Gambling Commission

The UKGC Rolls Out Better Gambling Protection Rules

Posted by Craig Gustling on in Blog, Local, News, UK Today / 0 Comment

The United Kingdom has been consistently hailed as a role model for online gambling licensure and regulation. Some gaming professionals are however of a different view. This is because most companies have in the recent past violated the various laws, rules, and regulations that govern gambling.

 

Some of these violations include those stipulated by the Advertising Standards Authority and the United Kingdom Gambling Commission. Examples of these violations include running misleading advertisements, targeting children who are not mature enough to gamble, and placing unnecessary restrictions on the withdrawals of earnings.

 

These violations have led to public outcries from various quarters. Most gamblers have complained of misleading bonuses and adverts. Most parents have also expressed concerns that their children have been unnecessarily bombarded with undesirable advertisements.

 

In response to these complaints, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission has put in place measures that are geared towards rectifying these problems. It has subsequently announced the introduction of new rules that gambling firms shall have to abide by starting from October 31st, 2018.

 

These rules and regulations are largely geared towards safeguarding the interests of the consumers especially from those adverts that are deemed misleading. They are also meant to shield the vulnerable segments of the population from undue exploitation and deception.

The most significant aspect of these restrictions is stiffer penalties on the companies that violate these regulations. Additionally, the gambling commission shall have the powers to enforce the new laws which shall also include the ability to impose hefty penalties on those operators that breach the prevailing advertising rules.

 

Further to these, the gambling operators shall be required to resolve any complaints that arise internally. They shall do so within an eight-week window. In case this window elapses without the dispute having been conclusively dealt with, the third-party shall be free to bring the said issue to an arbitration body.

 

The commission had these to say about the new regulations: “We will now have the teeth to deal appropriately with all the emerging issues. We shall particularly deal ruthlessly with the firms that tend to glorify gambling. We shall also be unforgiving to those gambling operators that tend to target children and other vulnerable persons in the society.”

 

Other than these, the commission has also put in measures to make it easier for the gamblers to receive their dues. It has lifted the cumbersome withdrawal restrictions that most operators put in place to prevent their gamblers from receiving their incomes. The same case shall apply to unsolicited commercial e-mails.

 

Neil McArthur, the Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission, had these comments to state:

“It is our utmost priority to shield the interests of the consumers. The same has to apply to the gambling operators. The changes we have instituted shall offer added protection from irresponsible adverts and misleading promos. They shall also see to it that gamblers withdraw their incomes faster and smoothly.”

 

These measures shall undoubtedly inflate the costs of doing business. However, they are also beneficial to the gambling operators. They have the impact of instilling confidence on the gamblers. This has the attendant positive impact of increased revenue inflows and income of the operators.

 

Brand New Advertising Rules Imposed on Gambling Operators

Posted by Craig Gustling on in Blog, Local, News, UK Today / 0 Comment

The gambling industry is taking a toll on the British society. This is with regards to findings that was deduced by the joint Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the Gambling Commission committees. These findings deduced that online gamblers were hardest hit with the menace.

 

Most members of the British society have lodged complaints with the UK regulatory watchdog. Indeed the watchdog has received countless complaints from the members of the public. They have particular raise issues with the fact that the government failed to deal conclusively with the £100-per-spin fixed-odds betting terminals. These two terminals jointly earned a whopping £1.8 billion a year for the bookies.

 

As a response to these complaints and criticisms, the government has instituted harsh reactions. These restrictions mainly govern the kinds of persons they might impact as well as the number of persons they may possibly reach.

 

It came up with these stringent measures after holding a thorough and inclusive consultative forum with the various stakeholders in the field of gambling. These include the various betting firms, consumer watchdog agencies, and representatives of gamblers.

 

To make these resolutions a reality, the UK gambling commission has issued several directives to these effects. It has made it simpler for gamblers to redeem their deposits in the event that the gambling company concerned is found guilty of violating the laid down rules of engagement. This directive shall take effect officially on 31st October 2018.

 

Also, the betting firms that are found guilty of breaching the laid down codes of conducts that face heavy fines. Some of the most critical areas that will attract these heavy fines shall be adverts that target small children, those that tend to make gambling appear glamorous, those have misleading information and those that tend to encroach into the personal space and privacy of consumers. This Directive shall also apply to the third party marketing firms like the marketing agencies.

