Gambling White Paper - Commons Statement

**newcustomeroffer** · 27 April 2023, 3:34 am

There will be a statement in the House Of Commons at noon today (BST) about the white paper, available on the iplayer here if you can get access: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/live/bbcparliament

Clearly going to happen today - some commentary here from the BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65249542

**Online-casinos.co.uk** · 27 April 2023, 6:22 am

Seems a lot tamer than anticipated..

**baldidiot** · 27 April 2023, 6:22 am

White paper finally released: https://www.gov.uk/government/public...he-digital-age

**baldidiot** · 27 April 2023, 6:31 am

On affiliate licenses:

A particular issue which has been highlighted is affiliates’ failure to comply with the requirements to cease direct marketing to self-excluded customers. These have led the House of Lords Select Committee and others to argue that affiliates should require their own licences from the Gambling Commission to operate in this country.

...

We are not persuaded by arguments for affiliates to be licensed by the Gambling Commission. Affiliates’ marketing activities are already regulated by the ASA under the CAP codes, meaning that placing additional duties on the Commission would lead to duplication. In addition, the distinct responsibilities and activities of affiliates would require an entirely new licensing regime to be created; and the size of the sector means that it would distort the Commission’s remit, which concentrates on gambling operators themselves.

**newcustomeroffer** · 27 April 2023, 6:33 am

Specifically relating to affiliates and licensing:

Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is a form of marketing whereby a third party receives a commission for promoting a company’s products or services, typically paid per customer referred or with a share of revenue generated by referred customers. Affiliate marketing is predominantly online and widespread across many sectors, with common forms including influencer marketing on social media and ‘advertorial’ content on news sites and blogs. CAP/ASA have produced detailed specialist guidance for affiliate marketing.

In the gambling sector, online affiliate marketers range from large and well-established sites to individual ‘tipsters’ working on social media. The industry body Responsible Affiliates in Gambling (RAiG) estimates that there are tens of thousands of gambling affiliates working in the GB market, the majority of which are individuals or very small businesses, and that they drive up to 40% of customer acquisition for remote operators.

The Gambling Commission holds licensees responsible for the activities of their affiliates. This means that any breach of licence conditions by a third party contracted to promote an operator’s business will be treated as a breach by the operator. New licence conditions were introduced on operators and their affiliates in 2018, following a series of cases (LeoVegas, Lottoland, and BGO) where the Gambling Commission took action against an operator for failings by its affiliates.

Nonetheless, some submissions to the call for evidence argued that affiliate marketing presents particular risks in the gambling sector, mainly citing concerns that they are less compliant with the advertising rules than operators themselves. A particular issue which has been highlighted is affiliates’ failure to comply with the requirements to cease direct marketing to self-excluded customers. These have led the House of Lords Select Committee and others to argue that affiliates should require their own licences from the Gambling Commission to operate in this country.

Alongside regulatory efforts from CAP/ASA and the Gambling Commission, industry submissions also highlighted efforts to improve affiliate marketing standards, such as the formation of RAiG, who require their members to undertake an annual social responsibility audit, and a review scoped by the BGC on the use of affiliates in the gambling sector.

Our conclusions
We recognise the importance of affiliates to operators and customers, and that the growth of affiliate marketing is by no means unique to the gambling sector. We also know that issues relating to how affiliate marketing is conducted can have serious consequences.

We are not persuaded by arguments for affiliates to be licensed by the Gambling Commission. Affiliates’ marketing activities are already regulated by the ASA under the CAP codes, meaning that placing additional duties on the Commission would lead to duplication. In addition, the distinct responsibilities and activities of affiliates would require an entirely new licensing regime to be created; and the size of the sector means that it would distort the Commission’s remit, which concentrates on gambling operators themselves.

While we welcome efforts from industry to raise standards for affiliates, this does not dilute the clear responsibilities the Gambling Commission will continue to place on operators for all activities undertaken in their name. We believe this is the best way to guarantee strong compliance and maintain clear responsibilities. In particular, we are already clear that any direct marketing to self-excluded customers by affiliates will be regarded as a breach of licence conditions by the licensee on whose behalf the affiliate is contacting the customer.

The Gambling Commission continues to keep this area under review and will not hesitate to take action if there is evidence of standards slipping. The Online Advertising Programme will also take a wider look at regulation for online affiliates.

**The Buzz** · 27 April 2023, 6:33 am

Here is the press release:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/m...nt=immediately

**xecutable** · 27 April 2023, 6:38 am

An outline from ChatGPT for those who do not want to read the whole thing:

I. Introduction

The need for reform to tackle the harms associated with high-stakes gambling

The unique challenges posed by high-stakes gambling in digital environments

II. Proposed measures

Limits on the amount that can be bet online (options include a ? limit or a ?00 limit)

Stricter ID and age verification requirements to prevent minors from accessing gambling websites

Increased support for problem gamblers (including the creation of a new nationwide network of gambling clinics and increased funding for treatment services)

Mandatory affordability checks for customers to ensure they can afford to gamble

Measures to prevent gambling-related harm (including mandatory limits on the speed of online slot machines, restrictions on VIP schemes, and a ban on reverse withdrawals)

III. Seeking feedback

The government is seeking input from stakeholders and the public on the proposed measures

A consultation period is open until 9 September 2021 for stakeholders to provide feedback on the proposals

IV. Conclusion

The proposed measures aim to address the harms caused by high-stakes gambling and ensure that the industry is fair and safe for consumers

The government will take into account feedback from stakeholders and the public before finalizing the reforms.

