The Gambling Commission has announced a series of new consultations on the issue of fines.
The hope is that the 13-week consultations will result in “greater clarity and transparency” in the calculation of penalties. Consideration is given to the starting point for imposing fines and whether the penalties are assessed based on the gross gaming revenue (GGY) generated during the infringement.
The consultations also include reporting on important financial events. The aim is to take into account “the increasing complexity of mergers and acquisitions” as well as the “increasing globalization” of gambling.
Kay Roberts, executive director of operations at the Gambling Commission, said: “These consultations are part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring the UK has the most effectively regulated gambling sector in the world.”
“We would urge all of our stakeholders to take the time to comment on these consultations as all views on proposed changes will be taken into account.”
Gambling Commission response to the White Paper
These consultations are the result of the Gambling Law Review White Paper. The White Paper made proposals for how gambling in the UK should be regulated in the future. These are based on an official review of the Gambling Act 2005.
The Gambling Commission launched a confidential reporting service earlier this month, allowing people to report criminal and suspicious activity anonymously.
This launch followed the Commission’s publication of statistics showing an increase in land-based gambling. The sector has grown by over 20% in the last year, with business returning to pre-pandemic levels.
Total BGY rose 6.8% year-on-year to £15.1 billion ($19.0 billion/€17.5 billion) in the 12 months from April 2022 to March 2023. This figure, which is from across all licensed remote and land-based gambling operators was also a high 6.6% more than the last pre-lockdown period up to March 2020.
GambleAware’s numbers highlight online slots as a key problem
British charity GambleAware released statistics earlier this month that pointed to online slots as a particular area of concern.
Over a third of GambleAware’s contacts to its support services in 2022-23 were people who suffered gambling-related harm through online slots.
Online slots accounted for 37.9% of those seeking treatment, while internet sports betting came in second at 15.6%. Fixed-odds gaming machines in bookmakers followed with 12.8%.