 

Over and above these fines, the gambling commission has also imposed an eight-week cap on the resolution of all disputes. This is to minimize the tension that generally builds up whenever such issues arise. It will also guarantee a speedy resolution of the said issues and ultimately confer greater inconveniences to the consumers.

 

A couple of betting firms have already arrived at their way-forwards as regards these new developments. Ladbrokes, BGO Entertainment, William Hill, and PT Entertainment have already indicated that they will alter their rules of bonuses. They have stated that they will revise the way in which they issue their bonuses to be consistent with the new regulations.

Brian Chappell, the founder of the Justice for Punters, had these to say:

‘It is interesting to note that the Gambling Commission has finally conceded the fact that gamblers require tighter regulatory frameworks. It is not possible to state with absolute certainty that these regulations will truly achieve their desired ends at the moment. The truth shall become clearer only with time. Let’s wait and see if these regulations shall bring about far-reaching repercussions. Even though this directive is not comprehensive, it is nonetheless highly welcome.’

 

United Kingdom Gambling Commission Seeks the Right Methodology to Gauge Gambling Impacts

Posted by Craig Gustling on in Blog, Local, News, UK Today / 1 Comment

The United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC), which oversees gambling, has decided to step in to stem the tide of gambling-related harms.

 

The commission has decided to put in place groundbreaking approach towards comprehending the extent of the impacts to the British society. It has as a matter of fact released the published findings to the public.

 

This study was spearheaded by Dr. Heather Wardle, who heads the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board (RGSB). This is the body that provides independent advice to the United Kingdom Gambling Commission. The report was generated by a close partnership between The Responsible Gambling Strategy Board and the Gambling Commission. It was funded by the GambleAware.

 

In a nutshell, the report recommends that the manner in which the social costs of gambling-related harms may be gauged and better understood should be suggested.

 

To accomplish the purpose stated above, the report aims at:

  • Settling on a universally accepted standard definition of gambling and attendant harms which may be adopted by public health officials and policymakers.

 

  • Ascertain the manner in which the socioeconomic impacts of gambling and related harms may be better comprehended, monitored, and evaluated.

 

  • Put in place a framework against which subsequent actions which finds out how the harms which may be felt by families, individuals and communities may be dealt with.

 

  • Find out the best ways possible through which to estimate the social costs of gambling and related harms.

 

This is what Neil McArthur, the Gambling Commission Chief Executive, had to say,

‘Whereas most customers may enjoy gambling without any worries, we just cannot overlook the possible adverse effects the practice might inflict on certain communities, families, and individuals. This report demonstrates significant progress towards comprehending those negative side effects as well as gauging their possible impacts on the wider society and  the entire economy.’

 

The lead author of the report, Dr. Heather Wardle, had this to comment:

‘This is a remarkable step towards understanding gambling. It is a far cry from the existing approaches in that it acknowledges gambling as being able to affect communities, families, and society over and above individuals only.’

 

GambleAware chief executive officer, Marc Etches, on the other hand, had this to say:

‘Problem gambling is undoubtedly a health concern. It has the abilities to inflict critical social and economic consequences to the individuals concerned as well as their families, communities, friends, and the society in totality. This is why this project is very significant. We urgently need to comprehend what gambling is, as well as its adverse knock-on effects to us.’

 

Over and above the objectives stated above, the initiative also aims at putting in place an effective framework which considers the possible impacts of gambling and related harms. This framework is to be extended to the families and communities wherein the gamblers reside. It even dares to gauge the overall costs of gambling in the entire society.

 

Neil McArthur, the Gambling Commission Chief Executive, further had this to say:

‘Significant progress towards understanding the possible side effects of gambling as well as measuring its adverse impacts on the entire British Society and the economy has already been reached. There is still a lot more to be done, though.’

 

 

 

UKGC Claims LadBrokes Misled it in the Case Probe Against Black Dave

Posted by Craig Gustling on in Blog, Local, News, UK Today / 1 Comment

The UK Gambling Commission claims that Ladbrokes betting company misled it while probing the Black Dave case. The commission further stressed the need to exercise great caution while confronting Rule #4 deductions in the horse racing by the bookmakers.

 

The lead trainer, David Evans, was fined a year ago by the ruling body of the horse race. This was due to the fact that he delayed notifying a non-runner, Tango Sky so that he could support his acquaintance, Black Dave as should have been the case. This should have happened before the odds shortened. He informed Ladbrokes of his intention to pull out Tango Sky moments after placing his bet.