**The Buzz** · 27 April 2023, 7:09 am

Here is the press release:<br><br>https://www.gov.uk/government/news/m...nt=immediately

**The Buzz** · 27 April 2023, 7:10 am

Here is a recap of measures being proposed:

A statutory gambling operator levy to ensure that operators help fund treatment services and research, including through the NHS.

New stake limits for online slots games will be between ? and ?5 per spin. The government will also consult on measures to give greater protections for 18–24-year-olds who the evidence shows are at heightened risk of harm.

Frictionless player protection checks to protect those most at risk of harm before unaffordable or harmful losses are incurred.

Extra powers for the Gambling Commission to enable it to tackle black market operators through court orders and work with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to take down and block illegal gambling sites.

Rules to prevent bonus offers from harming vulnerable people.

Closing loopholes to make sure under-18s cannot gamble either online or via cash fruit machines including National Lottery scratchcards.

A new industry ombudsman.

A review of the current horserace betting levy to make certain racing continues to thrive.

**mickyfu** · 27 April 2023, 10:51 am

A particular issue which has been highlighted is affiliates’ failure to comply with the requirements to cease direct marketing to self-excluded customers. These have led the House of Lords Select Committee and others to argue that affiliates should require their own licences from the Gambling Commission to operate in this country.:

How out of touch are these fools? Yes, sure, because affiliates targeting the black markets are really going to give a **** about being licensed. Do these absolute clowns not see that over regulation is feeding the black markets?

**Pokerface** · 28 April 2023, 4:33 am

Certainly not as severe at all what was expected. Typical ridiculous adjustments to existing regulations. The governments' goal was to deliver a white paper which they did .... but that's really all.

**Online-casinos.co.uk** · 28 April 2023, 5:15 am

You can imagine the colossal pressure and lobbying from gambling companies behind the scenes .. the biggest anti-gambling MP of the past decade, Tom Watson, now literally works for Paddy Power. There is just too much money involved and it seems to have overcome the relentless BBC and Guardian anti-gambling campaigns. Personally I would have liked to see a partial ban on TV advertising and maybe even online advertising even though that would affect our bottom line - gambling should be something that's available if you choose to seek it out and it should be properly regulated and monitored, not rammed down your throat every ad break by Ray Winstone.

**LowFlyingBird** · 3 May 2023, 6:41 pm

I read the UKGC approved Casinos allow up to ?00 max bet per spin on slots.
With a 10x lines multiplier this could be risky.

Las Vegas has Brick and Mortar Slots that do $1000 per spin.
These are 3-5line max.

The game suppliers/operators should CAP max spins to a % of account balance and limit max spin attempts per hour.

**ocreditor** · 4 May 2023, 1:50 am

At some point in the future I believe that they'll request affiliates for licensing, more money to the country!

**newcustomeroffer** · 4 May 2023, 3:56 am

Originally Posted by ocreditor

At some point in the future I believe that they'll request affiliates for licensing, more money to the country!

I dare say they took one look at the RAIG numbers and thought it better for the operators to be responsible for their affiliates instead:

The industry body Responsible Affiliates in Gambling (RAiG) estimates that there are tens of thousands of gambling affiliates working in the GB market, the majority of which are individuals or very small businesses, and that they drive up to 40% of customer acquisition for remote operators.

**ocreditor** · 4 May 2023, 4:13 am

Originally Posted by newcustomeroffer

I dare say they took one look at the RAIG numbers and thought it better for the operators to be responsible for their affiliates instead:

I really hope this will be the case forever!

**casionmark** · 5 May 2023, 7:00 am

I haven't seen any mention of single customer viewpoint in all this - where customer data is held in one central database so affordablity checks count across all licensed sites rather than each one individually. I know the UK GC were planning on trialling this.

Anyone know any more about it?

**newcustomeroffer** · 5 May 2023, 9:49 am

Originally Posted by casionmark

I haven't seen any mention of single customer viewpoint in all this - where customer data is held in one central database so affordablity checks count across all licensed sites rather than each one individually. I know the UK GC were planning on trialling this.

Anyone know any more about it?

Last I read about it was in October: https://igamingbusiness.com/social-r...coming-months/

**BestNewBingoSites** · 5 May 2023, 11:56 am

From the White Paper:

"An industry-led trial with GAMSTOP as the delivery partner is now proceeding, having been supported by the ICO’s sandbox process, and focusing on high risk customers. The live trial which started this month is based on operators sharing information on individuals who have had their accounts closed because of disclosures about suffering serious harm. As part of the trial, codes of practice are being developed to ensure operators respond appropriately when they are notified of customers in this situation. Following evaluation later this year, the intention is to expand the system to consider customers who are showing other indicators of harm with one operator which might necessitate coordinated action with other operators.

Conversely, a number of think tanks and campaigners have proposed far more expansive SCV solutions, involving the pooling of every customer’s online and potentially offline play data for analysis by an independent public body which flags concerns and directs operator interventions. Given the privacy implications for the majority who gamble with no ill effect, we do not think the creation of such a system including a national database of all gamblers (even if anonymised) is justified at this time."

So yes, it's going ahead, but in a very limited way.

**newcustomeroffer** · 12 July 2023, 2:07 am

There was a Culture, Media and Sport select committee yesterday discussing the impact of the white paper with representatives from the BGC: https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Inde...0-b20e5a89f5b7

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