UK gambling firms propose ban on high risk clients

Gambling companies are considering an industry-wide ban on high-risk gamblers to avoid restrictions on football sponsorship deals.

UK.- Gambling companies in the UK are ready to propose an industry-wide ban on high-risk gamblers in order to avoid restrictions on sports advertising deals.

The UK government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has begun a review of the 2005 Gambling Act and is considering several major shakeups for the sectors, including a possible ban on sponsorship deals between betting companies and sports teams.

That move looks increasingly likely, with a strong among of political support for a ban on shirt sponsorship.

In a bid to prevent it, several firms are now proposing that the industry introduce a ban on high-risk gamblers by using customer data to identify potential problem gamblers.

Kindred Group, which operates Unibet and 32Red, has reported exactly how much of its revenue is derived from high-risk players.

It says 96 per cent of its revenue is from “safe and sustainable” betting, while four per cent comes from high-risk customers.

Neil Banbury, UK general manager at Kindred Group said: “As a single operator you just can’t push the problem to another operator, as a licensed industry that’s where we have to work together to make sure we do look after the customers collectively as an industry and prevent the possibility of leakage to sites that aren’t regulated.”