Gambling Commission Launches Consultations on Fines

The UK Gambling Commission has recently unveiled a series of consultations designed to shed light on the calculation of financial penalties within the gambling industry. Lasting for 13 weeks, these consultations aim to provide "greater clarity and transparency" regarding how penalties are determined. One key focus is to determine the starting point for fines, as well as whether these fines should be linked to the gross gambling yield (GGY) generated during the breach.

In addition to penalty calculations, the consultations will address financial key event reporting. The intention is to account for the "increase in complexity of mergers and acquisitions" and the "increased globalization" of gambling. Kay Roberts, the executive director of operations at the Gambling Commission, emphasized the importance of stakeholders participating in these consultations, as all proposed changes will be considered.

These consultations are a response to the Gambling Act review white paper, which proposed regulatory changes for the UK gambling industry. The white paper's recommendations were informed by a governmental review of the 2005 Gambling Act. Notably, the Gambling Commission recently introduced a confidential reporting service, allowing individuals to report criminal or suspicious activity anonymously.

The launch of these consultations coincides with a significant growth trend in land-based gambling. According to statistics, the sector has seen over a 20% increase in the past year, returning to pre-pandemic levels. Total GGY for licensed remote and land-based gambling operators grew by 6.8% year-on-year to £15.1 billion ($19.0 billion/€17.5 billion) from April 2022 to March 2023.

Notably, British charity GambleAware has highlighted online slots as a major concern within the industry. More than a third of GambleAware's support service contacts in 2022-23 were related to gambling harm caused by online slots. With 37.9% seeking treatment for online slots, this issue takes precedence, followed by internet sports betting at 15.6%, and fixed-odds gaming machines in bookmaker shops at 12.8%.