Gambling In The United Kingdom
Gambling in the United Kingdom is regulated by the Gambling Commission on behalf of the government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) under the Gambling Act 2005. This Act of Parliament significantly updated the UK’s gambling laws, including the introduction of a new structure of protections for children and vulnerable adults, as well as bringing the burgeoning Internet gaming sector within British regulation for the first time.
UK Gambling Commission:
The Gambling Commission was set up under the Gambling Act 2005 to regulate commercial gambling in Great Britain.
We are an independent non-departmental public body (NDPB) sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
The Gambling Commission (the Commission) has published updated advice for organisers of prize competitions and free draws. The revised advice benefits from the experience gained in the two years since the Gambling Act 2005 (the Act) came into effect in September 2007. It reflects changes to the Commission’s general understanding of how the Act applies.
Commenting on the proposals, the Commission’s Deputy Chief-Executive, Tom Kavanagh said: “Our role is to protect good causes by policing the boundary between prize competitions, free draws and licensed lotteries. We do not approve prize competitions or free draws but operators who seeking to stay within the law should read this publication and take independent legal advice before proceeding.”
The Commission regulates gambling in the public interest. It does so by keeping crime out of gambling, by ensuring that gambling is conducted fairly and openly, and by protecting children and vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited by gambling. The Commission also provides independent advice to government on gambling in Britain.
The Commission is responsible for licensing and regulating all gambling in Great Britain other than the National Lottery and spread betting, which are the responsibility of the National Lottery Commission and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) respectively. The publication of the updated advice follows a public consultation in the summer.
The plans, which will be subject to a consultation period, would mean that online operators currently licensed outside Britain will have to apply for a licence from the Gambling Commission if they want to advertise or provide their gambling services to British consumers.
Under the plans, all online gambling firms active in the British market will have an obligation to share information about suspicious betting patterns with the UK’s sports governing bodies as well as the Gambling Commission. They will also have to comply with British licence requirements including the protection of children and vulnerable people, and will have to demonstrate how they will contribute to the research, education and treatment of problem gambling in Britain.
The Government is considering what the plans mean for operators based in countries outside Europe – specifically in terms of the Government’s approved ‘whitelist’ of countries whose operators are able to advertise in the UK. The Government intends to keep the ‘whitelist’ in some form and it will remain a fundamental part of any future regulatory system. Proposals for any changes to the system will be included in the consultation.
Today’s plans have been announced following a review of the system of online gambling regulation in Great Britain, focusing on consumer protection and ways to ensure that overseas operators contribute towards regulation, problem gambling treatment and the Horserace Betting Levy. The review has looked in some detail at the way the system currently works, as well as exploring the significant regulatory changes taking place in Europe and beyond. The Government is still investigating ways to secure fair contributions from overseas operators to the Horserace Betting Levy.
