of balance and how impactful the consultation period was, highlighting the pilot and the extended period for implementation as being key to allowing businesses to adjust to the new framework.
BGC introduces new voluntary code
The changes come in line with the Betting and Gaming Council establishing a new ‘voluntary code on customer checks’, aiming to minimise frictions of financial checks and enhance the strength of KYC duties.
These checks have been rolled out as a voluntary measure for BGC members, detailing actions required when customers’ accounts exceed net deposits of £5,000 in a rolling month or £25,000 within a 12-month period.
Members applying the code “must undertake a risk assessment of that customer to: i) understand their financial situation (if not already known); and ii) assess whether that customer is displaying any indicators of harm”.
For higher wagering customers, who deposit over £25,000 annually, operators will need to request financial documents, detailed as an “enhanced consideration (which may be similar to an operator’s existing enhanced due diligence process)”.
BGC Chair, Michael Dugher, stated: “This Code is good progress toward solving an issue that has generated such heated public debate. It will significantly increase the consistency of safer gambling standards while removing intrusive document checks for many who are currently subject to detailed checks.
“I wish to see a new Code on Anti-Money Laundering Checks to complement this Code on Customer Checks to further raise standards on consistency and reduce the disproportionate need for document requests, rightly ensuring that betting with our members remains free from crime.”
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Andrew Rhodes will be a key speaker at the upcoming CasinoBeats Summit in Malta.
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