UK gambling finds itself in a very different position compared to this time last year, after a sea of regulatory changes and an intensified effort to foster better support for operators.
The UKGC’s Chief Executive Andrew Rhodes emphasised that work is only going to accelerate in the coming year, as he addressed delegates at the third annual briefing for industry CEOs and senior leaders, which according to the regulatory boss was represented by over 85% of the UK’s market GGY in attendance.
“Let’s be clear – this is a very different situation we find ourselves in,” Rhodes added.
“Any operator of any real size and scale now who does not have well-developed algorithms, policies, procedures, interactions and interventions in place is increasingly an outlier and this will become more obvious as the industry continues to make developments in this area,” Rhodes commented.
Looking to bolster support for operators that are navigating changing headwinds, the UKGC worked closely with the Betting & Gaming Council (BGC) to launch a voluntary code of conduct addressing the frictions often seen in consumer protection.
Incorporated in that code was the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) guidance, with the latest 3.4.3 iteration of it still being adapted to by operators.
As a result of the latest set of regulatory guidance, consumer protection assessment outcomes have improved throughout 2024. According to Rhodes, only 42% of those assessments came back with ‘Good/Satisfactory’ results between April and June this year.
Data from July to September however has brought that number up to 75%, with just 25% constituting significant failings – with the general outlook being that this will soon improve further.
The UKGC’s shift in assessment approach now includes a deeper analysis divided by sectors, sub-sectors and operator tiers, which will result in a change of the proportion of operators with positive outcomes. This approach will provide a clearer picture of the gambling landscape in the UK and make it easier to identify the “outliers” in compliance.
Another element that the UKGC has committed to improving is simplifying “complicated issues” deriving from the numerous mergers and acquisitions, which then – despite not deliberate – often lead to marketing mishaps caused by a complicated tech stack where advertisements reach even those who are considered vulnerable.
Referring to the first meeting of its kind in 2022, Rhodes added: “I said then… [that] we would enter a much more complicated phase of regulation, where we would instead be dealing with more nuanced and more complicated issues, with less obvious solutions. This is where I think we are now.”
Elevated action to tackle the black market
Rhodes also utilised his platform to underline the need for increased alignment and commercial due diligence to disrupt the black market.
The Commission is at the heart of international efforts in combating illegal gambling activities as “Since the start of April this year, the team has issued over 770 cease-and-desist and disruption notices, including 262 cease-and-desist notices to operators and 205 to advertisers.”
Rhodes praised a “strong start in its approach” but underpinned that enforcement requires greater market insights to support ongoing research into understanding the true scale of illegal gambling, targeting the UK and other regulated markets.
Commercial transparency is highlighted as a key mechanism to protect regulated markets. Rhodes called on licensed operators to conduct due diligence to ensure suppliers are not supporting illegal activity. The Commission will be strengthened by enforcement efforts aimed at enhancing trust through better compliance, transparency, and communication.
“I said to you last year that I wanted to encourage you to use your commercial influence with any partner or supplier to ensure they were taking all the relevant steps to verify they were not supporting illegal activity in Great Britain. Today, I am going one step further and strongly suggest you all undertake due diligence to ensure none of your suppliers are directly or indirectly engaged in supporting unlicensed activity in this market.”
The Commission’s strategy to combat illegal gambling focuses on causing as much upstream disruption as possible. This includes targeting internet service providers (ISPs), payment providers, search engines, software suppliers, and more.
