Strengthening powers to be “dominant policy” for GC in years ahead
Regulator to action white paper recommendation of bolstered remit but notes non-white paper policy will not be explored
The Gambling Commission (GC) has said its “dominant” focus over the coming years will be establishing a greater powerbase for the body as outlined in the white paper into the Gambling Act 2005 review.
In a statement following the release of the document, GC executive director for research and policy Tim Miller detailed the regulator’s forthcoming approach.
He said that the commitment in the white paper to give the GC more funding and power to clampdown on black-market operators would allow it to deliver on its growing remit.
Miller added that the scale of the new body of work for the GC was “significant, and rightly so” as he noted the regulator would now begin this process.
However, Miller further said that given the urgency with which the regulator was pressing ahead in strengthening its presence, policy developments not included in the white paper would not be explored due to time and financial constraints.
Miller explained: “The scale of work outlined in the white paper is significant, and rightly so. This will be the dominant policy initiative for the Commission over the next few years as we move through the stages of development, implementation, evaluation and review.
“Stakeholders will also need to consider and input into each of these stages, and it is important we make it possible to do this in a manageable way. The scale of change, even with increased resources in future, means there will be very little space for the Commission to consider other policy developments not included in the white paper,” he added.
Despite the confirmation that budgetary issues would prevent the GC from exploring new policy, Miller confirmed it would continue to sanction operators for compliance issues at its current rate.
Miller said: “Of course, this focus on implementing the recommendations in the white paper as quickly as possible will not distract us from continuing to robustly pursue compliance with our existing requirements.
“Where gambling operators fail to meet our standards, we will continue to take action to protect consumers and raise standards, whilst at the same time playing our part in meeting the government’s ambition of delivering gambling reform for the digital age.”