UK Gaming Commission Fair Play Rules
Published: Saturday, March 11, 2006 Online-Casinos.com
UK GAMING COMMISSION PUBLISHES NEW 'FAIR PLAY' RULES
Changes are up for consultation until June 2
Landmark new rules governing ‘fair play’ in British gambling have been drafted by the UK Gambling Commission and published this week as part of the consultation process, which calls for suggestions and submissions before June 2 this year.
The Commission’s ‘License Conditions and Codes of Practice’ document focuses on the tripartite aims of keeping crime out of gambling, ensuing fairness and openness in the industry, and protecting the vulnerable and the young.
The new rules include the online gambling industry, which for the first time will be brought under the Commission’s jurisdiction.
Poppy Turner, spokesperson for the Gambling Commission, said: “These new rules will enable us to offer consumers and online gambling fans the chance to know what they are getting. There would be big incentives for online companies to move to the UK as well, as by registering and being accountable, they would be allowed to advertise in the UK. And the Gambling Commission would be able to offer certain guarantees which would attract customers."
“Gamblers will have the opportunity to access safer sites, with the knowledge that the business has come within the realms of a regulatory framework. It offers reassurance, as well as big incentives,” Turner added.
New rules would include compulsory licences, assurances that problem gamblers would be dealt with through staff training, and information about responsible gambling.
Measures to combat underage gamblers by accessing sites through random credit card checks, and the display of a relevant complaints procedure by operators licensing in Britain will also be required.
Peter Dean, chairman of the Gambling Commission, said: “Combating problem gambling is particularly important to us: this is the first time the Commission has had the power to do something about it, and we intend to use that power to maximum effect.
"We have the power to fine or revoke the licences of those who fail to do so, and to prosecute illegal gambling. We won’t hesitate to use these powers if need be.”
The Gambling Act comes fully into force in September 2007. Tessa Jowell, UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, said: “Gambling is not an industry like any other. What can be a harmless pastime for one person can be a life-destroying addiction for another.”
The Gambling Commission's responsibilities include oversight of online gambling, and the safeguarding of online players who, must be made aware of how much time and money they are spending gambling.
Alastair Ross, a Strathclyde University psychologist specialising in gambling, said: "These regulations are going to be most tested on the internet, where you don't have a restriction of hours and you don't have staff policing it. It's a younger, middle-class problem. You can do it at work, and it's not a weekend, social pursuit. It's constant." The code suggests that online operators should make spot checks on credit cards to verify people's age, though Dr Ross suggested that some teenagers could circumvent these.
