UK Labour Party to push for stricter online gambling regulations

The political party believes that existing regulations are not adequate and therefore need to be stricter.

UK.- Deputy leader of the Labour Party Tom Watson has revealed that an overhaul of online gambling laws will be soon introduced in the UK. The new measures will include new restrictions on how much a customer can bet, as well as a new system of checks to stop people from placing bets when they can’t afford to do so.

Watson is set to unveil today that a number of high-profile irregularities (such as ones from November 2018 in which it was found that some companies had important failures in their systems to prevent money laundering) have proved that regulations for online casinos and bookmakers are currently inadequate and lead to “gross excesses, abuse and vulnerable problem-gamblers being let down”.

Watson believes that the Gambling Act 2005, passed by Tony Blair’s government, is unfit for the digital age: “Whereas gambling in the offline world is highly regulated, the lack of controls on online gambling is leading to vulnerable consumers suffering huge losses. Online gambling companies have a responsibility to protect their customers from placing bets that they cannot afford.”

The Guardian reported that Watson is set to question why strict limits are not in place for stakes placed online, as one recent report claimed that smartphone gambling apps are more risky than FOBTs, which their maximum stake will be soon cut from £100 to £2.

The Remote Gambling Association (RGA), representing online gambling firms, said that it supports a move towards affordability and targeted intervention, but this must be done carefully as arbitrary limits could risk driving customers to the unregulated and illegal gambling market.