 

This, the gambling commission argued, constituted a breach of trust. This, it argued, was not only unethical but also goes against the goodwill that ought to exist between the companies and the customers.

 

Throughout the probe, Ladbrokes maintained that it was unaware of why it had to shorten the odds of Tango Sky as soon as Evans had placed his bet. This notwithstanding, the Commission received tangible proof that it did so in order to leverage the deductions of Rule #4.

This it did supposedly to prevent Evans from winning the bets that had already been placed. The Commission further claims that Ladbrokes did not review all the information available to it thoroughly before providing those inaccurate explanations.

 

Notwithstanding these glaring discrepancies, Ladbrokes managed to escape the consequences. This was alleged because those actions did not constitute a breach of the commission’s licensing conditions or codes of conduct. The case also occurred way before the public statements of the gambling commission as regards the fair application of Rule #4.

As an acknowledgment of its initiative to point out the case to the racing regulator on the material day of the race, Ladbrokes was credited. The firm, it is understood, saved £7.70 by shedding off Tango Sky’s price in what was considered a weak race for a turnover.

 

In response to this misfortune, the gambling commission has now stipulated new regulations which it requires all the betting firms to apply the Rule #4. Most betting officials are however pessimistic about these new regulations.

 

A Ladbrokes Coral statement had this to say:

‘We initially interpreted what transpired when the price was altered to be inaccurate. This is a fact that became very clear when we examined the finer details.’

The statement further added:

‘Shortening the Tango Sky’s odds was inconsistent with its trading policy at that particular time. This action has since made it known to the traders that markets have to be suspended immediately such issues arise in future.’

 

The gambling commission has further insisted that betting companies must factor what transpired in the Black Dave case and subsequent reactions of Ladbrokes. It also reminded the players that the long-term viability of the sector is greatly hinged on the customer trust.

Further to that, the gambling watchdog insisted that it would continue monitoring the situation and if called for, exercise the formal regulatory powers on the specific bookmaker and the entire gambling industry.

 

In response to these sweeping measures, the bookmaker had these to say:

‘Our initial understanding of what unfolded at the time the price was altered was not right. We only learned of this though when the case was examined in details. Moreover, the company also explained that Tango Sky’s price reduction was not in line with its trading policy at that particular time. It had also warned its traders of the same. ’

 

In light of these developments, the UK gambling industry is expected to undergo spectacular transformations. It will be interesting to see just how far-reaching these developments shall go.

 

 

 

Gambling firms Now Exposed over Consumer Welfare Attitude

Posted by Craig Gustling on in Blog, Local, News / 1 Comment

The Gambling Commission of the UK is working hard to enhance safer and fairer gambling in the industry, in a bid to improve consumer protection.

 

The Gambling Commission Chief Executive has insisted that they are focusing on making gambling much safer and fairer to all clients. He also goes further to say that the business of gambling should collaborate and invest an equal amount of resources into data, research, and technology to enhance and solidify the protection of their client. This should be given priority just as this company do to create new products, marketing campaigns, and advertising.

 

Leaders of gambling companies, have been called into action to set the tone and lead in a culture of following the rules for compliance and putting the welfare of the customers first. They should strive in continuously raising the standards for the benefits of their clients.

 

The gambling firms which fail to comply with the rules risk of being exposed to various sanctions. That includes, hefty fines or eventual withdrawal of their operating licenses indefinitely or for a fixed period of time. For instance, the Gambling company 32Red faced a fine of £2 million for failing to provide protection to a problem gambler. Another gambling firm known as William Hill received a penalty of £6.2 million for breaching the social responsibility and anti-money laundering regulations.

 

The gambling commission is keen on tackling the issue of firms having the ability to spot betting patterns which seem unusual, which could likely be caused by people getting into financial hardships through betting. It could also be as a result of money laundering. The chief executive says that betting firms need to know their customers in such a way that they can know how capable they are to afford the money being used. The companies need to use all the data they have to get to understand their customers well at an early stage. This is to enhance controlling the amount a certain customer can bet with by imposing limits.

 

Child protection has been the main issue of focus on tackling the gambling problems. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is also part of this revolutionary strategy. It has recently banned some online slot adverts as they looked appealing to younger children. This included some coral gambling adverts which featured animated images such as the leprechaun that particularly showed a high appeal to the teenagers.

