Industry reaction to the publication of the white paper into the Gambling Act 2005 review

After 28 months, three Prime Ministers and five Secretaries of State, the white paper into the Gambling Act 2005 review was finally published on 27 April 2023.

Originally kicked off by former Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Secretary of State Nicky Morgan in December 2020 to bring gambling law in the UK into the digital age, the process has been hampered over its lifespan.

Due to the rumbling effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the merry-go-round of Prime Ministers in 2022, the white paper was delayed on multiple occasions, with it subsequently becoming a spectre looming over the UK gambling industry.

In February 2023, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appointed Lucy Frazer to lead the newly formed Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and her first task was to get the white paper out the door.

Frazer spoke at length in the House of Commons on 27 April in what was a monumental, if ultimately expected, speech that laid out the plans the government has for the sector.

We live in an age where anyone can bet from their mobile phone at any time, any place.

It’s right that @lucyfrazermp is stepping in to protect those at risk to problem gambling, helping to build stronger communities while allowing millions of people to continue to play safely. https://t.co/DMJi4Hmd2z

— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) April 27, 2023

The changes in the review fall into six key categories, the most notable being the much-spoken-about affordability checks, which will see players subject to financial profiling should they hit a certain loss limit.

These checks will come into play once a player accumulates a net loss of £125 in a month or £500 within a year. This will be alongside players being checked for country court judgments and/or a file for bankruptcy.

A higher-level check is done when a player loses over £1,000 or more per day or more than £2,000 over 90 days. In addition, affordability levels triggers for those aged 18 to 24 will be halved due to the increased risk of gambling-related harm for this age group.

There are also new stake limits on online slots of between £2 and £15 per spin and consultation on how best to protect those aged 18 to 24 who show signs of at-risk gambling. That age group will have stakes limited to £2 or £4 per spin, dependent on individual risk.

Additionally, proposals for a 1% statutory levy, a bolstering of powers for the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), the introduction of an ombudsman and a fresh approach to the horseracing betting levy have all been tabled.

EGR spoke to several heads from all corners of the gambling industry to gauge their reaction to the publication of this much-anticipated document.

Operators

Peter Jackson, CEO of Flutter Entertainment

“We welcome the publication of the white paper, which marks a significant moment for the UK gambling sector. While we will need to review the detail of the proposals, we believe proactive change will lead to a better future for our industry. As such, we have introduced industry-leading safer gambling controls via our ‘Play Well’ strategy over the last few years, including setting mandatory deposit limits for customers under age 25, reducing online slots staking limits to £10 per spin and making material investments in our safer gambling operational capabilities.

“We will continue to constructively engage with the government and UK Gambling Commission as part of any subsequent industry consultation processes, with a focus on providing support to the minority at risk of gambling harm without interfering disproportionately with the enjoyment of the vast majority.”

Jette Nygaard-Andersen, CEO of Entain

“The UK Gambling Act review is an important step towards having a robust regulatory framework that is fit for the digital age and creates a level playing field for all operators. We welcome the clarity that it will bring to the industry and customers.

“As a global and diversified business that operates in over 40 territories around the world, all of which are regulated or regulating, we are firmly in favour of regulation that preserves the market for the vast majority of customers who enjoy recreational betting and gaming, whilst also ensuring appropriate protection to all players.”

In the 268 pages of the White paper, I'm pleased they squeezed in 1 page on the benefits of gambling – 1) £2b in tax 2) added £6b to economy 3) 100K jobs 4) No betting, no proper racing 5) IT'S BLOODY FUN FOR THE VAST MAJORITY OF ADULTS.. pic.twitter.com/eabT3NgwA2

— WILLIAM WOODHAMS (@WIGWOOD) April 27, 2023

Neil Banbury, UK general manager at Kindred Group

“The white paper proposes several initiatives that will help to strike this balance. Thanks to our continued investment in technological advancements, we have already been rolling out our data-led affordability framework and trialling how we can offer different stakes to different types of customers based on their individual circumstances.

“Despite claims that gambling operators’ business models are built on addiction and problem gambling, the reality is that we seek sustainable long-term relationships with players. That is why we are guided by our ‘Journey Towards Zero’ commitment to generate 0% revenue from high-risk behaviour, and as our data shows, the overwhelming majority of our revenue is generated from players not exhibiting high-risk behaviour.

“Kindred looks forward to contributing to the white paper’s next steps and building upon the industry’s efforts over the last few years to strike the right balance between providing an enjoyable experience without compromising player safety. These efforts have been driven by competition in the UK market, which leads to greater consumer choice and drives safety standards. As the white paper process progresses, we hope that the government continues to enhance this work rather than stifle innovation across the industry.”

