UK CMA to investigate fairness in online gambling

[slotter999]

"very radical" could restrict competition and reduce value for punters.

I suppose what you may perceive as value, I perceive as a great swindle.

If bonuses did not ultimately favour the gambling companies I don't believe they would exist.

 

[Richas]

I suppose what you may perceive as value, I perceive as a great swindle.

If bonuses did not ultimately favour the gambling companies I don't believe they would exist.

The current bonuses don't really offer value but they once did and can still. You are of course right that promotions should end up being good for the individual firm doing it. The odd cock up not withstanding (which would include Cheltenham this year BTW and likely best odds guaranteed) they should be designed to work for that ONE firm. The trouble for them is that they are really supposed to be about competition in a crowded field where if we are honest the product itself is fairly undiferentiated, or even the exact same product available from someone else. Bonuses were often the way price competition between sites happened. Firms offering cheaper do so for their benefit but the competition between firms delivers value.

Competition should force sites to offer value or lose custom, hence why the Competition and Market Authority is looking at them - are they real compettion or just misleading/confusion marketing? "very radical" might mean ban or further restrict competition on price by sites, not good IMHO.

Meanwhile, many bonuses are actually handcuffs and harmful a travesty of confusion marketing and unethical practice.

 

[dunover]

After years of banging on to the UKGC about all sorts of things from self exclusion to poker (news soon) to ts and cs to reverse withdrawals... I share some of your frustrations but please remember that it really is not that long ago that the UKGC did not regulate online gambling at all, it was all offshore.

Even when it did kick in (Nov 2014) they faced a huge workload of registrations and verification of the firms & reporting, plus all the other distractions like the faux FOBT row and the stupid gibraltar court cases, also they got no new money until Nov 2014 and the new fees, their increase in budget was only about £1.5m which is a tiny fraction of what the Californian regulator said they would need for just 3/4 oline poker sites. Meanwhile they lost a whole load of staff to the industry who were now grapling with the UK rules.

UKGC had loads of new work, FEWER staff, they LOST experience of both online and technology, they got a little extra money but only after the work had started and when they had already lost key staff incuding the CEO giving notice and being replaced a year ago by someone with NO gambling experience. Meanwhile we have had 3 or 4 different culture ministers and the current gambling minister who works for the culture secretary had maternity leave this year.

Frankly this CMA thing, their work with the ASA and the new stuff coming on poker plus the progress on self exclusion and annual statements is quite impressive for a quango mired in government bureaucracy and politics.

Bottom line is, the UKGC has existed for nearly a decade, and has deemed it fit to mess around with autoplay settings (a pointless non-RG exercise) and yet allows in its terms woolly SE/TAB conditions, reversible withdrawals (anti-RG) and can't even add 20 words to the SE rules regarding disclosure and fairness.

 

[Richas]

Bottom line is, the UKGC has existed for nearly a decade, and has deemed it fit to mess around with autoplay settings (a pointless non-RG exercise) and yet allows in its terms woolly SE/TAB conditions, reversible withdrawals (anti-RG) and can't even add 20 words to the SE rules regarding disclosure and fairness.

Bottom line is that for most of the near decade of operation the UKGC regulated nothing online as the bookies and casinos went offshore for softer regulation where they chose the regulator. Gibraltar obliged, Malta obliged.......

Finally they got to licence them, after a court battle and a delay, then they introduced improved SE, new LCCP codes, we have a new Remote Technical standards consult coming v.soon too. They cooperate with the ASA & start clamping down on adverts. They start dishing out serious financial penalties/settlements on firms for ignoring money laundering and resp gambl rules. Then greater clarity on player fund protections. Now they get the CMA and their powers to deal with the Ts & Cs with the laws that CMA control. With the fine powers - and fine record that can defend against a juduial review ruling against them. Remember the firms are happy to keep taking the UKGC to court, in the UK, then in the EU..so the UKGC is vulnerable in court if it's punishment is deemed too harsh or unprecedented by the judges in a review....after all the CMA fines come in the tens of millions and potentially hundreds of millions.

The CMA also has investigatory powers to interview anyone from the firms they ask for, to enter business premises without a warrant to do do stuff,including copying docs, taking equipment...they also have clear powers to obtain warrants and impose fines. In contrast the UKGC is basically a semi independent part of the Ministy of Culture, they get to decide to prosecute or not on some very limited offences in the 2005 Gambling Act but they don't have the legal or investigatory resources for a major operation...instead they have got the CMA to spend some serious investigatory dosh..nor do the UKGC get to impose fines, they can only agree financial settlements and if you read the lessons learnt reports on those penalties you can see how the penalties AGREED are detailed to the pound, including the odd £30k for "investigation". This one will be costing a lot more than that, money the UKGC don't have.

The CMA powers and stuff are in this doc

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The progress made by the UKGC in the under two years they have actually got to regulate online is not anywhere near all I've asked for or you want but it has been a damn site more than any other regulator.

Then your auto-play moan. It was a rule written when they did not regulate online, they doubled the max autoplay immediately and may be revisiting it soon. Personally I am suspicious of auto play esp re resp gamb. I will also add that on auto top up for poker (keeping your cash stack at a full buy-in and auto rebuy in rebuy tournaments) they moved within days when asked to permit it even though their old LCCP rules listed it explicitly as an example of the type of automation banned. When exlained to them they found the wiggle room to dump the restriction, saving sites additional development costs and players grief.

 

[jjezebel37]

I'm just of a new site were I needed a law degree to understand the terms. I didn't bother opening an account because of it, however, I am finding that if it's too complex I won't.

We need more clear concise to the point terms. 32Red is a prime example of were it's done right.

 

[Richas]

If and when you send something to the CMA this is the automated email response you will receive:

Thank you for taking the time to contact the CMA about your experience. The information you have helpfully provided will inform our understanding of the remote gambling sector.

Please note the following about the information you have provided:
The CMA will not intervene in individual disputes and cannot enter into correspondence with you. Information about how to raise a complaint about a gambling company can be found on the Gambling Commission’s website. You can also contact Citizens Advice for practical help and advice.

Unless you indicate otherwise, we will assume that the information you have provided is intended to be used by us and is to be shared or disclosed only so far as is necessary and in line with legal requirements. All information is handled in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and other legislation designed to protect individual privacy and commercial confidentiality.

 

[ricky]

heres my favourite



Unbelivable

third deposit bonus-YOU CANNOT WITHDRAW MORE THAN YOUR DEPOSIT!!!

 

[colinsunderland]

Wheres that at? I will wind live chat up later when i am bored lol

 

[ricky]

Wheres that at? I will wind live chat up later when i am bored lol

spinprincess