 

The Gambling Commission assumes that, total responsibility has been taken by the Advertising Standards Authority to discipline those who breach the rules of targeting vulnerable customers. Educating the public is an initiative that has been taken seriously by the Gambling Commission. Gamble Aware which is a charity in the industry, orders to provide treatment to the people who have already been affected, as well as do an extra thorough investigation into matters pertaining gambling problems.

 

 

Banach Technology Receives an Investment Boost from Investors for Expanding their Startup

Posted by Craig Gustling on in Blog, Local, News, UK Today / 1 Comment

One of the leading betting technology companies in Ireland, Banach Technology, raised a vast $2.55m funds for startups from investors.

 

Some of the investors that contributed towards the raising of these funds for startups included Cormac McCarty and Patrick Kennedy. Both the investors have served in corporate leadership positions at Paddy Powers. Patrick Kennedy is the former Chief Executive Officer for Paddy Powers, and Cormac McCarthy served in the area of Chief Financial Officer at Paddy Power.

 

Banach Technology was also backed by investors such as Stewart Kenny and David Power. Banach Technology is a company that provides gambling groups with products, pricing and customer experience systems and has worked with renowned brands such as GVC Holdings.

 

GVC holdings are the sole owner of BWin and Ladbrokes. Currently, the Chief Executive Officer for Banach Technology is one Mark Huges and has also worked for Paddy Powers serving in the position of Senior Quantitative Analyst and the Head of Quants. Also, the other co-corporate executives for Banach Technologies have a history with Paddy Powers including Rob Reck who is the Managing Director for Banach. Speaking to Sunday Times, the Managing Director for

 

Banach reported that the funding that they received from investors was by a large extend oversubscribed. Also, Rob Reck stated that Banach Technology was looking forward to hiring more than a dozen employees to work for the company. Banach Technology is to increase the number of their staff from 12 to 30 workers with the inclusion of hiring software engineers and quant mathematicians. Banach Technology is a startup that as attracted shareholders such as the owner for Red Tiger and also an entrepreneur in the field of gaming Nick Maughan.

 

Banach Technology is a firm that has based their operations in Dublin, and the structure of the corporate leadership is one with extensive expertise in the industry with a good number having worked for Paddy Powers. Banach Technology is a company that is bringing a revolution to the trade of betting. The technology developed by Banach will enhance customer engagement and also improve the operator margin across the board for all channels. It was reported that, the products being provided by Banach Technology are designed around the empowering of customers.

 

The users will be able to come up with a structured bet that is customized and will feature correlated multiples of the same game. Banach Technology was founded in the year 2015 by an executive team of mathematicians and technologists. The senior management team comprises Mark Hughes who is the CEO and is a Bsc holder in the field of economics and finance having studied at the University College of Dublin. Rob Reck is the Managing Director and holds an MBS in the area of Actuarial Science from the University College Dublin.

 

Furthermore, Rob Reck has a Bachelor’s in Maths and Mathematical Physics that he obtained from University College Dublin. Alex Zevenbergen is the Chief Technical Officer for Banach Technology, and he holds a BSc in Business and information systems from the University College Cork.

 

Adrien Lepretre is the Chief Operating Officer for the Dublin based organization and holds an MSc in Quantitative Finance from the University College of Dublin. Also, Adrien Lepretre holds a BSc in Economics that he obtained at HEC Lausanne. Banach Technology is headed for greater heights in the gambling industry, and the executives are focused on expanding their venture. The firm is now focused on bringing on board new and skilled employees with the vision of growing their wings.

 

 

An Online Casino 32Red is Facing a £2m Fine after Violating Customer Welfare Procedures

Posted by Craig Gustling on in Blog, Local, News, UK Today / 1 Comment

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) filed a lawsuit against a reputable online gambling firm, 32Red after it has failed to protect its customers in what is termed as to protect a problem gambler, money laundering, and social responsibility checks. 32Red was slapped with a £2m fine penalty.

 

In gambling, customer welfare is a priority factor to consider in their operations. The Gambling Commission presented enough evidence about their case against 32Red. They mainly urged with 22 incidents that clearly could prove that the customer had gambling problems. Their proof was an investigation of the customer dealings as from November 2014 to April 2017 of a customer who had deposited £758,000.

