UK GAMBLING ACT WHITE PAPER
‘black market’. From an industry perspective, the Commission already has wide-ranging enforcement powers to effectively regulate in Great Britain, and operators may instead prefer that the Commission focuses on collaborating with operators and evaluating its own approach to achieving effective regulation, in addition to ensuring that the output of the white paper will be driven by accurate data and statistics. Consumer redress A key proposal in the white paper is the formation of a gambling ombudsman, to adjudicate complaints related to social responsibility and gambling harm that an operator has itself been unable to resolve. The white paper takes the view that there is currently a gap in the customer redress framework to resolve social responsibility complaints. Whilst the Commission has the authority to initiate enforcement proceedings against operators for alleged failures to comply with social responsibility obligations, it cannot directly resolve consumer complaints and order repayment to customers. Similarly, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) providers deal with contractual disputes only and the adjudication of social responsibility complaints is out of scope of existing ADR provision. The Government estimates that some 2,000 customer unresolved complaints per year referred to ADR providers which relate to alleged social responsibility breaches. The introduction of a gambling ombudsman is an attempt by the Government to improve redress for customers and enhance the industry’s approach to customer protection. The Government has proposed the creation of a non-statutory ombudsman, and the industry (through the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC)) has been challenged to deliver a credible scheme in this regard. The Government wants the process for appointment of the ombudsman to begin in 2023, and the Government’s expectation is that the ombudsman should be accepting complaints within a year. We consider that there are several key issues that the industry must consider and resolve over the coming months, including: • Clarifying the role of the ombudsman, and how it will sit alongside the enforcement functions given to the Commission and other regulators. • The ombudsman must be impartial and independent from the Commission to ensure procedural fairness, and the Commission must not be able to influence the outcome of customer complaints.
• The remedies available to the ombudsman should be clearly identified, avoiding overlap with the Commission’s own regulatory enforcement powers. • The Government has suggested a very short timeframe for the establishment of the ombudsman, but it is critical that the ombudsman is given enough opportunity to fully understand the complexities of dealing with social responsibility complaints. • It is not yet known how the gambling ombudsman will be funded. If the industry will be expected to fund the ombudsman, then an assessment of the industry’s contribution should be considered alongside the introduction of a statutory levy, to ensure that the industry’s financial commitments flowing from the white paper proposals are not unfairly burdensome. What must the industry do now? The next 12-18 months provide a key window of opportunity for operators to engage with the white paper consultation process. We would encourage operators to focus their resources on planning for potential adjustments to be made to their internal compliance procedures, while at the same time ensuring that they engage with the consultation process to positively influence
the outcome of the white paper proposals. Quantity and quality of responses
When evaluating consultation responses, we know that the Commission places a particular emphasis on the number of respondents for and against a particular proposal, and the levels of engagement with a consultation generally. When engaging with the white paper consultation process, we therefore encourage operators and other businesses to submit individual responses to the consultations, alongside those of the BGC and other industry stakeholders. Consistency of message is also important, especially in respect of certain key themes, and we encourage industry stakeholders to engage with the BGC, which should have a pivotal role – though numbers also matter. It is also paramount that the industry focuses on the quality of consultation responses. When producing responses, the industry should have regard to the Commission’s Evidence Gaps and Priorities programme and its desire to be a “people focused and evidence-led regulator” , and generate responses which reference accurate, independent academic research and other expert evidence to ensure that the proposals are proportionate and evidence-led.
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IMGL MAGAZINE | JULY 2023
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