UKGC to post new standards for ADR providers

The gambling authority said that the new standards will be introduced from October 31.

UK.- The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) posted on its website this week the news that it is introducing from October 31, 2018, new standards for alternative dispute resolution (ADR) providers in the gambling industry.

The UKGC said that an ADR can help people if they’re not happy with the result when they complain to a gambling business, and the service is free to use. “We hope that these standards will help you to have confidence in the service that ADR providers give you, and to understand better what’s happening to your complaint during the process,” said the UKGC.

Matt Halden, Consumer Advocacy Specialist of the UKGC, said that in the new standards, they expect ADR providers to consider as many complaints as possible and let people know quickly if the complaint is one they can’t help with, as well as they expect them to tell consumers when they receive the complaint, and update on when they have all the information from the gambling business that they need to start looking at it and keep people updated throughout the process so the stages that the complaint has reached can be known, among other things.

Moreover, the UKGC expect ADR providers to provide information about what happens at the end of the process, including if an appeal can be made. “We also expect providers to publish information to help consumers have confidence in the process and their service, including information to show how they are independent of the gambling business, including information about how they are funded, and about the service they provide, including their methods and timescales, and performance data to show how they are performing against targets,” added the statement.

“We’ll be monitoring how ADR providers perform against the new standards, and we’ll take action if we don’t think a provider is meeting them,” concluded the UKGC.