 

Before any customer deposits any amount to a gambling firm, the firm is supposed to do money laundering, and social responsibilities check as required by the law set via the gambling commission. These checks are not only intended to stop any form of money frauds that would want to get clean via gambling channels but also would help those with gambling problems from losing all their money to gambling.

 

32Red not only accepted a deposit of £758,000 without doing the proper checks required but also offered some bonuses to encourage the customer to keep on betting more frequently with them. Despite their client having a net salary of £2,150, the client was still able to raise an average amount of £45,000 monthly. According to the 32Red company, the customer cheated claiming a net salary of £13,000 monthly of which, t was still not credible enough to accept those monthly deposits to a gambling firm by law. The customer won a seven-figure digit, but surprisingly he reinvested back to the same gambling firm of which this is an alarming case of problem gambling. 32Red failed in their obligation to take the rightful procedures by reviewing their customers’ financial status and asses the social responsibility in all of their deposits. The customer took more than a month to validate issues concerning his financial position while on the other hand, 32Red could not clearly explain on how the client had acquired that money he deposited to them since the firm failed to fulfill their money laundering procedures on their customers.

 

The £2m fine accounted for a £1.3m payment that was to go to a Gambling strategy plan that intends to tackle issues on problem gambling, a £709,046 divestment on the financial gain while the rest covered up for the investigation costs, policy improvement and risk management departments.

 

Kindred who owned 32Red accepted the penalty and pledged that all measures supposed to be done will be implemented to ensure that all customers will be enjoying gambling in a safe and secure environment where no law will be violated. Improvements and changes affecting both the processing and procedures were implemented immediately. These changes included; a review on all current customers profiles against the revised policies, a third party group that helps in anti-money laundering detection and companies in the same platform unified so that they work together toward the same goal in an organized manner.

 

Richard Watson who was the commission’s executive director said that instead of gambling firms motivating or even convincing their customers to gamble more like the case of 32Red gambling firms are expected to be limiting the amount their customers are dedicating to gambling guided with the specified checks. Other gambling firms like Sky Bet, Tab-corp and William Hill found themselves in the same trap as 32Red resulting to large sums of fines as penalties for failing to prioritize customer welfare on their procedures and operations.

 

 

 

Sky Betting and Gaming Makes Its Partnership with IWG Official

Posted by Craig Gustling on in Blog, Local, News, UK Today / 1 Comment

On May 22, 2018, Sky Betting and Gaming announced its partnership and latest agreement with Instant Win Gaming (IWG). Following the deal between the two gaming giants, IWG agreed to deliver its full portfolio of games to Sky Bingo.

 

During the announcement, Robert Proctor of Sky Betting and Gaming cited the company’s delight to partner with IWG, the leading supplier of instant win games globally. The content and commercial manager also added that his company was very impressed with the IWG’s quality of games and the seamless manner in which their games portfolio integrated with the Sky Bingo’s platform.

 

Good news for Sky Bingo players

The partnership between Sky Betting and Gaming and IWG is great news for lovers of bingo. Sky Bingo is the largest bingo sports book in the UK, and for the first time, the brand is offering IWG suite of games on its site. This includes the popular IWG classic Cash Butter Series.

 

During the event, IWG CEO, Rhydian Fisher, said: “We’re thrilled to offer our quality portfolio of games through the UK’s largest bingo sports book.”

 

He also added that the latest agreement between the two companies is an indicator of the growing demand for instant win games. According to him, the partnership also highlights IWG’s strength in developing and supplying online instant win games.

 

About IWG

Instant Win Gaming is an American based company renowned for its online instant win games portfolio. The company offers branded games to lotteries and gaming brands through commercial partnerships, and last year it won a B2B online lottery supplier of the year award.

 

Although IWG has more than 12 years experience in delivering comprehensive instant win gaming solutions to customers in America and other regulated markets, its partnership with Sky Betting and Gaming marks its largest stride in penetrating the UK gaming market. IWG will deliver its full game portfolio to Sky bingo players through its Progressive Play Remote Game Server (RGS) network.

 

What the partnership means for Bingo players

The launch of IWG suite of games with sky Bingo marks the beginning of an exciting journey for bingo players in the UK. Fans of gambling can now play an array of games from IWG’s suite on Sky Bingo’s site and win instant cash prizes. Some of the popular games in the company’s portfolio includes  Super Cash Busters, Crossword Cash, Lucky 7×7, Fast Buck, Gold rush,  Monopoly, Lucky Picks, and Bang for your Buck.