Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has warned it could pursue legal action against proposed gambling affordability checks that operators believe may force customers to submit sensitive financial documents.
The BGC states that the current pilot program has serious deficiencies including unreliable data and inconsistent results from credit reference agencies. Operators believe the new regulations that require check of up to 480,000 customers to have to submit verification documents would have a negative financial impact on the regulated gaming industry in the UK.
In a letter to Charles Counsell, acting chair of the Gambling Commission; Grainne Hurst, BGC CEO called for implementing the regulations “disproportionate” and “could lead to legal challenges”.
This letter to UK Secretary of State for Culture Lisa Nandy and Gambling Minister Baroness Twycross; warned that the proposed system could force players to illegally gamble in the unregulated black market, which would decrease tax revenue from the betting industry.
The Gambling Commissions have stated that only around 3% of all customers will be impacted by the new regulations; whereas BGC estimates will impact up to 10% of regular bettors, and 20% of those who are gaming more than £200 a year.
Industry representatives believe that the new regulations are “ineffective and counterproductive” in that many customers may refuse to provide verifiable economic information, thus moving to illegal gambling operations.
The Gambling Commission has stated that no final decision has been made regarding implementation of the new regulations, and all future regulations will be “evidence led” and “introduced in a slow and measured fashion”.
