UKGC CEO Supports Your Right to Gamble Online, Just Not with Bitcoin

In his speech at CEO Briefing 2022, Gambling Commission CEO Andrew Rhodes made what sounds like a common sense statement but is, in fact, a groundbreaking shift in focus for the regulator.

“I’m not saying the regulator wants to see people in general spending less on gambling either – our role is to permit gambling as long as it is safe, fair and crime-free, not to make a moral judgment on how much money is spent on gambling.”

While the consensus agrees that government should not dictate where and how its mature, tax-paying populace spends its money, this has not been true of the UK Gambling Commission, which has been harangued in the media for its past "draconian" decisions.

 UK Gambling Culture is Stable

In recent memory, the UKGC has applied heavy restrictions to land-based and online gambling, both for players and the entities licensed to provide these services. While the battle cry in defence of these decisions have been "for the greater good", they have impinged on business growth and personal freedom.

Rhodes effectively stilled the voices that decried the industry for its growth and negative impact on at-risk groups by calling the sector stable and noting:

1. The total UK Gambling market has not grown
2. Online casino player numbers have not increased total player numbers.
3. Pandemic online participation numbers were mostly offline players moving online – it was not a sign that “gambling participation has exploded”.

He further provided from trusted operators in the region highlighting the successes of their safer gambling campaigns:

✓ Gross deposits are not as reliant on high rollers anymore, having shifted to a broader base of nominal depositors.

✓ Spending by whales at one large provider now only accounts for 5% of income, down from 19% three years ago.

✓ Automated review checks block around 7% of new accounts before players can engage in risky behaviour.

He commented that the regulator supported these changes in player protections and was “ watching with interest" as the operators took control of their businesses to drive the changes the industry needs to remain competitive and safe.

 Still Cagey About Bitcoin Casino Gambling

Despite the optimistic statements around the freedom to deposit online and allowing casinos to take the lead in safer gambling, crypto gambling was unfairly lumped together with unlicensed offshore offerings.

Rhodes said:

“I’m not going to dwell today on either products based around online illegal gambling sites or emerging products."

By bundling the topic of emerging crypto products with concerns around black market casinos, the Commission CEO gave us an insight into how he sees crypto. In his mind, it is still "other", an unfavourable product that supports the unregulated gambling sector in drawing away local gamblers to offshore operations.

This reluctance to bring Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies into the fold needs to be clarified when you consider that virtual tokens are legal in Great Britain and the FCA licenses and regulates Bitcoin ATMs across the country.

Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) services went so far as to write business and personal cryptocurrency taxes into law in 2019. Allowing licensed online casinos to accept digital currency deposits would be a boon to the industry's financial well-being and local tax returns.