Lawyers

Richard Williams, gambling and licensing partner at Keystone Law 

“The government has finally issued its policy paper “High Stakes: gambling reform for the digital age”. It has taken over two years for the government’s response to be published. The most significant of the measures are the new online stake limits and the proposals for vulnerability and affordability checks at relatively low levels of losses.

“Overall, this is good news for the land-based gambling industry at the expense of the online industry.  Casinos will be delighted with the proposals to offer sports betting, which has always been a strange restriction. Holders of dormant casino licences will also be happy to hear that it may be possible to relocate these to other local authority areas in future.

“Anti-gambling campaigners will be glad that the government’s proposals have finally seen the light of day but are likely to argue that the proposals do not go far enough to prevent harm.

“For the gambling industry, these measures are not as bad as once feared, although the Gambling Commission’s continuing regulatory pressure on operators for not complying with anti-money laundering and safer gambling rules will have already dented their revenues.”

Nick Arron, lead partner in the betting and gaming team at Poppleston Allen

“It’s no surprise the government wants to introduce an ombudsman for the industry. This is in line with the Gambling Commission’s focus on customer redress and player protection, and there have been growing calls for such a service from various bodies.

“The big questions will be how much more power an ombudsman has compared with the current alternative dispute resolution providers working in the industry, especially as it is non-statutory, and how the government will ensure the money is spent wisely and appropriately.

“In particular, it will be interesting to see what the role of the ombudsman will be in relation to complaints about players being allowed to gamble unaffordable amounts and also in terms of the protection of player funds.”

Melanie Ellis, partner at Northridge Law LLP

“Overall, my view is that the white paper takes a reasonably balanced approach to minimising harm for vulnerable customers while allowing others to continue to enjoy gambling responsibly. However, as anticipated, the proposals and the detail of any new restrictions and requirements remain subject to further consultation. For remote operators, two highly anticipated outcomes of the white paper were those relating to affordability checks and slot limits and the DCMS has set out proposals for both, with the details to be confirmed following consultation exercises commencing in Summer 2023.

“Affordability checks have, as expected, morphed into gathering information on customers’ financial circumstances. While it will be helpful to operators that specific financial triggers for such checks have been proposed (and it would not be unreasonable for them to implement these now rather than wait for the UKGC consultation), the white paper lacks any detail on the action operators should take in response to the information gathered.  The UKGC is to consult on this fairly crucial point, so the ball is in the regulator’s court. There is also no mention of operators placing a stop on customers’ gambling pending the outcome of checks, so further clarity from the UKGC on its expectations in this regard is still needed.

“The exact amount of online slot limits will be subject to a DCMS consultation. For those aged 25 and over, a figure between £2 and £15 is proposed – this is a wide range and the impact will vary significantly depending on where this ends up. My money would be on a final figure of £5, which has the benefit of matching the maximum permitted stake in slot machines in land-based casinos. For under-25s, the consultation will consider three options of a £2 or £4 limit per stake or an approach based on individual risk. The latter option would likely tie in to information gathered on the customer’s financial circumstances.

“The white paper does acknowledge the risks of customers moving to the black market as a result of these changes. It is welcome news that the Commission will be given additional powers, including requiring ISPs and payment providers to stop providing services to black-market websites, but there is a question mark over the timing of these new powers and whether they will come into force to coincide with the stake limits.”

Affiliates

Jamie Walters, CEO at QiH Group

“The government’s decision not to make changes to white labels arrangements is very welcome to those of us operating fully compliant white labels. We do not operate under white label agreements because it allows us to circumvent licensing regulations. We do so in order to leverage the first-class compliance capabilities of our white label providers and their competence in this regard is a primary reason we work with them.

“Regardless of who holds the actual Gambling Commission licence, any regulatory breaches by white label operators can be enforced by the regulator. In this regard, it’s worth noting that few of the large financial penalties handed out in recent years have been related to white labels and the decision not to make changes to white label arrangements is perhaps a recognition of this.”

Better Collective spokesperson

“Better Collective welcomes the review and believes it provides an opportunity to drive further changes on safer gambling. This is fully aligned with Better Collective’s mission to make sports entertainment more engaging and fun while preventing problem gambling through the education of our users.

“The potential impact from the proposed regulatory changes mentioned in the white paper will have zero-to-limited financial impact on Better Collective. Since the review of the UK Gambling Act 2005 was initiated, UK sportsbooks have strengthened and implemented new compliance measures such as affordability checks, which impacted the group’s sports win margin during that period. We have now seen a normalised sports win margin and do not expect for this to change given the proposed measures.”

