Gambling Commission issues lottery ultimatum

Great Britain’s Gambling Commission has told licence holders they must do more to distinguish lottery-based betting products from genuine lotteries or face tougher regulation and licence conditions.

The warning formed part of new guidance issued by the Commission earlier this week on the way ‘bet-on-lottery’ products are marketed, with the regulator “concerned” some operators do not make it clear to consumers that they are “participating in some other form of gambling, rather than entering a lottery”.

Several major operators including Betfred, Paddy Power and Ladbrokes operate bet-on-lottery offerings while a host of dedicated lottery operators currently offer Britain-based punters betting markets on draws from around the world.

While the Commission refrained from introducing new licensing provisions at this stage, it warned operators that unless the distinction is made clear a series of measures could be introduced, including requiring a prominent message specifying the product on offer at the top of web pages.

“We are considering if we need to take further steps to ensure that operators are clear about the products on offer,” a Gambling Commission spokesperson told eGaming Review this morning.

“We want to highlight our concerns and to encourage discussion and action from the industry, which may prevent the need for future regulatory intervention,” the spokesperson added.

The guidance follows a report published in March by the UK government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport select committee which expressed concern at the way online gambling “is removing the distinction between society lotteries and betting”.

Although the Commission is working alongside the DCMS to consider the select committee’s recommendations, this new guidance represents a separate move as it looks to address its own concerns over the situation.

Operator MyLotto24, which offers bet-on-lottery products, told eGR it had maintained an open dialogue with the Gambling Commission to ensure it complied with current regulation.

“While we disagree with comments that betting on a lottery presents a greater risk to a customer, we accept that it is important a customer understands the difference,” Andrew Poole, MyLotto24 corporate affairs manager, said.

“We’ve always acted in a way that has met the Commission’s fair and open provisions but understand that circumstances can change over time as different products emerge,” he added.

Poole also said the firm was “proactively” working with others in the sector to ensure that customer awareness of the issue is reinforced.

News of the new guidance was welcomed by Camelot, which had raised concerns over a rise in betting opportunities based on international lottery draws during the 12-week government consultation earlier this year.

“We’ve long argued that these products – bets-on-lotteries – do not meet basic levels of transparency as they do not clearly make the distinction between lotteries and betting,” a Camelot spokesperson said.

“As a result, they mislead consumers and trade on the good name of lotteries for – in the main – commercial gain. Therefore, any measure that gives consumers a greater level of transparency is welcome,” the spokesperson added.