After two and a half years of anticipation and suspense the U.K.’s white paper updating the Gambling Act of 2005 was released on April 28, much to the relief of many in the industry.
The changes are expected to bring online gaming into the digital age, and transform brick and mortar casinos in many important ways as well.
Some major changes it contains include a stake limit for slot machines, checks on financial vulnerability and affordability, the creation of a non-statutory gambling ombudsman, increasing the numbers of slot machines allowed in a land-based casino and making the U.K. Gambling Commission (UKGC) more potent.
At the same time, however, industry members are frustrated over the hoops they are going to have to jump through, including many consultations with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
iGB quoted Simon Thomas, executive chairman of the Hippodrome Casino, who declared, “I’m delighted there’s progress. A two-and-a-half-year delay has been terrible.’ He added, “I’m frustrated that that time was not used to produce clear public policies and decisions and frustrated that we are into a consultation, of which we don’t know how long that will be.”
He added that the industry is waiting for more details on the mandatory statutory levy that will be charged on all gaming activity, online or land-based. Thomas said, “We would like more detail on the imposed levy.” He added, “So in terms of how much it’s going to be, taking into account that our tax rates and fixed costs are materially higher. Some idea of how the money will be used and allocated.”
However, Thomas was very positive about the government’s proposals for allowing contactless payments—as opposed to cash only—at brick-and-mortar slot machines.
He told iGB: “[It is] definitely an improvement, provided they don’t try to use it as a Trojan Horse to enforce account-only play.” He added, “There’s a lot of resistance from customers about account-only play. What we want is for people to have the extra option, not to have it reduced.”
Dan Waugh, a partner in the gambling advisory firm Regulus Partners said it will take a long time for the white paper to be fully implemented. Much of it will be implemented by the UKGC after industry consultations. The commission has a reputation of doing whatever it wants, no matter what comes up during consultations, said Waugh.
“[G]enerally it decides what it wants to do, goes out to consult and then does exactly what it first thought of.” Waugh added, “There will, understandably, be concerns about how the Gambling Commission approaches this.”
Land-based gaming operators are largely pleased with the white paper, Melanie Ellis, a partner with Northridge Law, told iGB: “The white paper is particularly helpful to land-based casinos,” adding, “In particular, increasing the number of gaming machines permitted in the 1968 Casinos Act.”
She concluded, “What they’ve done is try and create a bit more parity between those casinos and the 2005 Gambling Act casinos.”
Bacta, a land-based casino trade organization, also endorsed a 50-50 ratio. Bacta’s CEO John White commented, “The 80/20 rule was an old fashioned rule that was designed in the days when a category B3 machine was a box as opposed to now,” he said. “The 80/20 rule limited the amount of B3s you can make available to customers and was completely outdated and we were in a position where we were unable to provide what customers wanted.”
The CEO of sports betting and gaming group Entain, which operates in 40 jurisdictions globally, Jette Nygaard-Andersen, told Yogonet: “The UK Gambling Act Review is an important step towards having a robust regulatory framework that is fit for the digital age and creates a level playing field for all operators. We welcome the clarity it will bring to the industry and customers.”
Nygaard-Andersen added, “In leading the industry on player protection, we have already implemented a comprehensive range of actions to protect our customers, such as our industry-leading Advanced Responsibility and Care safer gaming program, personalized online slots staking limits, and the implementation of an affordability model across the UK. We are also extremely proud to have led the industry in 2019 by voluntarily agreeing to increase our levy donations to 1% of our UK gross gaming revenues.”
Aside from the comments made by operators themselves, some responsible gambling advocates were most displeased with the fact that advertising regulations were not included.
Matthew Gaskell, the head of specialist gambling addiction clinic for the National Health Service (NHS), released a statement outlining his dismay over the lack of advertising reform, calling it a “major failure” on behalf of the government.
Gaskill asserted that the government “seems to struggle to understand that gambling harm and addiction is not the product of a minority of so-called flawed, weak, vulnerable people.”
“The industry is creating addiction and its business model appears to be reliant on those harmed and addicted,” he continued. “We are mass advertising and marketing an addictive product which could ensnare anyone at a given time.”
Gaskell also pointed to data from 2019 which showed that approximately 60 percent of profits were generated from just 5 percent of bettors.
The UKGC has vowed to review its policies on promotions such as free bet credits and bonuses to better ensure that they refrain from encouraging “excessive or harmful gambling.” The government has also said it plans to produce its own responsible gambling-related marketing materials.
