The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) which is the gambling regulator in the United Kingdom has been under immense pressure in recent months to do more to address the increase in problem gambling numbers.
The watchdog has come out with a number of stringent measures which include imposing heavy fines on iGaming operators who violate regulations, stricter regulations on gambling advertisements and pushing gambling operators to educate their customers better on responsible gambling practices.
The UK government has also stepped in to fight problem gambling concerns by passing a new law that reduced the reduced the stakes of fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) from £100 to £2.
The UK Labour Party believes that the government needs to do more to address problem gambling in the country. Deputy Leader Tom Watson has been very vocal about the different steps that the government needs to implement to really curb gambling addiction in the country. He had earlier proposed a complete ban on credit cards being used at gambling establishments.
The latest proposal from Watson calls for the establishment of a gambling ombudsman. Watson believes this will provide better protection to consumers who get exploited by gambling operators. A tripartite system would police the industry better as the UKGC, NHS and ombudsman would have better control over the gambling industry.
The ombudsman would take on the responsibility to address individual grievances of gamblers, impose fines on operators who do not comply with regulations and ensure that online gambling firms do their part to reduce problem gambling numbers. The ombudsman will also be responsible for reviewing the terms and conditions of gambling operators to ensure that they are transparent in their dealings and don’t manipulate customers by targeting them with custom offers prepared from consumer data.
Gambling Operators To Pay £100 Million For Research
Gambling operators currently pay around £10 million for research under a voluntary donation system. Some firms pay a lot less and some firms pay nothing at all. The funds are used to carry out research into problem gambling and find ways to address these problems.
The Labour party has now called for gambling operators to pay £100 million each year. These funds will be used for research and also to fund the treatment and education of problem gamblers in the UK. However, the current government is not in support of this move.