RGA dismisses UK self-exclusion fears
Details of new blanket opt-out system could be released in September as RGA defends beefed-up self-exclusion plans
The Remote Gaming Association (RGA) says “good progress” is being made on a UK-wide customer self-exclusion scheme despite critics claiming the measure could end up forcing customers into the arms of black market operators.
The RGA has been working alongside the regulator in recent months in order to develop a system to enable consumers to block themselves from all Gambling Commission-licensed remote operators with just a click of a button.
And according to the RGA, finer details of the new self-exclusion scheme should be announced by the end of September with the system potentially in place before the end of the year.
However, plans for a nation-wide opt-out scheme have been met with mixed response with some stakeholders concerned the measure could see those blocked from licensed sites forced into the arms of unlicensed operators.
Clive Hawkswood, chief executive of the RGA, rejected this argument and told eGaming Review the new scheme could only be an improvement on the operator-by-operator self-exclusion system currently in place.
“A self-excluded problem gambler, or just a gambler, can go anywhere at the moment if he changes his mind so the ability to go to an unlicensed operator already exists,” Hawkswood said.
“The national scheme cannot be fool-proof, but it’s about making the holes in the net as small as possible and enabling someone to self-exclude from every Gambling Commission-licensed operator must help customers much more than if they have to do it individually over and over again,” he added.
The policy was originally discussed during the Gambling Bill’s report stage in the House of Lords when the government confirmed the Commission was reviewing existing self-exclusion methods.
The UK government had stressed the importance of adequate player protection methods during the progress of the Bill, which was passed into law in May.
The Gambling Commission was unavailable to comment at time of publication.