British Gambling Commission announces new consultations

The regulator is looking at the calculation of financial penalties.

UK.- The Gambling Commission has announced the start of a new set of consultations based on the UK government’s proposed gambling reforms. The 13-week consultation focuses on financial penalties and key event reporting.

The regulator aims to provide “greater clarity and transparency” on how financial penalties for gambling operators are calculated. Stakeholders are being asked their opinion on “a proposal for determining the starting point for the penal element of the penalty by reference to the seriousness of the breach and a percentage of Gross Gambling Yield or equivalent income generated during the period of the breach”.

The second focus of the consultation is financial key events reporting. Here the regulator intends to recognise the “increase in complexity of mergers and acquisitions” and increased globalisation in the industry. It’s seeking feedback on the ownership, finances and interests information that licensees must submit.

At the moment, licensees are required to inform the regulator when someone gains 3 per cent or more of the company’s shares and when entering into a loan agreement with any entity that is not under Financial Conduct Authority regulation. However, the regulator recognised that some licensees are in jurisdictions where the governance arrangements mean they cannot access information about shareholdings as low as 3 per cent. As such, some licensees have an exception allowing a 5 per cent threshold reporting requirement.

Gambling Commission executive director of operations Kay Roberts said: “These consultations are part of our continued drive to ensure Britain has the world’s most effectively regulated gambling sector. We would urge all our stakeholders to take the time out to have their say on these consultations as all views on proposed changes will be considered.”

In November, the Gambling Commission opened its second round of consultations following the publication of the UK government’s gambling review white paper in April. It’s consulting on five areas for a period of 12 weeks, up until February 21, 2024.

Topics in the consultation are socially responsible incentives, with proposals to ensure free bets and bonuses do not encourage excessive gambling, customer-led tools such as deposit limits and proposals to increase the transparency for customers in cases where licensees provide no protection in the event of insolvency.