On May 1st 2024 the Gambling Commission has announced changes aimed at increasing safety and customer choice based on the previous consultations consistent with the Government’s White Paper High stakes: gambling reform for the digital age.
The changes which will be implemented in four stages (August 2024, November 2024, January 2025 and February 2025) include reducing intensity of online games, improving consumer choice over receiving gambling marketing, light-touch financial vulnerability checks and tightening processes to support age verification checks in premises.
Andrew Rhodes, Gambling Commission CEO, said, as can be seen in the Commission press release;
“As a gambling regulator it’s vital that the introduction of new rules is based on evidence and takes into account the views of consumers and other interested parties.
We have listened to the views expressed in our engagement and in the consultation responses, and we have made changes while still ensuring that we deliver meaningful protections.
We are also pleased to be taking forward a pilot of financial risk assessments and data collection, which together will ensure that we can make informed decisions about how these assessments can be implemented in a way that supports both consumer freedom and protections.
We have to get the balance right between protecting people from the potentially life-ruining effects of gambling-related harm and respecting the freedom of adults to engage in an activity that the vast majority do so without experiencing harm.”
The Commission pilot is stated to last six months. Following which, the Commission will decide whether permanent rules will be implemented but this will not be done until the data-sharing is frictionless for the vast majority of customers who are checked.
The timing of this release coincides with the release of the Betting and Gaming Councils new ‘Voluntary Code on Customer Checks and Documentation Requests Based on Spend’, covered separately in the Luke ARC blog.
The key announcements are summarised below.
Financial vulnerability checks and frictionless financial risk assessments
Light touch financial risk checks will have a two-stage implementation. These checks will initially come into force at £500 a month from 30 August 2024 before reducing to £150 a month from 28 February 2025. As previously stated, the commission will no longer require geographical data to be taken into account. The commission has listed public information sources such as CCJ’s, IVA, high court judgements, administration orders and debt relief orders. It is still for the operator to decide proportionate action and these checks, once done, need not be repeated for 12 months.
Following consultation feedback the Commission will carry out a pilot to test the details of frictionless ‘financial risk assessments’ in practice, work with credit reference agencies and gambling businesses, and examine potential consumer impact. Through data collection, the Commission will also explore the exact financial thresholds the assessments would be conducted at.
Remote games design – reducing intensity and increasing consumer understanding
New rules will reduce the speed and intensity of online products while improving consumer transparency.
It will extend requirements that already apply to slots and to other online products and will ban:
- features which speed up the time for a result to be shown or can give the illusion of control such as ‘turbo’ or ‘slam stops’
- autoplay
- audio or visual celebrations of returns less than or equal to stake
- operator-led functionality which facilitates playing multiple simultaneous products such as roulette and blackjack tables (not including Peer-to-peer poker)
- casino games spin speeds of less than 5 seconds (previously 2.5 seconds), excluding peer-to-peer poker.
Further changes include requiring operators to display to consumers in real time their net spend and time they have spent gambling.
These changes will come into force on 17 January 2025.
Direct marketing – improving consumer choice
Gambling businesses will need to provide customers with options to opt-in to the product type they are interested in receiving and the channels through which they wish to receive marketing. This is so customers can limit marketing to the products they want. They must also consent to marketing for each channel such as email, SMS or phone.
This requirement applies to online gambling only and will come into force on 17 January 2025.
Age verification – tightening verification in premises
The Commission will introduce new rules which mean all gambling land-based licensees, including smaller licensees, must carry out age verification test purchasing.
It will also change the good practice code to say licensees should have procedures that require their staff to check the age of any customer who appears to be under 25 years of age, rather than under 21 years of age.
These new elements of the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) will come into effect on 30 August 2024.
Personal management licenses – extension of roles
Following consultation, the Commission has clarified and extended the operator staff management roles expected to hold a personal management licence.
This will now include;
- the person responsible for chairing the Board (where the licensee has such a body)
- the person responsible for the licensee’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing function
- the person responsible for the submission of reports of known or suspected money laundering or terrorist financing activity under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and Terrorism Act 2000.
Previously the MLRO did not require a PML, but it has been noted by the Commission as ‘good practice’.
These new and amended provisions come into force on 29 November 2024. Remember that Luke ARC can offer board member and PML services and an hour’s consultation is free!
We encourage all operators to read the full consultation response which can be found at;
This release coincides with the betting an gaming councils release of the ‘Voluntary Code on Customer Checks and Documentation Requests Based on Spend’ covered in the Luke ARC blog HERE. As always, ‘Contact Us’ with any questions.
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