A sting in the tale: industry positivity over House of Lords report is premature

The House of Lords analysis into the UK gambling sector has been treated with praise by both the industry and campaigners alike, but who is right to be most cheered?

report into gambling harmTime for Action

Optimism or wishful thinking?

Urgency of action

A crisis or an opportunity?

Affordability

The Gambling Commission must amend its Formal Guidance for Remote Gambling Operators to define the minimum steps which operators should take when considering customer affordability […] allowing operators to share with all other operators the information they derive from affordability checks on individuals. It should be a condition of gambling licences that where an operator’s affordability check throws doubt on whether an individual can safely gamble at the rate they have been doing, this information should be shared with all other licensed gambling operators, which will be bound by it in the same way. We recommend that the banks should work together with UK Finance to create an industry-wide protocol on blocking gambling payments, with at least a 48-hour cooling off period. The Gambling Commission, the Betting and Gaming Council, and UK Finance should work with the Information Commissioner’s Office to create a consistent industry-wide approach on the sharing of customers’ financial data for the purpose of affordability checks.

CRM

Advertisements which are objectively seen as offering inducements to people to start or to continue gambling, or which create a sense of urgency about placing bets, should be banned. The licence conditions should be amended to prohibit operators from sending communications offering inducements to bet to individuals, or identifiable groups of individuals, unless they have agreed to take part in VIP schemes.

Stake levels

We recommend that the government should reinstate the triennial reviews of maximum stake and prize limits, and they should be extended to include both gaming machines and online gambling products.

In-play

We recommend that the government should work with the Gambling Commission to establish a category system for online gambling products. The government and the Gambling Commission should use the online product categories to set stake limits for online gambling products.

Live streaming

The social responsibility code of practice must be amended to prohibit licensees from offering bet to view inducements, such as making the watching of a sport conditional on having an account with a gambling operator. The consequence of this will be that the Football Association, any other body with the rights to show football matches, and anybody with similar rights in relation to other sports, will no longer be able to sell those rights to licensed gambling operators.

Affordability House of Lords In-play Insight Regulation UK Gambling Commission UK government