William Hill

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.’

 

UK Betting Firms Under Probe Following the World Cup Fallout

Posted by Craig Gustling on in Blog, Local, News, UK Today / 2 Comments

During the just-concluded 2018 FIFA World Cup, many people and households complained about being bombarded with betting and gambling adverts. Much of the complaints have concerned the intrusive nature of those adverts.

 

world cupMany have claimed that the adverts ate a few of their live matches. A number of the complaints have concerned the urgent manner in which the advertisers have wanted their target audience to bet. In light of this, a whopping 115 have forwarded their complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority.

 

An independent study by the Guardian deduced that on average, UK viewers were exposed to around 90 minutes of betting adverts throughout the four-week tournament. The research also pointed out that most parents were uncomfortable with the fact that their children were exposed to such adverts.

 

This, they argued had the impact of normalizing gambling and inducing their young ones to the practice before they are old enough to do so. Lastly, there was also concern among viewers of the way in which the betting firms push their message. Most they said used pressure tactics that made them respond impulsively. There was some unanimity among the viewers that some appropriate actions be taken in response to this menace.

 

In light of these allegations, the UK advertising watchdog has instituted official investigations. The main target is the Bet365, Carol, and William Hill which has been identified as the greatest culprits. They have allegedly broken the new rules that were put in place to put a halt on problem gambling.

 

These three firms have been noted to have crossed certain boundaries. The formats they use and the messages they have used have particularly been identified and being way off the mark. These approaches are not recommended for gambling adverts as they tend to encourage problem gambling.

 

The UK advertising watchdog is currently evaluating those complaints to ascertain the grounds on which to institute formal investigations. They are particularly going to deduce whether the tactics that were used by those companies indeed violated the advertising codes of the United Kingdom.

 

The advertising watchdog is expected to follow the footsteps of its Australian counterparts in charting the way forward. In light of this, it is anticipated to recommend a variety of steps to be taken in response to the menace. It may, for instance, recommend an overhaul of the existing laws, an alteration of the mandate of the advertising watchdog, and the penalization of the at-fault betting firms.

 

The UK advertising watchdog has no jurisdiction to oversee the number of adverts which appear in the FIFA World Cup matches. This is because such matches fall outside the mandate of the rules which govern gambling companies and their adverts, especially towards small children. It is therefore interesting to see its recommendations as regards the way forward.

 

This being the case, the Advertising Standards Authority shall only be to determine whether the said betting adverts which featured live odds broke the new rules that we put in place in February. It will also seek to determine whether the firms encouraged the menace of problem gambling.

 

Farther afield, many other nations have already started taking this path. Italy, for instance, has already started putting in a legal framework to completely ban gambling adverts. Its Minister for Labour and Economic Development, Luigi Di Maio has taken the lead on the issue.

 

He noted that whereas the practice of gambling generates plenty of tax revenue to the government, its grave societal repercussions far outweigh the tax revenues. He further termed it as a disease which has to be eliminated by all means. These steps shall take effect from January 2019 despite opposition from a number of betting firms.

 

William Hill’s Stand on Problem Gambling

Posted by Craig Gustling on in Blog, Local, News, UK Today / 2 Comments

With the introduction of gambling, many people found a source of making extra cash on the games that they like. Over the years, more and more people enrolled in gambling across the world. However, the gambling industry has failed to perform its role in preventing the negative effects of gambling.

 

According to William Hill, the stakeholders in the wider gambling industry have launched a new approach to the matter to prevent more harm caused by gambling.William Hill appointed Lyndsay Wright as their first-ever director of sustainability. This gives her an additional role to her already existing roles like the one in charge of strategy and investor relations. According to Lyndsay Wright, the response to gambling-related problems is very significant for the future of the gambling industry. In addition, she stated a number of commitments the William Hill was putting in place to curb problems arising from gambling.

 

As part of the campaign to end gambling-related problems, Lyndsay Wright stated that William Hill as a company is pushing for the registration of all products across the industry. She also added that the firm is taking an active role in the push for reforms in advertising around live sports. The campaign against gambling problems is a result of repeated calls by the Gambling Commission to have the stakeholders in the gambling industry reduce the negative effects of gambling, especially on television advertising.

 

Lyndsay Wright stated that the company has been working to correct the matter for more than nine months. She added that the company is very cautious about the significant decline in people’s perception concerning both the company and the gambling industry at large within the past few years. Also, Lyndsay said that to understand the issue better and respond to it in the right way, the gambling industry needed to ask tough questions within itself and that it’s the ambition of all stakeholders in the gambling industry to ensure gambling harms nobody.

 

According to the Gambling Commission, more than 400,000 people within Britain are problem gamblers. The Commission also added that with there are over two million people who are exposed to the risk of becoming problem gamblers. Research showed that for every one who becomes a problem gambler, there are at least six people who are indirectly affected. This showed that the gambling firms have failed to attain what is expected of them and that the reputation of the gambling industry was at stake.

 

According to Wright, the issue of gambling problems is broad and requires urgent attention for the long-term success of William Hill as well as the entire gambling industry. She added that William Hill is a company that has been in existence for eighty-four years and it needs to handle gambling problems with a lot of care and in the right way for it to survive for a longer period. She added that it is the company’s desire to have the clients not only enjoy gamble but also stay gambling for a long time.

 

 

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.