Things in the gambling industry can function impeccably only if certain rules are obeyed. Without them, the situation can go in a downward spiral. That’s precisely why one of the leading regulators in the industry, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) decided to make some changes for the better.
Protecting Gamblers:
Namely, they have set a number of rules which everyone must follow in order to make everything safer for both gamblers and operators.
One of the most important ones concerns minors, meaning that casinos first have to make sure that anyone who embarks in this online journey is older than eighteen.
Furthermore, these regulations will help them determine this information much faster, which is an extremely important fact.
Kids Primary Concern:
Most problems that frequently hit the industry revolve around children, due to the fact that some of them have the tendency to gamble.
Now, the operators simply cannot allow anyone to take what they’ve earned until its proven that they are not juvenile. If that occurs, they must return the stakes.
Prevention is always the best solution, hence, to stop this from happening, age verification is going to be the first thing on the list, before the consumer can either deposit their money into their account or gamble with the license with their own cash, bonus or free bet.
New Enhanced Rules:
Back in March 2018, the UKGC stated that a couple of online casinos weren’t acting as they were supposed to be.
Namely, some of them were asking additional identity information from their clients when they were trying to withdraw what they’d won.
Approximately, fifteen percent of accusations were concerning this issue, due to the fact that licensees didn’t let them take their money until they gave them some type of ID.
Now, according to these new rules, operators must verify at least the name, address and date of birth before they give them the permission to gamble.
The second one accentuates that they must immediately ask for any other information about them.
The third one refers to giving additional details regarding other forms of identity papers that are going to be needed before they proceed, as well as the conditions in which the information might be required.
And last, but not least – they need to make sure that this information (given to the customers) is punctual and upstanding.
Neil McArthur, Gambling Commission Chief Executive, gave his opinion regarding these changes and said:
“These changes will protect children and the vulnerable from gambling-related harm, and reduce the risk of crime linked to gambling. They will also make gambling fairer by helping consumers collect their winnings without unnecessary delay.
Britain’s online gambling market is the largest regulated market in the world and we want to make sure it is the safest and the fairest. Today’s changes follow our review of online gambling and our ongoing widespread regulatory action into the online sector. We will keep using our powers to raise standards for consumers.”
Source: “New Rules To Make Online Gambling In Britain Fairer And Safer” https://europeangaming.eu/portal/press-releases/2019/02/11/38509/ukgc-new-rules-to-make-online-gambling-in-britain-fairer-and-safer/. European Gaming. February 11, 2019.
Comment: I’m glad they are doing this! Kids should not be allowed to gamble!
