-
Casinos for you
BGC Promotes the Creation of a Gambling Ombudsman for the UK
By Shane Addinall Jul 06, 2021 IndustryThe BGC calls on the British government to include the establishment of a Gambling Ombudsman in their current review of the Gaming Act to help improve standards, promote trust among players and attract operators.The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has called upon the British government to consider creating and installing a Gambling Ombudsman.
As the body representing all licensed and regulated online casinos, land-based gambling venues and betting shops in the United Kingdom, they believe this would begin to redress the somewhat tarnished image of the gambling jurisdiction as a safe place for both players and operators.
Already Under Review
The government is currently in the process of reviewing the Gambling Act 2005 given the vast changes that the industry has undergone since it was written into law.
With the advances in internet speeds, mobile access, and general appeal of modern gambling products the government felt the existing Act needed an in-depth review and extensive revisions.
Nigel Huddleston Minister for Sport, Tourism and Heritage had previously said:
“The Gambling Commission has broad powers to set and enforce licence conditions, but in recent years a number of high profile enforcement cases have raised concern that too many people are still experiencing significant harm. We want to look at whether our regulatory framework is effective and whether further protections are needed.”
As part of this review process, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) confirmed that the ministers administering the process will be looking at current bonus offerings, bet and loss limits, advertising methodologies and other pertinent player protection issues.
The Power of Mediation
Given the depth of the review, the BGC feels that this would the ideal time for the government to create a Gambling Ombudsman to increase adherence to the new regulations and give customers a trusted third party with whom to lodge concerns.
Michael Dugher, BGC Chief Executive, said:
“We hope that the Government will look favourably on our calls for a Gambling Ombudsman to be established as soon as possible following the conclusion of the Gambling Review, which we strongly support. The BGC and its members recognise the need for further change in our industry and a new Gambling Ombudsman would be a step forward in customer redress - I’m proud to be giving it our backing.”
Dugher noted that the government should consider the backing of such an Ombudsman role by the BGC and its members as proof of their desire to “drive up standards in the regulated betting and gaming industry”.
The chief executive of Flutter UK and Ireland, Conor Grant, supported the BGC position saying:
“… true commitment to putting customers first also means making sure that they have somewhere independent to go if something does go amiss – that is why Flutter is fully behind the call from the BGC today for the Government to include an Ombudsman in its plans for reform of the gambling industry.”
In recent years the UK gambling industry has been plagued by heavy-handed responses by the UK Gambling Commission which have often been considered knee jerk reactions and not in alignment with the spirit of the agreement between operators and the Commission.
Having a third party involved in managing and ruling on customer concerns would go a long way towards giving the gambling jurisdiction the consistency that it needs to regain its competitive edge and perhaps even entice absent operators back to the market.
You might also like