Safer Gambling organisations

Fiona Palmer, CEO of GAMSTOP

“We are pleased that the Gambling Commission is to be given greater powers to deal with this issue, which we highlighted in our evidence to the DCMS. We are encouraged that legislation will be introduced, allowing the Gambling Commission to apply for a court order as a last resort, requiring ISPs, payment providers and other service providers to implement measures aimed at disrupting the business of an illegal gambling operator. This will provide greater protection for GAMSTOP’s users.

“We are particularly concerned about the targeting of vulnerable individuals by illegal sites not registered with GAMSTOP. More than 365,000 people have excluded themselves from online gambling and it is worrying that they are being deliberately targeted when they are at their most vulnerable.”

✅ £150m a year statutory levy on firms for gambling addiction treatment and research
✅ stake limits for online slots
✅ affordability checks
✅ gambling ombudsman

Much of the detail will be ironed out in a consultation but the Gambling White Paper represents a big step forward pic.twitter.com/Bfg425Q0Qu

— Clean Up Gambling (@cleanupgambling) April 27, 2023

Maris Catania, senior responsible gaming consultant at SG: certified 

“I think overall, this white paper shows a forward-thinking approach to safer gambling, especially with more focus for people up to the age of 25. Although it does recognise the importance of markers of harm, the introduction of the financial risk checks is a great approach, especially since this can prevent binge gambling or unaffordable losses.

“The only concern is on the latter, as some consumers might spend these amounts across different operators, thus missing the financial checks but still gambling high amounts. Per se, falling under the said limit across different operators, but when adding up the amounts, this can be quite high.

“Nonetheless, on that point, it is great to see that there is a commitment to a single customer view (SCV). This can assist with preventing cross-operator harm, and it can also improve consumer protection and experience. If possible, this type of data gathering can also greatly assist researchers, where in more research studies published, a limitation has always been that the data corresponds to activity from one operator only.”

Pedro Romero, chief of safer gambling partnerships at BetBlocker

“BetBlocker welcomes the release of the UK gambling white paper, which outlines much-needed reforms for the industry. We are pleased to see most of the stakeholders have responded positively to the proposed changes, signalling a shared commitment to promoting responsible gambling and reducing harm.

“Despite not having lobbied pro or against any measures we believe that the proposed statutory gambling operator levy, stake limits for online slots, and player protection checks, among other measures, are crucial steps towards creating a safer and more transparent gambling landscape in the UK.

“We strongly urge the UKGC to include all RET organizations, both large and small, in the consultation process regarding the future levy. By doing so, the UKGC can ensure that a diverse range of perspectives and expertise are considered, leading to more effective and robust implementation of the proposed reforms.”

Bodies

IBAS spokesperson

“The government’s support for a single complaints handling body, in the form of an ombudsman is welcome. This is the best approach for fairness for consumers and protecting their rights.

“IBAS has 25 years of experience in independently reviewing consumer complaints about gambling businesses and providing advice to businesses and regulators on future dispute avoidance.

“We have developed plans for how our service could be transformed into an ombudsman in little more than 12 months, and we look forward to having the opportunity to work with a range of stakeholders in the days and weeks ahead to set out our vision for a gambling ombudsman that would deliver fast, efficient and knowledgeable dispute resolution on a wider range of complaint issues than those covered by existing ADR standards.”

Greg Fell, Association of Directors of Public Health vice-president

“It is very disappointing that the government has largely ignored the advice of public health experts in developing these proposals.

“Instead of looking to target individual gamblers, we need to look at the role that society and the gambling industry is playing in causing gambling harm and taking steps to limit it.

“The fact that children are being exposed on a daily basis to harmful gambling products, means that we are creating a society where people are increasingly engaging in activities that can have very real – and very harmful – consequences.”

Michael Dugher, Betting and Gaming Council CEO

“We welcome the decision to reject proposals from anti-gambling prohibitionists for blanket, low level and intrusive affordability checks, as well as their calls for bans on advertising, sports sponsorship and consumer promotions, which would harm our best-loved sports like horseracing and football, threaten jobs and drive customers to the growing unsafe, unregulated gambling black market online.

“This white paper is a once in a generation moment for change and its publication must draw a line under the lengthy and often polarised debates on gambling.

“Betting and gaming is popular, contrary to misconceptions, the numbers of people betting are stable and not increasing, problem gambling rates are stable and low, and our members are a genuine British business success story, ploughing billions into the economy.”