The United Kingdom has been the largest betting market in the region for some time now. Unfortunately, this has come with a few consequences, including an increasing problem gamblers population. Unfortunately, gambling firms are dragging their feet on the matter resulting in a campaign from the gambling commission. The institution claimed it handled more than 160 investigations during the 2018 financial year. It imposed a number of sanctions on operators, including financial penalties. Betting companies will have to pay 19.6 million pounds in penalties for failing to protect the problem gamblers and stopping laundering operations. Major contributors to this penalty include Ladbrokes, Coral, William Hill Sky-bet, and Bet 365. Online casino firms like Daub Alderney and Fluffer entertainment also did not escape the net. The regulator’s second report on enforcement claimed companies are failing to detect clients at risk of becoming problem gamblers.
Initiative for action
The United Kingdom Gambling Commission believes the betting firms are moving wholly on capitalistic motives. It would be right to believe so considering there are profit-making entities. However, they are finding repeated examples of clients being allowed to bet significant amounts of money during short time frames. These clients financial information is of course available to the gambling companies. Several of them are making these bets beyond their personal ability and above the red limit without intervention. That means the companies are simply after the potential debt recovery by any means necessary. There is a lot that needs to be done. Even though operators are continually hit with penalties, it only highlights the problem rather than the solution. The gambling firms also feel they are unnecessarily targeted by the gambling commission for perceived indiscretions. Neil McArthur, the head of the Gambling Commission believes more efforts should go towards customer protection.
Protecting revenue through KYC measures
The gambling commission did not fail to illustrate the drawbacks within the casinos using present models. This entails tracking the illegal funds connected to the money laundering schemes. The problem is money considering the need for professional due diligence reports cost between 250 to 1000 pounds for each report. The other point of contention is the manner the casinos tend to promote their products. The competition and markets authority and the advertising standards authority are collaborating with the gambling commission. This is to make sure the operators are complying with the standards. There are unauthorized campaigns, which continue to appear online to promote the illegal products. They have not been launched via a verifiable gambling commission license. Tracking the legitimacies of online ads from the brands is quite taxing from the position of the gambling commission. Some products, slip through the cracks, especially if the companies determine not to expose it.
Zero improvement in practices
The gambling commission is coming down on these companies for the way they are avoiding the subject of problem gambling. They categorically state they will not relent in their approach towards monitoring and regulating the online gaming firms. It is focusing on raising their standards for consumer enforcement as part of the report. Since then, they have stripped several platforms of licenses to work in the industry. Major firms have since agreed to review the tone and content of their advertising and marketing. It would seem like the gambling industry is suffering from political targeting. The situation is more like the market has been operating without regulation for a long time. The gambling commission is stepping up to protect citizens from manipulative practices designed to create as much revenue as possible. In time, gambling firms will conform in the same way the commission reined in the tobacco industry.
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