Gambling Commission advertising stance fuels fresh criticism
Great Britain's regulator refutes claims that defence of advertising policy is "at odds" with Point of Consumption licensing objective
The row which has engulfed the Gambling Commission’s attempts to prevent unlicensed operators from advertising in Great Britain took another twist today after the regulator was accused of undermining one of the main objectives of its forthcoming licensing regime.
In response to questions raised over its advertising policy, the Commission earlier this week suggested a legal argument could be made which would allow unlicensed operators to advertise in Great Britain provided they do not transact with British-based customers.
However, in doing so the regulator also stressed the legal risks involved in such an approach and warned that blocking technology was “not 100% reliable and that it is possible for consumers to circumvent blocking measures”.
And it is this assessment which caught the attention of the Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association (GBGA), a body which is currently pressing for a judicial review of the Point of Consumption (PoC) regulatory framework.
“This admission by the Gambling Commission, that wholesale blocking is not wholly effective, is yet another indication of its lack of readiness to deliver regulation to a global market,” a spokesperson for the GBGA told eGaming Review.
“We firmly believe that this legislation is likely to reduce rather than enhance consumer protection, a fact confirmed by this admission and one which we will convey in court,” the spokesperson added.
Gaming analyst Ivor Jones of Numis Securities told eGR that, in stating consumers could still find and use unlicensed sites, the Commission had undermined one of the new framework’s primary goals.
“The Gambling Commission appears to be at odds with itself,” Jones said. “On one hand it says the new PoC licensing regime will result in greater protection for consumers, while on the other it argues that it isn’t possible to actively block consumers from accessing unlicensed and/or foreign gambling websites,” he added.
However, the Commission has hit back at such claims and said it would continue to protect consumers by preventing unlicensed operators from advertising in Great Britain.
“It’s important not to confuse blocking illegal operators access to advertising and finance and blocking consumers access to illegal sites “ consumers are not acting illegally in accessing such sites,” a Commission spokesperson told eGaming Review.
“The licensing regime will continue as now to protect consumers by making advertising of such sites to those in Britain illegal, and therefore difficult to access except by the determined, and also by providing consumer education and highlighting the risks involved in using illegal unregulated operators.
“The new licensing regime will support the provision of regulated gambling which keeps gambling fair and safe for consumers in Britain by making it much more difficult for illegal operators to access payments from those in Britain or to market here; they will find it much harder to access the British market successfully,” the spokesperson explained.
The licensing window for the new regime opened at the end of June with the new framework set to go live on 1 October.