The U.K.’s gambling trade group is warning that a proposed ban on free bet promotions could drive many responsible bettors into the black market.
Yogonet reports that the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) is lobbying ministers against the idea, armed with the results of a recent YouGov survey that showed that 82 percent of bettors support gaming companies being allowed to offer such promotions. Also, 54 percent of those who responded said such a ban would drive patrons to underground sites that offer the promotions.
BGC CEO Michael Dugher said, “This survey reinforces what anyone who knows anything about betting already understands—that betting customers, just like consumers of any other product, value offers like small free bets which are subject to strict controls and restrictions to protect the vulnerable.”
He added, “The market for betting is hyper-competitive with most customers using a number of different operators. Banning or severely restricting free bets would be another attack on the punter, it degrades the customer experience, and it also hurts business and that jeopardizes jobs.”
Supporting this view is a survey of RacingTV members where almost 80 percent said they would oppose measures such as mandatory limits on betting, Yogonet reported. Note: these results come from people who regularly make bets, rather than the general public.
He continued, “This survey reinforces what anyone who knows anything about betting already understands – that betting customers, just like consumers of any other product, value offers like small free bets which are subject to strict controls and restrictions to protect the vulnerable.”
Bolstering Dugher’s comments is a study that showed that the numbers of bettors using black market sites has risen from 210,000 to 460,000. The amount wagered is estimated—all figures for black markets are estimated—to be “in the billions.”
U.K. sports betting demonstrated its enduring popularity during the Cheltenham Festival, March 14-17, when 274,000 attended the horse racing event and wagered an estimated £1 billion ($1.2 billion).
This prompted Dugher to add, “Ministers should consider the millions of responsible punters enjoying a bet during Cheltenham and not bring in draconian measures in a weak attempt to further placate the tiny minority of anti-gambling prohibitionists.”
The U.K. White Paper on proposed reforms to the 2005 Gambling Act is expected to be released within weeks or months, after several years of delay caused by, first, the Covid pandemic and then by the drama of musical prime ministers that occurred last summer.
Meanwhile, CDC Gaming Reports has reported that the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport—which oversees gaming in the U.K. has begun a consultation just last week that includes questions on gambling.
Dugher’s comments were made to frame that debate as much as possible, CDC Gaming Reports noted: “It all comes, of course, in the context of the UK’s still-impending gambling-reform White Paper, in which it is likely that some level of restriction on promotions will be pitched, albeit in the knowledge that further consultation and latterly parliamentary debate on any recommendations will take place before any restrictions are enacted.”
