Gambling Commission tightens the rules of action for vulnerable customers

 As reported by the Gambling Commission in a press release, the new rules are stricter and will come into force on September 12, 2022. In this regard, operators are expected to take the following actions:

• monitor a specific range of indicators, as a minimum, to identify gambling harm
• flag indicators of harm and take action in a timely manner
• implement automated processes for strong indicators of harm
• prevent marketing and the take-up of new bonuses for at risk customers
• evaluate their interactions and ensure they interact with consumers at least at the level of problem gambling for the relevant activity
• evidence their customer interaction evaluation to the Gambling Commission during routine casework
• comply with these requirements always, this includes ensuring the compliance of third-party providers.

New guidance, which operators are required to take account of, will be issued in June to help them understand and comply with the requirements. We will engage with operators to enable the guidance to take account of queries we receive about the requirements following publication.

Gambling Commission Chief Executive Andrew Rhodes stresses that the new rules, developed after extensive consultation, raise their expectations, saying: “We expect operators to identify and tackle gambling harms with fast, proportionate and effective action and we will do not hesitate to take tough action on operators who fail to do so”.

According to the consultation carried out by the Gambling Commission, operators are able to identify customers who could be harmed by gambling, but they did not always act quickly enough. The Commission received approximately 13,000 responses to the consultation and call for evidence. All responses to the proposals were carefully considered to ensure proportionate, robust changes were made.

The next phase of the Commission's program will look further on identifying customers who are financially vulnerable and tackling significant unaffordable gambling. Further updates will be provided when the consultation launches.