Gambling Commission to open consultation on financial thresholds

In its conference on social responsibility, the British Gambling Commission said it would launch a consultation on the thresholds for financial risk.

UK.- The Gambling Commission has revealed that it will open a new consultation on thresholds to identify key financial risks, warning that many operators are still falling short on responsibility.

At his keynote address during the regulator’s Know Now 2021 Conference on Social Responsibility for Gambling Operators, executive director Tim Miller warned operators that the Gambling Commission would take action against those that don’t meet their duties on money laundering and terrorist financing.

Miller said: “We continue to see example after example of operators who have allowed people to gamble amounts that clearly place customers at risk of harm with very limited or no customer interaction until a very late stage.

“Just to be clear, we are not talking about grey areas here. We are talking about significant binge gambling or clearly unaffordable levels of gambling without action being taken. Can anyone seriously justify allowing a new customer to lose £10,000 within minutes without any checks or interaction?”

Miller said the consultation on financial risk thresholds would include identifiers including major losses over a short period of time, a lengthy period of time, and general financial vulnerability.

He said that while such issues may fall under the remit of the UK government’s ongoing review of gambling legislation, the Gambling Commission was being forced to take action in advance because of operators’ lack of action.

He said: “We are mindful of the fact that there is an ongoing review of the Gambling Act and do not plan to consult on issues that are rightly for that Review. However, operators are allowing consumers to be exposed to unnecessary risks now.

“The multiple failures to comply with our existing outcomes-focused rules has forced our hand into bringing forward more prescriptive requirements to ensure that those longstanding regulatory outcomes are delivered.”

Last week, the Gambling Commission officially appointed Marcus Boyle as its new chair.

The regulator is also looking for a permanent chief executive following Neil McArthur’s surprise resignation in March. The post is currently occupied by Andrew Rhodes on an 18-month interim basis.