Tighter Controls To Be Imposed By UK Gambling Commission

By Brian Cullingworth, Last updated Aug 3, 2018

From October this year there are higher requirements of operators

Following industry consultations, the UK Gambling Commission is set to introduce tighter standards of operational conduct from October this year.

Aimed at creating a fairer environment for punters, the changes include giving the Commission power to impose unlimited fines for promotional campaigns that appeal to children or glamorise gambling.

Operators will also face an eight-week deadline to resolve player complaints on unreasonable restrictions on withdrawals of winnings, misleading promos or bonuses, and advertising. Operators will additionally be held responsible for misleading advertising by third-party affiliates such as marketing agencies and for sending spam emails or texts to customers.

According to official figures, British punters wagered GBP13.9 billion between October 2016 and September 2017 (the latest figures available)

Neil McArthur, the chief executive of the Gambling Commission, said this week: “These changes will protect consumers from irresponsible advertising and misleading promotions, ensure that consumers can withdraw their money more easily and will mean that consumer complaints are dealt with more swiftly.”

Brian Cullingworth

Infopowa news was a staple of Casinomeister’s news from 2000 until 2019. Brian Cullingworth was the main writer, contributor, and was one of the most knowledgeable persons I have ever known involved in the online casino industry.

We first met in January 2001 at the ICE in London where I observed him going booth to booth interviewing online casino, software, and licensing jurisdiction representatives. Brian was also heavily involved with our forum as “Jetset“, he was involved as an informal consultant to eCOGRA, the OPA, and was a player advocate who assisted countless aggrieved players with his connections to industry folks. He also published “Casino Cautions” via Infopowa news for quite a number of years. These can be found in our news archives.

His passing in February 2019 was a dark day for us. He will be forever missed.