The U.K. Gambling Commission (UKGC) is unhappy with the coverage that the Racing Post has provided of its current consultation on proposed financial risk checks, iGaming Business reported September 19.
The commission has published an open letter to the publication in which it calls the coverage “imbalanced” and said it wants to “clear up misunderstandings” about the proposal. It also accused the publication of refusing to publish a letter responding to its coverage.
The proposed affordability checks have become the most controversial part of the Gambling Act review white paper that was released in April.
Racing Post editor Tom Kerr released this statement in response: “We told the GC we were unwilling to publish a letter if it misrepresented disagreements over our coverage as errors of fact,” and added, “That is precisely what this letter does. It simply repeats contentious assertions from the white paper and consultation without engaging with the numerous concerns raised by Racing Post readers and contributors. In fact, it dismisses those concerns as groundless.”
The UKGC insists that only 0.3 percent of account holders would be required to “directly provide the additional financial information that operators are already requiring of some customers” and most gamblers would not be providing payslips or bank statements in order to make a wager.
It also noted that the proposals are related to online gambling only. It asserted, “There is often the assumption that credit checks impact a credit rating and could damage credit scores. […] These soft credit checks will not.”
Several weeks ago UKGC CEO Andrew Rhodes told a parliamentary committee that affordability checks have dominated the discussion and cited “a significant amount of misinformation… in the media and on social media.”
Meanwhile, in a separate but related development iGaming Business reported that the commission has agreed to a regulatory settlement of £690,947 ($853,793) with Lindar Media violations of anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility regulations. Lindar Media operates MrQ which operates online bingo.
An example: the company automatically assigned a AML risk factor of “low” to new customers.
The UKGC began reviewing MrQ about a year ago and found it failed to stop money laundering and did not adequately protect customers from gambling harms. It also found breaches of the License Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP).
The regulator also found that MrQ did not advertise in a socially responsible way and didn’t make required contributions to research, prevention and treatment organizations. The advertising breaches included using cartoon characters such as Spiderman and King Kong to advertise its products.
It failed to notify the commission in a timely manner (within five days) when important events took place, such as when its head of regulatory compliance left the position last year.
The money collected from the settlement will be directed to socially responsible causes.
Lindar Media commented that its breaches occurred when the business was growing and that it has improved since then. Lindar Media CEO Savvas Fellas said in a statement: “My focus since 2022 has been centered around maturing the day-to-day operations through the development of the senior leadership team,” and added, “We’ve implemented scalable processes that provide consistency as we grow and built technology-driven models that underpin compliance and safer gambling promises to our players; all of which are aligned with our mission of offering progressive, value entertainment – with delight and transparency.”
In related news, on September 15, the commission announced that it will establish a first-ever industry forum made up of licensed gaming operators in the country.
The forum will heighten communications between operators and commissioners, and help authorities better understand the industry’s viewpoint on customer management, consultation processes, data acquisition and other issues.
As reported by SBC News, the UKGC is looking for more “stakeholder feedback” through “evidence-led” initiatives such as the Lived Experience Advisory Panel, the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling and the Digital Advisory Panel.
The commission is looking to appoint a chairperson who will serve a three-year term, plus 10 members from various segments of gaming who ”understand the industry and the challenges and opportunities it faces.”
According to a statement by UKGC Chairman Marcus Boyle, “We’ve always listened to the views of the industry when deciding how best to make progress, but this new forum will give us another way to work with representatives from the industry we regulate.”
The forum is being established as part of a move toward overall industry reform.
