UK Gaming Bill Could Have Sharp Teeth
Published: Wednesday, June 07, 2006 Online-Casinos.com
UK GAMING BILL COULD HAVE SHARP TEETH
Consultative process on regulatory powers continues
The latest consultative document released by the embryo UK Gambling Commission
has interesting proposals on the use of the body's regulatory powers once it is
fully operational.
New gambling laws will almost certainly see strict monitoring and regulation of
sites that choose to license in the UK, and the proposals contain provisions for
action against any operator that does not comply with the Commission's requirements.
Titled "Licensing, Compliance and Enforcement," the document
is part of a series of proposals sent out in the consultative process and aims
to frame practical and effective regulations for application when the Gambling
Commission "goes live" in September 2007.
Key individuals, shareholders and major investors involved in licensed gambling
business will be subject to a range of probity measures that include criminal
record, integrity and financial checks. The licensing section explains how the
Commission will evaluate applications, what operators should do if there is a
change in corporate control, how licensing decisions will be delegated to individuals
and panels within the Commission, how licenses will be issued and how personal
licenses can be maintained and renewed.
Operator compliance deals with key elements of the compliance process as well
as how the Commission will assess risk, how it will work with the gambling industry,
what sorts of information it will require to ensure compliance and how it will
monitor gambling venues. Commission staff will be empowered to visit casinos,
bingo clubs, betting shops, amusement arcades and online gambling sites on a regular
basis, and inspections of premises and systems will be carried out through spot
checks, scheduled examinations and covert investigative methods, such as mystery
shopping.
Enforcement action is clearly of critical importance against operators who fail
to comply with the Gambling Act 2005, and the latest document deals with what
sorts of penalties they will face. The Commission will be able to place sanctions
against operators, including license suspension or revocation and potentially
unlimited fines. Extensive provision has been made for an enforcement framework,
the criminal regime, criminal or regulatory investigation, regulatory review,
urgent suspensions and voluntary settlements.
"We have three clear regulatory objectives: to keep crime out, to make sure
gambling is fair and open and to protect children and vulnerable people from harm,"
says Gambling Commission Chairman Peter Dean in the document.
"We will be risk-based, proportionate and fair in our approach to regulation,
and our processes will be as streamlined and efficient as possible. But we will
not hesitate to use our extensive legal powers to prosecute any illegal gambling
activity, or to take action against licensed operators who fail to comply with
the new rules we have set out."
The document invites input on the proposals, with a deadline of August 22.
