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The UK’s Gambling Act White Paper, arising from a review of 2005’s Gambling Act, is now readily available. The whitepaper comes at a time when online gambling is booming, with more and more players jumping online to place a sports bet or have a spin on the slot machines. While the whitepaper touches on some important topics, many complain that advice about advertising in the industry is simply not enough.
What Is The Gambling Act White Paper?
The Gambling Act whitepaper has been produced in response to a review of the Gambling Act 2005 by the UK government. The whitepaper itself was put out on the 27th of April 2023 and is titled High Stakes: Gambling Reform for the Digital Age. The paper addresses how online gambling has changed in the close to 20 years since the initial Gambling Act was enacted.
The review is designed to provide advice to lawmakers, those in the industry, and the public at large while balancing consumer freedoms and protection from harm and addiction. The review took into account over 16,000 submissions from a wide variety of stakeholders, attempting to obtain a balanced position as it relates to the gambling industry in the UK.
The paper is designed to be guidance on how to govern online gambling as it shifts and changes with the racing pace of change in technologies.
None The Wiser?
Thanks to the review, the Gambling Commission is now going to take a closer look at the design of online gambling incentives and how they target people online. This includes in areas like free bets, spins, and other bonuses. Of particular note is how wagering requirements and time limits for bonuses are displayed, communicated, and announced. This being said, the paper does not propose anything in particular; it is up to the Gambling Commission to take the ideas of the paper and continue with them. No doubt casinos and their affiliates need to shoulder the responsibility when it comes to promoting free no deposit UK bonuses. However, without clear guidelines delineated in the white paper, not much action can be taken.
What About Advertising Regulations?
Advertising and marketing in online gambling have expanded significantly since the original Gambling Act. The paper highlights the risks inherent in targeted advertising online that is driven by personal user data. The personalization of online marketing means that at-risk customers may have a trickier time saying no to gambling activities than if the advertising to them was broader in nature.
The paper also says that advertising should be more deliberate in avoiding marketing to children. This includes things like removing famous sports players from any sports betting advertisements. Sponsorship deals and how they are advertised are to be taken further under the microscope.
So, What Does This Specific White Paper Outline?
The paper covers a range of topics. One of the most important findings is that safe gambling should be a priority for the UK government. The paper confirms that a bold regulator is necessary to ensure the protection of the UK people, alongside product controls and program safety nets. The UK Gambling Commission is one of the strongest in the world, so this seems to already be a check in the box, although the must keep up with new technologies.
Within the paper, there are a wealth of new proposed measures to help ensure that “children and vulnerable people should be protected, the sector should be fair and open, and gambling should be crime free.” These are the three pillars the original Gambling Act was designed to uphold, and the new whitepaper seeks to strengthen these pillars in the digital age.
Some of the recommendations within the paper include:
Financial risk checks for players who lose over £125 in a month or £500 in a year, plus more in-depth checks for those who lose £1,000 in 24 hours or £2,000 in three months. For players under 24, it’s proposed these amounts be halved.
Operators should work closer together to ensure players experiencing harm on one platform can’t simply open an account with another operator and continue problem gambling activities. Data sharing between operators is proposed here.
Design features to minimize harm should be developed, including slower speeds of play, removal of the illusion of control by the player, and highly arousing win graphics or animations.
But Is It Enough?
While the paper makes a number of succinct suggestions, and the Gambling Commission is working on further reforms, many in the industry are upset about the level of detail in the proposed changes, and whether they will actually be enacted. Rather than having an easy-to-follow document and framework to follow, in a lot of ways, there is simply just more broad advice that will be up to the Gambling Commission to do with what they please.
