UKGC director calls UK-licensed firms’ grey-market operations into question
Tim Miller makes the case for greater international collaboration as he insists global operations outside of UK need to be taken into account when assessing “suitability”
UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) executive director Tim Miller has heaped pressure on UK-licensed operators who continue to operate in grey or black markets as the regulator urges for an international approach to regulation.
Speaking at the ICE World Regulatory Briefing, Miller delivered the strong rhetoric, which, in theory, could have major implications for several firms in the UK.
Miller argued that while no single gambling regulator could be the “world police”, there was a need for closer collaboration and appreciation of operators’ potential shortcomings in other markets.
Miller noted that while an operator may be providing its services legally in one market, activities elsewhere in the world should be taken into account regarding its overall behaviour and suitability to hold a UK licence.
Miller said: “What might be illegal in one jurisdiction might not be in another. Similarly, some jurisdictions don’t yet regulate online gambling at all, and most regulators are largely focused on what operators are doing in their own jurisdictions. Let’s also remember that legitimate, licensed operators from one jurisdiction can actually be the illegal or black market in another.
“No one gambling regulator can be the world police, taking gambling companies to task for everything they do in any part of the world.
“We aren’t resourced to work like that, we don’t have the powers to do that and it’s not what we’re set up to do. But that doesn’t mean we should ignore what an operator who is licensed or based in our jurisdiction is doing elsewhere, especially if that calls into question their suitability to hold a licence.
“Where strong relationships already exist between regulators, we are increasingly seeing the bad practice and bad behaviour of some operators being shared and discussed. And that helps us look at those operators’ practices and operations in our own jurisdictions,” he added.
If this approach was applied practically, it could have major repercussions for leading operators in the UK, with several operating in grey markets, including Asia.
Miller went on to note the UKGC’s ongoing and upcoming working relationships with the new regulators in Ireland and Curaçao , adding that it was “progress across jurisdictions that benefits us all”.