PoC implementation to be put back
Members of RGA sent letter explaining new PoC regulation is unlikely to come into force until June
The new regulatory framework set to transform the UK gambling market is unlikely to come into force until June, the Remote Gambling Association (RGA) has advised.
The RGA today (Monday) notified its members the Gambling Commission’s preferred timetable leading to a 1 April start date will be delayed by at least one month and possibly two as the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill makes its way through parliament.
The second reading of the Bill in the House of Lords is set for 17 December but given the Christmas recess, the Bill can’t now complete its passage through the upper house before the New Year.
With the potential of amendments to the Bill during the House of Lords stages, further delays are possible and the RGA states Royal Assent of the Bill is now unlikely to occur before March 2014.
“April is off the cards now so unless there is some completely unforeseen additional delay we’d expect the revised ‘go live’ date be in May or June with a three-month licensing window preceding it,” Clive Hawkswood, RGA chief executive, told eGaming Review.
“I don’t think they have to stick to the first of the month, but realistically we’re probably looking at June for the new regime – if it gives everyone another month or two’s breathing space then so much the better and it’s certainly no cause for concern,” he added.
Hawkswood also said the RGA decided to alert its members to the delay in order to manage expectations and so people could “relax a bit more over Christmas” rather than worry about readying licence applications for January.
A spokesperson for the Gambling Commission said that it had always stated implementation would take place around three months after the Bill is given Royal Assent, as such, any delay to the parliamentary timetable would cause the date to slip back.
The news comes after eGR reported last week that the Gambling Commission had conceded it was unlikely to process software supplier licences in time for the start of the new regime.
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